WPIAL Class 3A wrestling season preview: Connellsville in position to repeat

By: Paul Schofield
Tuesday, November 26, 2024 | 11:01 AM

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A look at the 2024-25 WPIAL Class 3A wrestling season:

The Favorite

Reigning Class 3A Champion Connellsville lost one starter, Nick Rohal at 172 pounds, to graduation.

The Falcons have a huge roster (40) that could field three teams.

Heading the returnees are four PIAA qualifiers: sophomore Nolan Rice (38-10) at 107, sophomore Kai Vielma (35-7) at 133, senior Evan Petrovich (41-7) at 145 and senior Lonzy Vielma (39-9) at 160.

Petrovich, a Pitt recruit, placed third in the state, and Lonzy Vielma, a West Virginia recruit, placed fifth.

Others back include sophomore Tommy Gretz (17-5) at 107, junior Zach Franks (25-17) at 114, junior Landon Lynn (19-14) at 121, sophomore Chase Sparks (13-20) at 127, senior Jullian Ruggieri (35-14) at 139, senior Chris Cook (27-19) at 215 and senior heavyweight Tyler Gallis (26-16).

“I don’t like being the favorite,” Connellsville coach Bill Swink said. “I’d rather be the hunter instead of being the hunted.

“We’re going to have some battles for starting jobs. We have good depth. We have some good freshmen coming up.”

Swink has his team entered numerous tournaments, including Tom Best Memorial in Williamsport, St. Edwards Quad, NursePro Plus tournament in Morgantown, W.Va., Powerade and Escape the Rock at Council Rock South.

Preseason Top 10

Teams are listed with last year’s record and final ranking.

1. Connellsville (17-4) 1

2. Franklin Regional (22-3) 3

3. Bethel Park (19-3) 4

4. Norwin (12-7) 9

5. Trinity (13-3) 2

6. North Allegheny 17-4) 6

7. Fox Chapel (15-2) 7

8. Latrobe (13-5) 5

9. Kiski Area (12-12) NR

10. Canon-McMillan (6-5) NR

Teams to watch: Baldwin, Belle Vernon, Butler, Moon, North Hills, Penn-Trafford, Peters Township, Plum, Ringgold and West Allegheny.

2024 WPIAL playoffs

Preliminary round

Kiski Area 33, Moon 24

Pine-Richland 38, Hempfield 35

First round

Trinity 55, Kiski Area 18

Norwin 39, Plum 27

North Allegheny 55, Baldwin 15

Bethel Park 39, North Hills 15

Connellsville 52, Ringgold 12

Fox Chapel 37, Peters Township 24

Latrobe 42, West Allegheny 22

Franklin Regional 42, Pine-Richland 27

Quarterfinals

Trinity 43, Norwin 19

Bethel Park 26, North Allegheny 19

Connellsville 33, Fox Chapel 24

Franklin Regional 38, Latrobe 24

Semifinals

Trinity 27, Bethel Park 26

Connellsville 31, Franklin Regional 28

Finals

Connellsville 33, Trinity 32

Third place

Franklin Regional 28, Bethel Park 27

Returning PIAA Champions

Landon Sidun, So., Norwin, 114

Maddox Shaw, Sr., Thomas Jefferson, 136

Vaughn Spencer, Sr., Pine-Richand

Returning PIAA placewinners

Evan Petrovich, Sr., Connellsville, 145, third

Bode Marlow, Sr., Thomas Jefferson, 160, third

Jake Conroy, Sr., Ringgold, 189, fourth

Luke Willochell, Sr., Latrobe, 121, fifth

Lonzy Vielma, Sr., Connellsville, 160, fifth

Nicholas McGarrity, So., Peters Township, 107, sixth

Santino Sloboda, Jr., Butler, 114, sixth

Hunter Snyder, So., Latrobe, 172, sixth

Cooper Roscosky, So., Kiski Area, 189, sixth

Leo Joseph, Sr., Latrobe, 114, eighth

Connor Smith, Sr., Seneca Valley, 121, eighth

Ramil Islamov, Sr., Baldwin, 133, fourth

Returning WPIAL champions

107: McGarrity; 114: Sloboda; 121: Willochell; Shaw, 139; Petrovich, 145; Marlow, 160; Spencer, 172; Roscosky, 189; Conroy, 215; Shepherd Turk, Sr. Thomas Jefferson.

Keep an eye on

Seniors: Kase Chopp, Butler, 133; Dominic Ferraro, Pine-Richland, 139; Thomas Allison, Trinity, 145; Luke Dunlap, South Fayette, 152; Brock Evans, Waynesburg, 160; Ben Lloyd, 285

Juniors: Dylan Barrett, Penn-Trafford, 107; Nico Kapusta, Hempfield, 107; Collier Hartman, Canon-McMillan; Cole Gibbons, Mt. Lebanon, 145; Roan Tustin, Waynesburg, 285; Brady McConneha, North Allegheny, 285

Sophomores: Nolan Rice, Connellsville, 107; Kai Velma, Connellsville, 133; Roman Thompson, Central Catholic, 189

Alignment

Southern Sectional

Section 1: Blackhawk, Montour, Moon and West Allegheny.

Section 2: Canon-McMillan, Chartiers Valley, South Fayette, Trinity and Waynesburg.

Section 3: Baldwin, Bethel Park, Mt. Lebanon, Peters Township and Upper St. Clair.

Northern Sectional

Section 1: Butler, Mars, North Allegheny, Pine-Richand and Seneca Valley.

Section 2: Armstrong, Fox Chapel, Hampton, Indiana and Kiski Area.

Section 3: Central Catholic, North Hills, Penn Hills and Shaler.

Eastern Sectional

Section 1: Belle Vernon, McKeesport, Ringgold, Thomas Jefferson and West Mifflin.

Section 2: Albert Gallatin, Connellsville, Hempfield and Latrobe.

Section 3: Franklin Regional, Gateway, Norwin, Penn-Trafford and Plum.

Important dates

Nov. 29: Season begins

Dec. 11: First section play date

Dec. 25: 2-pound growth allowance

Jan. 23: Playoff pairings released

Jan. 27: WPIAL team tournament preliminary round

Jan. 29: WPIAL team tournament first round and quarterfinals

Feb. 1: WPIAL team tournament semifinals and finals at Peters Township

Feb. 3: PIAA team preliminary round

Feb. 6-8: PIAA team championships, TBA

Feb. 11: WPIAL individuals pairings released

Feb. 15: WPIAL girls championship at North Allegheny

Feb. 15: WPIAL 2A section tournaments (Eastern at Greensburg Salem; Northern at Keystone Oaks; Southern at Burgettstown).

Feb. 15: WPIAL 3A section tournaments (Eastern at Norwin; Northern at Fox Chapel; Southern at South Fayette).

Feb. 21-22: WPIAL 2A championships at Chartiers Valley

Feb. 21-22: WPIAL 3A championships at Canon-McMillan

Feb. 28-March 1: PIAA 2A Southwest Regional at Altoona

Feb. 28-March 1: PIAA 3A West Regional at Canon-McMillan

March 1: PIAA Girls’ West Regional at Canon-McMillan

March 6-8: PIAA individual championship at Giant Center, Hershey.

Important tournaments

Nov. 28-29: Southwest Classic at Valley

Dec. 6-7: Chartiers-Houston Invitational, Houston

Dec. 6-7: Hickory Invitational, Hermitage

Dec. 6-7: North Coast Classic, Independence, Ohio

Dec. 6-7: Tom Best Invitational, Williamsport

Dec. 6-7: Ironman, Walsh Jesuit Ohio

Dec. 7: Babbit Duals, River Valley

Dec. 7: Carrick Duals

Dec. 7: Trinity Duals, Washington

Dec. 13-14: Panther Holiday Classic, Mount Aloysius

Dec. 14: Hampton Duals, Hampton

Dec. 14: Kiski Area Duals, Kiski Area

Dec. 14: St. Edwards Quad, Cleveland

Dec. 14: Upper St. Clair Duals, Upper St. Clair

Dec. 20-21: King of the Mountain, Lock Haven

Dec. 21: NursePro Plus Tournament, Morgantown, W.Va.

Dec. 21-22: Beast of the East, Newark, Del.

Dec. 27-28: Powerade: Canon-McMillan

Dec. 27-28: Southmoreland Holiday Classic

Dec. 27-28: Steve DeAugustino Classic, West Mifflin

Jan. 3-4: Tri-County AD Association, Ringgold

Jan. 4: Ed Driscoll MAC Tournament, Laurel

Jan. 10-11: Burgettstown Invitational

Jan. 10-11: Mid-Winter Mayhem, Indiana

Jan. 10-11: WCCA Tournament, Greensburg Salem

Jan. 17-18: Allegheny County Champion, Fox Chapel

Jan. 18: Ultimate Duals, Brookville

Jan. 18-19: Escape the Rock, Council Rock South

Jan. 24-25: Fred Bell Tournament, Grove City

Jan. 2-25: Thomas Automotive Tournament, Bedford

Feb. 8: Pine-Richand Duals, Gibsonia

Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.