Kilkeary, Roth questionable for WCCA wrestling tournament

By: Paul Schofield
Tuesday, January 3, 2023 | 6:29 PM

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Latrobe senior Vinny Kilkeary has a chance to become the 58th wrestler in the 70 years of the Westmoreland County Coaches’ Association tournament to win three titles.

But it’s unknown if the Ohio State commit will risk further injury and compete in this year’s tournament, which returns to Greensburg Salem on Friday and Saturday.

Kilkeary (4-0) has an upper body injury and hasn’t wrestled since Dec. 3, when he won the Hickory Invitational with four pins.

“I’m not sure yet if we’re going to let him and Nate (Roth) compete,” Latrobe coach Mark Mears said. “There are much bigger things down the road for both of teams. I know they are eager to compete.”

Kilkeary is a three-time county finalist and won the 113-pound title in 2021 and the 120-pound title in ‘22. He’s also a two-time PIAA Class 3A champion.

Roth won his title in 2020 at 120 pounds, but injuries have hindered him the past two seasons.

“Nate has been cleared to wrestle by the doctor,” Mears said. “We’ll see how it goes.”

There are seven other wrestlers looking to win their second titles: Latrobe sophomores Luke Willochell (106) and Leo Joseph (113), Hempfield senior Ethan Lebin (126), Hempfield junior Eli Carr (132), Franklin Regional junior Juliano Marion (189), Burrell junior Cooper Hornack (106, 2021) and Kiski Area senior Ryan Klingensmith (120, 2021).

Willochell and Lebin are PIAA Class 3A runners-up.

Latrobe was the team champion in 2022. Franklin Regional won it in 2021.

Action is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. Friday and resume at 9 a.m. Saturday. The semifinals are scheduled to start at 11:30 a.m. The consolation finals will be at 4 p.m., the Parade of Champions at 5:30 and finals at 6.

“This looks like we have good balance this season in every weight class,” Franklin Regional coach Matt Lebe said. “The county tournament is special to many of the wrestlers. It’s an honor to win a county title.”

Lebin said winning the county tournament means a lot because wrestlers get to compete against opponents they know well.

The teams scheduled to compete in the tournament are: Belle Vernon, Burrell, Derry Area, Franklin Regional, Greensburg Salem, Hempfield, Kiski Area, Kiski School, Latrobe, Ligonier Valley, Mt. Pleasant, Norwin, Penn-Trafford, Southmoreland, Valley and Yough.

Tri-County AD Association event

Canon-McMillan will host the annual TRCADA wrestling tournament Friday and Saturday.

This tournament includes teams from Allegheny, Fayette, Greene and Washington counties. There also will be a junior high tournament Friday and Saturday at Canon-McMillan.

Action begins 5 p.m. Friday with the round of 32, round of 16 and quarterfinals.

Saturday’s action resumes at 9:45 a.m. with round three of consolations. The semifinals are at 11 a.m., the parade of champions at 2:10 p.m. and the finals and third- and fifth-place matches at 2:30.

Teams competing are Albert Gallatin, Bentworth, Beth-Center, Burgettstown, Canon-McMillan, Chartiers-Houston, Fort Cherry, Frazier, Jefferson-Morgan, McGuffey, Peters Township, Ringgold, South Fayette, Trinity, Washington, Waynesburg and West Greene.

Those teams, along with Avella, will be competing in the junior high tournament

Returning champions include Burgettstown’s Parker Sentipal (106), Waynesburg’s Ky Szewczyk (113), Waynesburg’s Joe Simon (126), Burgettstown’s Joey Sentipal (132), Jefferson-Morgan’s Chase Frameli (145), Beth-Center’s Tyler Berish (152), Waynesburg’s Rocco Welsh (172), Ringgold’s Jake Conroy (189) and Waynesburg’s Eli Makel (215).

Showdowns

There are two big dual meets in Westmoreland County on Wednesday.

There is a Section 3 (3A) battle at Hempfield as the Spartans (1-0, 5-2) face Latrobe (1-0, 4-1) in a first-place showdown.

Another huge match features upstart Frazier (2-0, 4-2) against Mt. Pleasant (2-0, 3-4) in a match that could decide the Section 2 (2A) champion.

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: Belle Vernon, Burrell, Derry Area, Franklin Regional, Greensburg Salem, Hempfield, Kiski Area, Kiski School, Latrobe, Ligonier Valley, Mt. Pleasant, Norwin, Penn-Trafford, Southmoreland, Valley, Yough