Derry rolls over Latrobe in clash of Westmoreland County wrestling titans

By: Paul Schofield
Monday, January 5, 2026 | 9:39 PM

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Derry wrestling coach Troy Dolan said he was eager to see how his team responded after a subpar performance at the Powerade Tournament on Dec. 30.

Trib HSSN’s No. 1-ranked WPIAL Class 2A team came out strong Monday against Latrobe, the No. 8-ranked Class 3A team by Trib HSSN.

The Trojans (7-0) raced out to a 38-0 lead en route to a 52-18 nonsection victory against the Wildcats (4-2).

This begins a big week for both programs. Derry takes on section rival Greensburg Salem on Wednesday, and Latrobe faces a tough Albert Gallatin squad missing a couple of starters: freshman 121-pounder Marco Angelicchio and junior 127-pounder Brody Bronson.

Derry also was missing a key starter, junior Brody Brown, at 189 pounds.

“It was a good performance,” Dolan said. “Our focus was being aggressive on offense. The team executed well.”

The Trojans scored the first takedown in eight of the 13 matches.

Freshman Mason Keesecker got things started at 107 with a 23-7 technical fall win against Maddox Mehalik.

Freshman Patrick Bulger followed with a pin at 114 against Kai Maxwell, and Matt Fernell received a forfeit win to make it 17-0.

The lead went to 38-0 thanks to pins by Rocco DeCario (127) and Will McNeal (139), a technical fall by Cam Olson and a major by Mikey McNeal (139).

Sophomore Dom Angelicchio got Latrobe on the board at 152 when Derry’s Jeremiah Gess injured his hand and could not continue. Angelicchio was leading 8-0 when the match was stopped in the first period.

“Derry is a very good team,” Latrobe coach Mark Mears said. “They are probably the best and deepest team in Class 2A. They were better than us, and they have more experience. I am hoping we are them in a couple years.”

Derry’s PIAA qualifiers scored big wins to push the lead to 49-6: Senior Ewan Olson (160) won by technical fall, and junior Mason Horwat (172) won by fall.

Junior Hunter Snyder (189) and junior Nico Dominick (215) collected pins for the Wildcats, and Derry heavyweight Justin Papuga edged Gamin Owens, 7-3, to end the match.

“Things went as expected,” Dolan said. “The lightweights gave us a cushion because Latrobe’s strength was in the middle weights. It was also nice to see J.P. end it for us.”

Horwat, who is looking to become a Westmoreland County Coaches’ Association three-time champion this weekend, said he was pleased how the team bounced back from the Powerade Tournament.

“I do not know if the younger guys were intimidated by the strong field or not,” Horwat said. “It was nice to see them bounce back.”

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: Derry Area, Latrobe