FR’s Titus Colangelo pulls off upset, Kiski Area’s Mark Gray hits milestone at WPIAL Class 3A wrestling
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Friday, February 21, 2025 | 9:29 PM
Latrobe’s Leo Joseph attempts to turn West Mifflin’s Lashawn Haley during a 121-pound match at the WPIAL Class 3A individual wrestling championships Friday.
Franklin Regional’s Chase Smith attempts to turn Bethel Park’s Seth Miller during a 133-pound match at the WPIAL Class 3A individual wrestling championships Friday.
Penn-Trafford junior Dylan Barrett pins Seneca Valley’s Bryce Berekstazi in 20 seconds at 114 pounds at the WPIAL Class 3A individual wrestling championships Friday.
Franklin Regional’s Mikey Ruane takes down Peters Township’s Dane McMillon during a 127-pound first-round match at the WPIAL Class 3A individual wrestling championships Friday.
Kiski Area senior Mark Gray pins Pine-Richland’s Solomon Weigard for his 100th career victory during the WPIAL Class 3A individual wrestling championships Friday.
Connellsville’s Daniel Smith pins Kiski Area’s John Deluca with a cradle at 127 pounds at the WPIAL Class 3A individual wrestling championships Friday, Feb. 21, 2025.
Franklin Regional’s Ethan Cartwright works on top of Kiski Area’s Travis Shearer during a 160-pound first-round match at the WPIAL Class 3A individual wrestling championships Friday.
Connellsville senior Evan Petrovich (top) dominates Bethel Park’s Ian Bucheli during a 152-poud first-round match at the WPIAL Class 3A individual wrestling championships Friday.
Connellsville sophomore Kai Vielma pins Hempfield’s Jacob Halsted in the first round at the WPIAL Class 3A individual wrestling championships Friday, Feb. 21, 2025.
Belle Vernon senior Kole Doppelheuer pins Armstrong’s Sam Jacobs in the first round at the WPIAL Class 3A individual wrestling championships Friday.
Kiski Area senior Mark Gray locks a cradle on Pine-Richland’s Solomon Weigard during a 189-pound first-round match Friday at the WPIAL Class 3A individual wrestling championships.
Even though he hadn’t beaten Norwin freshman Coleton Klipa in five tries this season, Franklin Regional sophomore Titus Colangelo did not consider the victory over his section rival in the WPIAL Class 3A quarterfinals Friday an upset.
Colangelo has wrestled against Klipa enough times over the years to know what he does well, and this time, he executed his game plan to a “T.”
He used a second-period reversal and fought off Klipa’s attack in the third period for a 2-1 victory that put him in the semifinals at 11:30 a.m. Saturday at Canon-McMillan.
Wrestlers who reach the semifinals also qualify for a spot in the PIAA West Regional on Feb. 28 and March 1 back at Canon-McMillan. The top seven finishers in each weight class advance.
“It was a good win,” Colangelo said. “He’s a very good wrestler. It was a good match every time we’ve wrestled. We’ve probably wrestled eight times over the years.
“I was good on my stance, and I was good fundamentally. I worked a lot on my feet. That’s how I was able to win.”
Colangelo (30-11) was seeded sixth, and Klipa was seeded third. Colangelo will face Penn-Trafford junior Dylan Barrett in the semifinals.
“Advancing to next week was the goal,” Colangelo said. “Now I want to win and, eventually, advance to states. That’s been my goal this season.”
Klipa still has a chance to advance. He must win his first consolation match to have a shot.
Overall, it was a good night for Franklin Regional. The Panthers have 10 still fighting to advance, including three other semifinalists: freshman Beau Fennick (107), sophomore Mikey Ruane (127) and freshman Max Firestine (145).
Connellsville has the most remaining in the tournament (11). The Falcons’ six in the semifinals are sophomore Tommy Gretz (107), junior Zachary Franks (114), sophomore Nolan Rice (121), sophomore Kai Vielma (139), senior Evan Petrovich (152) and senior Lonzy Vielma (160).
Gretz, who was surprisingly seeded No. 7, defeated West Allegheny freshman Michael Johnson, 5-1, in overtime. Johnson was seeded No. 2.
Kiski Area has three in the semifinals: freshman Mario Hutcherson (172), senior Mark Gray (189) and junior Cooper Roscosky (215). They also have three in the consolations. Fox Chapel has seven alive in the consolations.
Gray picked up two wins, including his 100th win of his career when he pinned Pine-Richland’s Solomon Weigand in the first round. He defeated Franklin Regional’s Henry Patts, 5-2, in the quarterfinals but tweaked his right leg during the match.
“Advancing to next week was the goal, but I also want to win,” Gray said. “I want to keep the ball rolling. It’s my last year, and I want to come out on top. The injury is just part of the sport. I’ve had to fight through injuries my entire career.
“Winning my 100th is nice, but my focus is on winning this tournament. I just want to keep moving.”
Gray will face Waynesburg’s Jake Stephenson in the semifinals.
Three Latrobe wrestlers reached the semifinals: Leo Joseph (121), Luke Willochell (133) and Hunter Snyder (189).
Also advancing from Westmoreland County were Belle Vernon junior Elijah Brown, who had two technical fall wins; Hempfield junior Nico Kapusta, who also had two technical fall wins; and Penn-Trafford’s Barrett.
All the returning champions — Peters Township’s Nicholas McGarrity, Willochell, Thomas Jefferson’s Maddox Shaw, Bode Marlow and Shepherd Turk, Petrovich, Butler’s Santino Sloboda and Ringgold’s Jake Conroy — advanced.
The finals are slated for 4 p.m. Saturday.
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.
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