No. 2 Connellsville too much for Latrobe wrestlers

By: Paul Schofield
Wednesday, January 10, 2024 | 9:53 PM

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Connellsville 44, Latrobe 25

107: Nolan Rice (C) p. Brody Bronson, 3:22.

114: Leo Joseph (L) major dec. Landon Lynn, 12-1.

121: Luke Willochell (L) p. Zach Franks, 4:43.

127: Jacob Braun (L) p. Chase Sparks, 5:10.

133: Kai Vielma (C) tech fall Austin Laidacker, 23-7 (4:33).

139: Julian Ruggieri (C) p. Brady Cole, 3:27.

*145: Evan Petrovich (C) won by forfeit.

152: Lucas Braun (L) dec. Carter Wilson, 7-3 (TB1).

160: Lonzy Vielma (C) p. Cole Short, 1:26.

172: Nick Rohal (C) p. Braden Bronson, 3:47.

189: Hunter Snyder (L) p. Cooper Lembo, 5:35.

215: Chris Cook (C) dec. Cody Krall, 2-1 (TB1).

285: Tyler Gallis (C) p. Marco Scarton, 1:58.

(*) matched started at 145 pounds.

Records: C 2-0, 6-1; L 2-1, 4-3.

Latrobe wrestling coach Mark Mears knew if his team had a shot at upsetting No. 2 Connellsville, it had to stay away from pins Wednesday.

Unfortunately for the No. 8 Wildcats, the Falcons were a pinning machine in their first-place battle in Section 34-3A. Connellsville recorded five pins and received a forfeit in a 44-25 victory.

The Falcons (6-1, 2-0) also got a technical fall and an overtime win.

“That’s a good team, probably the best team in Class 3A,” Mears said. “They don’t have any holes and are well-coached. But I’m proud of the way we wrestled. I knew once we’d get our lineup set, we’d be tough.”

The match started at 145 pounds, and Mears decided to forfeit to Evan Petrovich and bump up his lineup.

“I knew we could win five matches. I was looking for a couple more,” Mears said. “Lucas didn’t realize he could pin a guy in overtime and stopped, and we lost the other overtime match.”

Lucas Braun scored a 7-3 overtime win at 152, but the Falcons countered with pins by Lonzy Vielma (160) and Nick Rohal (172) to extend their lead to 18-3.

“Latrobe’s a good team, and it will be a tough out in the playoffs,” Connellsville coach Bill Swink said. “I felt we wrestled well. We split the two overtime matches. They got some good kids, and I think we have a little more depth right now.”

Freshman Hunter Snyder cut the Falcons’ lead to 18-9 with a pin at 189, but the Falcons won the next three to push the lead to 33-9.

Chris Cook used an escape in overtime to win the 215-pound match, and Tyler Gallis (285) and Nolan Rice (107) collected falls.

“Our big guys won, and I figured if they won the toss, they’d forfeit to Petrovich,” Swink said. “It didn’t change the results too much. We get North Allegheny on Saturday. That should be a big one for us.”

Latrobe made a run by winning the next three bouts to close to within 33-24.

Leo Joseph, whose dad, Drew, wrestled at Connellsville, won a major decision at 114. Luke Willochell survived an early flurry from Zach Franks and eventually recorded a pin at 121, and Jacob Braun got a pin at 127.

But the Falcons iced the match with a technical fall by Kai Vielma at 133 and a pin by Julian Ruggieri at 139.

“We were winning 172 and got pinned, and that can’t happen,” Mears said. “I’m encouraged. We could be a top-three team. They have a little more depth and a solid team.”

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: Connellsville, Latrobe