Norwin’s Landon Sidun wins Beast of the East, prepares to defend Powerade title

By: Paul Schofield
Tuesday, December 24, 2024 | 2:14 PM

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It was quite a 120-pound final at the Beast of the East tournament Sunday at the University of Delaware.

The top wrestlers in Pennsylvania at 121 pounds (different weight classes are used in other states), Norwin sophomore Landon Sidun (Class 3A) and Faith Christian Academy sophomore Joey Bachmann (2A) needed overtime to decide the champion.

Sidun, who placed third in 2023 at 120, got an escape during the tiebreaker session for a 3-2 victory. It was Bachmann’s first career high school loss.

Sidun also defeated Malvern Prep’s Lukas Littleton Mascaro, 2-1, in the semifinals.

Thomas Jefferson senior Bode Marlow placed third at 175 and senior Maddox Shaw sixth at 157. The Jaguars placed 12th overall.

Sidun will now attempt to defend his Powerade Tournament title. He was the only WPIAL wrestler to reach the finals and win a title last year. He defeated Notre Dame-Green Pond’s Ayden Smith, 6-1, at 114 pounds.

Norwin coach Kyle Martin said Sidun winning last year showed people how good he is. Winning Beast of the East last week elevated him to the top.

The Powerade tournament was so strong last year that only nine WPIAL wrestlers earned medals. Shaw placed third at 139 pounds.

The 58th annual tournament, featuring 67 teams and numerous top teams from around the United States, begins Friday and concludes Saturday.

There are 32 teams from outside of the state coming to Canon-McMillan. They represent 11 states.

Some of the top teams include Malvern Prep, Wyoming Seminary, Lake Highlands Prep (Fla.), Archbishop Moeller (Ohio), Bishop McCort, St. Edward (Ohio), University (W.Va.), Connellsville, Franklin Regional, Burrell, Montoursville, Altoona, Latrobe and Derry.

Connellsville coach Bill Swink added that Powerade shows his wrestlers where they stand in the country.

“There are a lot of great wrestlers and teams entered,” tournament director Frank Vulcano Jr. said. “There is going to be a lot of great wrestling.”

Southmoreland offers alternative

Those looking for more of a WPIAL flavor can head to Southmoreland High School in Alverton for the 25th annual Holiday Classic on Friday and Saturday

There are 33 teams from the state including 22 from the WPIAL entered. There are two out of state teams: Rockbridge (Va.) and Indian Lake (S.C.).

Some of the top teams include Bentworth, Burgettstown, Butler, Fox Chapel, Frazier, Somerset and Corry.

Some of the top wrestlers entered include Butler junior Santino Sloboda at 127, Central Catholic sophomore Nezumiiro Green at 189 and sophomore Roman Thompson at 215, Frazier senior Ryan Celaschi at 160, junior Jonah Erdely at 152 and junior Jackson Angelo at 172, Fox Chapel senior Landon Funk at 127 and senior Michael Worsen at 121 and Southmoreland senior Landon Delara at 172.

North Allegheny will be at the Bethlehem Holiday Classic at Liberty High School, while Belle Vernon and Jefferson-Morgan head to Chambersburg for the MyHouse Trojan Wars.

What a comeback

The top team in Class 2A, Burrell, didn’t give up Saturday in its nonsection dual against Class 3A rival Kiski Area.

The Bucs fell behind 33-0 but rallied for a thrilling 35-33 victory.

The comeback started at 121 pounds when Carter Thomas recorded a pin.

Cam Baker was awarded a forfeit at 127, Julian Bertucci got a pin at 139, Calio Zanella a pin at 152 and Ben Catullo a technical fall at 160. The turning point came at 133 when Jacob Stewart edged John Deluca, 8-5, in overtime.

Kiski Area, ranked No. 8 in 3A, recorded five pins.

Connellsville has 6 champs

No. 1 Connellsville had six champions and finished second to host University (W.Va.) at the NursePro Pulse tournament.

Winning titles were Tommy Gretz (106), Nolan Rice (120), Jake Lilley (132), Kai Vielma (138), Evan Petrovich (157) and Lonzy Vielma (165).

The Falcons finished with 269.5 points and University had 280.5.

Franklin Regional was third, Trinity fourth and Frazier was fifth.

The Panthers had four second-place finishers, the Hillers had one champion in Dom Canelli and the Commodores had two champions: Jonah Erdely (150) and Jackson Angelo (172).

Willochell, Snyder stay perfect

Latrobe senior Luke Willochell (133) and sophomore Hunter Snyder (189) stayed perfect by turning in dominating performances at the King of the Mountain tournament at Central Mountain High School in Mill Hall.

The Wildcats finished sixth, the highest WPIAL team, behind Montoursville, Central Mountain, Altoona, State College and Mifflin County.

Willochell and Snyder either recorded a pin or a technical fall as each went 5-0.

Shaler sophomore Anthony Jones won the 107-pound weight class.

Canon-McMillan sophomore Brayden Collins lost in the 215-pound final.

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.

Tags: Burrell, Connellsville, Franklin Regional, Frazier, Latrobe, Norwin