Franklin Regional, Burrell receive top seeds for 2026 WPIAL wrestling tournament

By: Paul Schofield
Thursday, January 22, 2026 | 1:57 PM

Previous Next

A pair of returning champions from Westmoreland County earned the top seeds when the WPIAL wrestling committee seeded the Class 3A and Class 2A tournaments.

The preliminary and first-round pairings were released Thursday, and 2025 champions Franklin Regional in Class 3A and Burrell in Class 2A were tabbed as favorites.

The second seeds went to Norwin (3A) and Derry (2A).

The tournament begins Wednesday with the preliminary round, first round and quarterfinals, and the semifinals and finals are set for Jan. 30 at Peters Township’s AHN Arena.

Class 2A semifinals will be at 10 a.m. with the finals at 11:30. Class 3A follows with the semifinals at 1:30 p.m. and finals at 3.

Canon-McMillan, Connellsville and Kiski Area rounded out the top five seeds in Class 3A.

In Class 2A, McGuffey, Laurel and Jefferson Morgan were seeded third through fifth.

Franklin Regional (14-0), Derry (10-0) and Jefferson Morgan (10-0) are the only undefeated teams in the brackets.

Class 3A

The top-seeded Panthers will face the winner of the match between Peters Township (8-10) and Shaler (3-1). That winner will then face the winner of the match between Thomas Jefferson (12-2) and Moon (9-2).

The times for Wednesday’s matches are 4:30 p.m. in the preliminary round, 6 p.m. in the first round and 7:15 p.m. for the quarterfinals.

“I figured we would get either Moon or Trinity,” Franklin Regional coach Matt Lebe said. “We will have to wrestle well to win. I am looking forward to it.”

Norwin (9-2) earned the second seed and will face the winner of the match between Armstrong (8-2) and Seneca Valley (8-3). The winner faces the winner of the match between Trinity (10-2) and West Allegheny (11-5) in the quarterfinals.

Norwin coach Kyle Martin said he was surprised that Trinity was seeded No. 7. He felt the Hillers were better than teams ahead of them.

“It is going to be a test,” Martin said. “If we want to get back to the semifinals, we will have to learn how to finish.”

Canon-McMillan (8-3) was awarded the third seed and could face No. 6 North Allegheny (10-1), which defeated the Big Macs, 35-27, in December.

Connellsville (12-2), which lost to Canon-McMillan and Cleveland St. Edward, was given the fourth seed. No. 5 seed Kiski Area (15-2) lost to the Falcons but owns wins against Canon-McMillan, North Allegheny and Burrell.

Class 2A

Burrell (12-2) got the No. 1 seed over No. 2 Derry despite the Trojans (10-0) being undefeated.

The Bucs wrestled a tougher schedule and have won 19 Class 2A titles since 1997. Missing out in 2022 and 2023, the Bucs have won 17 titles in the past 19 years.

Burrell faces the winner of the match between Knoch (4-2) and Southmoreland (7-3). That winner then faces the winner of the match between Quaker Valley (4-7) and Beth-Center (8-4).

Burrell coach Steve Ansani said he was not surprised his team was seeded No. 1.

“We are a solid team, and we can compete against any team in the public school level,” Ansani said. “I figured being the defending champion that we would be seeded No. 1. We are wrestling well as a team.”

Derry is looking for its first WPIAL title. The Trojans placed second four times.

Derry coach Troy Dolan Jr. said he was not surprised or disappointed that his team was seeded second.

“I assumed we were not getting the No. 1 seed,” Dolan said. “We beat good teams (Laurel, Quaker Valley, West Allegheny, Mt. Lebanon and Palmyra) at the Moon Duals. Our schedule was set up to aid the individuals.”

Derry finished third at the Westmoreland County Coaches’ Association tournament and was missing three starters: Jeremiah Gess, Ewan Olson and Brady Brown.

Dolan said all three will return to the lineup soon.

“No matter what, we still have to face good teams in the tournament,” Dolan said. “There is a chance we will face a scrappy McGuffey team just to get a shot at Burrell.”

Derry will face the winner of the match pitting Highlands (10-3) and Central Valley (6-6). That winner will move on to face the winner of the match between Elizabeth Forward (5-3) and Greensburg Salem (10-5).

McGuffey (14-1) is seeded third, Laurel (15-3) is fourth and Jefferson-Morgan (10-0) is fifth.

Wrestling

WPIAL team tournament

Class 3A

Wednesday’s schedule

Preliminary round

Peters Township (8-10) vs. Shaler (3-1) at Franklin Regional, 4:30 p.m.

Baldwin (4-6) vs. Penn-Trafford (5-8) at Connellsville, 4:30 p.m.

Belle Vernon (6-4) vs. Mars (6-5) at Canon-McMillan, 4:30 p.m.

Armstrong (8-2) vs. Seneca Valley (8-3) at Norwin, 4:30 p.m.

First round

Peters Township/Shaler winner at Franklin Regional (14-0), 6 p.m.

Thomas Jefferson (12-2) vs. Moon (9-2) at Franklin Regional, 6 p.m.

Kiski Area (15-2) vs. North Hills (8-2) at Connellsville, 6 p.m.

Baldwin/Penn-Trafford winner at Connellsville (12-2), 6 p.m.

Belle Vernon/Mars winner at Canon-McMillan (8-3), 6 p.m.

Latrobe (6-3) vs. North Allegheny (10-1) at Canon-McMillan, 6 p.m.

Trinity (10-2) vs. West Allegheny (11-5) at Norwin, 6 p.m.

Armstrong/Seneca Valley winner at Norwin (9-2), 6 p.m.

Class 2A

Wednesday’s schedule

Preliminary round

Knoch (4-2) vs. Southmoreland (8-3) at Burrell, 4:30 p.m.

Avonworth (3-6) vs. Freedom (5-5) at Laurel, 4:30 p.m.

Bentworth (3-2) vs. Keystone Oaks (7-4) at McGuffey, 4:30 p.m.

Highlands (7-4) vs. Central Valley (6-5) at Derry, 4:30 p.m.

First round

Knoch/Southmoreland winner at Burrell (13-2), 6 p.m.

Quaker Valley (2-8) vs. Beth-Center (8-4) at Burrell, 6 p.m.

Jefferson-Morgan (11-0) vs. Avella (12-8) at Laurel, 6 p.m.

Avonworth/Freedom winner at Laurel (14-3), 6 p.m.

Bentworth/Keystone Oaks winner at McGuffey (14-1), 6 p.m.

Chartiers-Houston (8-3) vs. Burgettstown (2-0) at McGuffey, 6 p.m.

Elizabeth Forward (5-2) vs. Greensburg Salem (10-5) at Derry, 6 p.m.

Highlands/Central Valley winner at Derry (10-0), 6 p.m.

*Quarterfinals will follow first-round matches at 7:30 p.m.

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.