Fox Chapel’s D’Angelo Hamilton earns spot at PIAA West Region tournament

By: Josh Rizzo
Sunday, March 2, 2025 | 11:01 AM

Fox Chapel wrestling coach Michael Frank said before the WPIAL Class 3A championships that he wasn’t sure how he felt about the PIAA adding a West Regional this season. All WPIAL wrestlers would now have an extra step to qualifying for the state tournament.

The Foxes had one wrestler break through to the regional this year. D’Angelo Hamilton finished in sixth place at heavyweight to earn a spot in the tournament.

Results from the regional were too late for this edition.

Hamilton, who didn’t wrestle his freshman season, has been a consistent winner for the Foxes. His best season with the program came as a junior when he finished with 30 wins and pinned 13 opponents.

During the WPIAL tournament, Hamilton lost to Canon-McMillan’s Owen Rush in the second tiebreaker in the fifth-place match.

This season, Hamilton entered regionals with a 20-12 mark and six pins.

Michael Worsen (121 pounds) fell just short of moving on to regionals. He made the seventh-place match before losing a 3-0 decision to Bethel Park’s Pierce Reinhart in overtime.

Joseph Geller (215 pounds) and Hamilton were the only two Foxes to win in the championship round. No team score was calculated at WPIALs this year.

Fox Chapel finished the season with an 11-4 record and was the runner-up in the section. The Foxes bowed out in the first round of the WPIAL team playoffs, 37-27, to North Allegheny.

Fox Chapel girls have tough go

The Foxes girls wrestling team also sent one representative to the regional tournament. Lauren Bachman qualified at 136 pounds after placing fifth at WPIALs. Bachman had a tough challenge in the first round.

Bachman (13-13) had to take on undefeated two-time WPIAL champion Ava Golding of Kiski Area. Atia DiGiola also finished fifth at 100 pounds at WPIALs and qualified for the West Regional, but didn’t compete at the tournament.

The Foxes’ girls team saw increased participation this season and hopes to keep growing. Fox Chapel saw three wrestlers — Yogi Zhou (18 wins), Emma Srodes (15) and DiGioia (15) — finish with 15 or more wins this season.

Tags: Fox Chapel