Derry sends 3 wrestlers to PIAA Class 2A semifinals
By:
Friday, March 6, 2026 | 1:51 PM
Derry’s Brady Brown beats Greenville’s Hunter Cox at 189 pounds during a PIAA Class 2A quarterfinal bout Friday, March 6, 2026, at Hershey’s Giant Center. (Chaz Palla | TribLive)
Derry’s Brady Brown beats Greenville’s Hunter Cox at 189 pounds during a PIAA Class 2A quarterfinal bout Friday, March 6, 2026, at Hershey’s Giant Center. (Chaz Palla | TribLive)
Derry’s Patrick Bulger beats Montgomery’s Gabe Oberheim at 114 pounds during a PIAA Class 2A quarterfinal bout Friday, March 6, 2026, at Hershey’s Giant Center. (Chaz Palla | TribLive)
Derry’s Mason Horwat beats Faith Christian’s Nick Singer at 172 pounds during a PIAA Class 2A quarterfinal bout Friday, March 6, 2026, at Hershey’s Giant Center. (Chaz Palla | TribLive)
Derry’s Mason Horwat beats Faith Christian’s Nick Singer at 172 pounds during a PIAA Class 2A quarterfinal bout Friday, March 6, 2026, at Hershey’s Giant Center. (Chaz Palla | TribLive)
HERSHEY — It has been quite a season for the Derry wrestling program.
And that trend continued Friday morning in the quarterfinals of the PIAA Class 2A wrestling tournament at the Giant Center.
Freshman Patrick Bulger (114 pounds) and juniors Mason Horwat (172) and Brady Brown (189) advanced to Friday night’s semifinals with impressive wins.
The biggest win came at 172 pounds when Horwat (52-4) used a three-point takedown with 1:11 left to stun No. 2 seed Nick Singer of Faith Christian Academy, 6-4.
The victory puts Horwat against Warrior Run senior Max Wirnaberger (43-4).
Singer defeated Horwat in sudden death overtime at the PIAA team tournament Feb. 7.
Horwat was a sixth-place finisher as a freshman and placed fourth in 2025. His career record is 136-17.
“I knew he could beat him,” Derry assistant coach Micky Phillippi said. “Mason gets up for big matches.”
Horwat’s win fired up Brown.
“Mason found a way to get it done,” Brown said. “Nicky is a very tough wrestler. I was so excited that Mason won, I tried to go out and out do him.
“I was so pumped up after Mason’s match. I had to settle down. Once I did, I was able to calm down and get to work. This was a huge day for the program.”
Bulger (46-9) got things done early in the day. He blanked Montgomery freshman Gabe Oberheim, 5-0. He will face No. 1 seed Braiden Lotier (46-1) of Bishop McDevitt.
Brown will take on Faith Christian Academy senior Adam Waters (31-2).
Brown placed fifth as a sophomore and was a PIAA qualifier in 2024. He career mark is 117-19.
Derry senior Ewan Olson dropped a 5-0 decision to Bradford senior Jordan Thompson. Olson then qualified for his first medal by winning in the blood round of consolations.
Trojans freshman Cam Olson and Michael McNeal fell in the consolation.
The only other WPIAL wrestler to advance to the semifinals was West Greene heavyweight Colin Whyte.
Including Whyte and the Derry group, there are 11 WPIAL wrestlers who will earn medals — Burrell senior Cam Baker (127), McGuffey senior Lucas Barr (133), Bentworth junior Drake McClure (139) and senior Owen Ivcic (160), Frazier senior Jonah Erdely (152) and Elizabeth Forward sophomore Preston Budash (121).
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: Bentworth, Burrell, Derry Area, Elizabeth Forward, Frazier, McGuffey, West Greene
More High School Sports
• High school scores, summaries and schedules for March 6, 2026• What to watch for in WPIAL sports on March 7, 2026: Allderdice-Central Catholic matchup highlights Day 2 of PIAA 1st-round action
• High school roundup for March 6, 2026: WPIAL champ Shady Side Academy girls pull out 1st-round win in OT
• Thomas Jefferson’s Justin Fry cooks New Oxford in PIAA Class 5A 1st round
• Greensburg Central Catholic girls take out frustrations from WPIAL loss, roll in PIAA opener
