Franklin Regional wrestling downs short-handed Penn-Trafford, sets up showdown with Norwin
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Wednesday, January 15, 2025 | 10:38 PM
Franklin Regional’s Ben Grabowski pins Penn-Traffords’ John Montgomery in the 215-pound bout Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025, at Franklin Regional High School.
Franklin Regional’s Henry Patts pins Penn-Traffords’ Brayden DeSantis in the 189-pound bout Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025, at Franklin Regional High School.
Franklin Regional’s Luke Ankney scores a major decision over Penn-Traffords’ Dylan Clayton in the 152-pound bout Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025, at Franklin Regional High School.
Franklin Regional’s Mikey Duane scores a technical fall against Penn-Traffords’ Jake Lang in the 127-pound bout Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025, at Franklin Regional High School.
Franklin Regional’s Chase Smith earns a technical fall overe Penn-Traffords’ Logan Ventura in the 133-pound bout Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025, at Franklin Regional High School.
Franklin Regional’s Ethan Cartwright earns a decision over Penn-Traffords’ Cael Ott in the 160-pound bout Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025, at Franklin Regional High School.
Penn-Traffords’ Dylan Barrett scores a technical fall over Franklin Regional’s Titus Colangelo in the 114-pound bout Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025, at Franklin Regional High School.
Franklin Regional’s Nico Sarnic pins Penn-Traffords’ Gino Pecora in the 139-pound bout Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025, at Franklin Regional High School.
The wrestling showdown for seeding in the WPIAL team tournament and the Section 9-3A title is set after No. 2 Franklin Regional took care of business Wednesday.
The Panthers just had too many weapons for undermanned rival Penn-Trafford and rolled to 43-22 victory on senior night.
The victory sets up next week’s first-place battle against No. 3 Norwin. The bout will decide the section title and seeding. The winner probably will be seeded No. 2 behind No. 1 Connellsville.
Franklin Regional was coming off the team title at the Westmoreland County Coaches’ Association tournament, and it looked sharp. There was no letdown for the Panthers.
“We came off a pretty good weekend, and we had a great week of practice,” Franklin Regional coach Matt Lebe said. “We had a good week of training, and we are happy to remain undefeated still in the section. Now we want to move on and get better.”
Penn-Trafford took an early 10-6 lead on consecutive technical falls by Dylan Barrett (114 pounds) and Luke DeSantis (121). Franklin Regional’s points came by forfeit at 107.
Penn-Trafford is hampered because it doesn’t have a 107-pounder and was missing senior Tasso Whipple, who was forced to miss the match because of a PIAA infraction that occurred at the county tournament. He will be back for the Brookville Ultimate Duals on Saturday.
“We were a little flat,” Penn-Trafford coach Travis McKillop said. “They’re a tough team, and we didn’t match up well. Not having Tasso hurt.
“We just need to rebound and come back. We need to continue to improve. Dylan and Luke looked strong, but then we ran into their strength.”
The Panthers then won the next six bouts to build a 34-10 lead.
Mikey Ruane (127) and Chase Smith (133) won by technical falls, Nico Sarnic (139) earned a pin, Max Firestine (145) won by technical fall, Luke Ankney (152) picked up a major decision and Ethan Cartwright (160) won a decision.
“We wrestled well, and we scored a lot of points,” Lebe said. “We were aggressive, and I liked that. It was good to see us work.”
Penn-Trafford got a pin from Logan Matrisch (172) to make it 34-16.
Henry Patts countered P-T win with a first-period pin, and P-T’s Ben Grabowski collected a pin at 215.
Eli Daugherty closed the match for the Panthers with a 7-0 victory against Aiden Toth.
“Eli continues to get better,” Lebe said. “He’s really improved the past two seasons, and I’ve been impressed with his growth.
“We know next week is going to be a dogfight between two good teams. Our focus right now is getting better.”
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: Franklin Regional, Penn-Trafford
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