High school wrestling notebook: WPIAL section titles on line

By: Paul Schofield
Tuesday, January 21, 2025 | 8:47 PM

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This is the final week of WPIAL Class 3A and 2A section competition.

That’s because the WPIAL team tournament begins Monday with preliminary-round matches.

However, there could be a few teams scrambling to meet the seven dual-meet minimum to qualify for the playoffs.

The top two teams in each of the nine sections along with two wild-card teams in each classification selected by the wrestling committee will fill out the bracket.

The final day of section competition is scheduled for Wednesday. Playoff qualifiers who haven’t met the seven- match minimum will have until Sunday to do so.

The first round and quarterfinals are to begin Jan. 29, and the semifinals and finals are slated for Feb. 1 at AHN Arena at Peters Township.

Here is a look at each section, which teams have qualified and important Wednesday matches.

Class 3A

Section 1: Moon (2-0, 7-4) and West Allegheny (2-0, 11-10) are in and square off at Moon for the title.

Section 2: Trinity (3-0, 5-2) and Canon-McMillan (3-0, 8-8) are in and battle at Canon-McMillan for the title.

Section 3: Bethel Park (3-0, 8-1) is in. The winner of Mt. Lebanon (2-1, 4-6) at Peters Township (2-1, 10-8) will qualify.

Section 4: North Allegheny (3-0, 13-2) and Butler (3-0, 7-2) are in. The section title will be decided at Butler.

Section 5: Fox Chapel (3-0, 9-2) and Kiski Area (3-0, 12-4) are in. They face off at Kiski Area for the title.

Section 6: If Central Catholic (1-1, 6-8) defeats North Hills (2-0, 7-3) and Shaler (1-1, 5-1) defeats Penn Hills (0-2, 2-3), a three-way tie would occur. If North Hills and Shaler win, they are in.

Section 7: Thomas Jefferson (4-0, 9-0) is in. The winner of Ringgold (2-1, 8-1) at Belle Vernon (2-1, 3-1) is in.

Section 8: Connellsville (2-0, 4-1) and Latrobe (2-0, 5-3) are in. The section title will be decided at Connellsville.

Section 9: Franklin Regional (3-0, 12-0) and Norwin (3-0, 12-0) are in. They meet at Norwin for the section title.

Class 2A

Section 1: Chartiers-Houston (2-0, 5-0) and McGuffey (2-0, 12-5) are in. The section title will be decided at McGuffey.

Section 2: Burgettstown (2-0, 6-2) needs a win and or an Avella loss to clinch. South Side (0-2, 3-3) could create a three-way tie with a win and a Burgettstown loss.

Section 3: Bentworth (3-0, 6-5) is in. Beth-Center (2-1, 5-7), Jefferson- Morgan (2-1, 8-3) and Frazier (1-2, 5-11) are still alive.

Section 4: Laurel (3-0, 15-3) is in. If Ellwood City (2-1, 2-1) wins, it is in. If it loses and Knoch (1-2, 3-3) defeats Summit Academy, it is in.

Section 5: Central Valley (2-0, 5-6) and Freedom (2-0, 10-2) are in. The section title will be decided at Central Valley.

Section 6: If Quaker Valley (2-0, 9-4) wins at Keystone Oaks (1-1, 5-7), it is in. If Keystone Oaks wins and Avonworth (1-1 2-7) defeats Carlynton (0-2, 1-8), a three-way tie will occur, and the qualifiers will be decided by a tiebreaker.

Section 7: Southmoreland (4-0, 7-6) has clinched. South Park (2-1, 10-2) at Elizabeth Forward (2-1, 2-1) winner qualifies.

Section 8: Derry (2-0, 14-2) is in. The winner of the Greensburg Salem (1-1, 6-0) at Ligonier Valley (1-1, 3-12) also qualifies.

Section 9: Burrell (3-0, 9-1) and Highlands (3-0, 10-4) are in. The section title will be decided at Highlands.

New No. 1 at Highlands

Highlands senior Aiden Burford became the school’s all-time winningest wrestler with his fifth-place finish at the Allegheny County Wrestling Championship.

Burford (24-6, 125-37) passed Richie Bass (2011).

“I got started wrestling watching my brother (Jrake) compete,” Burford said. “It was a goal to pass Bass, but I’m not done. I’d like to reach 150 wins.”

Burford said he’s not sure what sport he’ll pursue in college. He’s also a wide receiver and linebacker in football.

Derry juniors win county title

The Derry junior high team claimed the Westmoreland County title Jan. 18 at Mt. Pleasant.

The Trojans finished with 291.5 points and six champions and 14 total place finishers. Kiski Area was second with 267 points. The Cavs had two champions and 16 placewinners.

Derry’s winners were Will McNeal (145), Cael Brown (130), Camden Olsen (122), Mason Keesecker (94), Mickey McNeal (108) and Ty Blasko (155). Haydyn Horwat (80) placed second.

Ashton Taylor (190) and Benjamin Murphy (138) won titles for Kiski Area.

Latrobe was third with 246.5 points and three champions and 13 placewinners.

The Wildcat winners were Gamin Owens (250), Maddox Mehalic (87) and Sebastian Shine (122).

Penn-Trafford and Ligonier Valley each had two champions.

Winning for the Warriors were Brooks Burmeister (115) and Jax Brentzel (101), and winning for the Rams were Levi Foust (170) and Nathan Bednareck (210).

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.