Latrobe’s Vinny Kilkeary, Waynesburg’s Mac Church win 3rd WPIAL titles
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Saturday, March 4, 2023 | 2:02 PM
Latrobe senior Vinny Kilkeary tries to keep Canon-McMillan junior Andrew Binni from fleeing the mat in the 127-pound final Saturday, March 4, 2023 at the WPIAL Class 3A tournament at Canon-McMillan.
Latrobe senior Vinny Kilkeary pins Connellsville sophomore Evan Petrovich during a 127-pound semifnal at the WPIAL Class 3A tournament Saturday.
Latrobe senior Vinny Kilkeary takes down Baldwin’s Ramil Islamov during a 127-pound quarterfinal at the WPIAL Class 3A wrestling tournament Friday at Canon-McMillan.
Penn-Trafford heavyweight Joe Enick leaps into the arms of coach Travis McKillop after his win in the semifinals against Pine-Richland’s Joey Schncek at the WPIAL Class 3A wrestling tournament Saturday at Canon-McMillan.
Penn-Traff0rd senior heavyweight Joe Enick looks to coach Travis McKillop to celebrate a dramatic WPIAL Class 3A semifinal win against Pine-Richland’s Joey Schneck at the WPIAL Class 3A wrestling tournament Saturday at Canon-McMillan.
Waynesburg’s Brody Evans celebrates his semifinal win at 189 pounds at the WPIAL Class 3A wrestling tournament Saturday at Canon-McMillan.
Hempfield senior Elijah Binakonsky tries to pin Armstrong’s Connor Jacobs during a 215-pound semifinal at the WPIAL Class 3A wrestling tournament Saturday at Canon-McMillan.
Armstrong’s Connor Jacobs covers the eyes of Hempfield senior Elijah Binakonsky during a 215-pound semifinal at the WPIAL Class 3A wrestling tournament Saturday at Canon-McMillan.
Hempfield junior Eli Carr reverses Trinity’s Blake Reihner during a 139-pound semifnal at the WPIAL Class 3A wrestling tournament Saturday at Canon-McMillan.
Hempfield senior Lucas Kapusta tries to escape from Thomas Jefferson’s Bode Marlow during a 152-pound semifnal at the WPIAL Class 3A wrestling tournament Saturday at Canon-McMillan.
Franklin Regional junior Ty Kapusta is wrapped up like a pretzel by Seneca Valley junior Cooper Smith during a 114-pound semifinal at the WPIAL Class 3A wrestling tournament Saturday at Canon-McMillan.
Franklin Regional junior Tyler Kapusta looks to the official asking if it’s a two-point takedown against Seneca Valley junior Cooper Smith during a 114-pound semifinal at the WPIAL Class 3A wrestling tournament Saturday at Canon-McMillan. Waynesburg’s Mac Church and Latrobe’s Vinny Kilkeary seem to agree with Kapusta.
Butler freshman Santino Sloboda tries to put North Allegheny’s Gus Stedeford on his back in a 107-pound semifinal at the WPIAL Class 3A wrestling tournament Saturday at Canon-McMillan.
Kiski Area senior Ryan Klingensmth takes Trinity’s Dom Canali to his back during a 121-pound semifinal at the WPIAL Class 3A wrestling tournament Saturday at Canon-McMillan.
Latrobe senior Nate Roth tries to escape the grasp of Hempfield junior Eli Carr during the 139-pound final at the WPIAL Class 3A tournament Saturday, March 4, 2023 at Canon-McMillan.
Chartiers Valley senior Dylan Evans tries to pull West Allegheny junior Shawn Taylor back on to the mat during the 160-pound final at the WPIAL Class 3A tournament Saturday, March 4, 2023.
Hempfield senior Ethan Lebin (left) battles Thomas Jefferson sophomore Maddox Shaw in the 133-pound final Saturday, March 4, 2023 at the WPIAL Class 3A tournament at Canon-McMillan.
Latrobe senior Vinny Kilkeary and Waynesburg senior Mac Church joined an elite group Saturday at the WPIAL/PIAA Southwest Regional Class 3A wrestling tournament at Canon-McMillan High School.
They became the 86th and 87th members of the three-time WPIAL champions club.
Kilkeary (25-0) won his third consecutive title by dominating Canon-McMillan junior Andrew Binni, 10-4, in the 127-pound final.
It was a match that saw Binni use little offense and wrestle near the edge of the mat.
Kilkeary kept the pressure on and came away with four takedowns. Binni’s points came on escapes.
“I definitely feel I left some points on the mat in the finals,” Kilkeary said. “It happens. It was hard to score because he wrestled a certain way. I changed my style a little.
“If you look back at the records of people who were three- and four-time champions and see what they did in college, I feel it’s a huge leap in my career. I just want to keep moving forward.”
Church defeated West Allegheny senior Nico Taddy, 8-3, in the 145-pound final. His previous titles came in 2020 and 2022.
Latrobe sophomore Luke Willochell claimed his second consecutive WPIAL Class 3A title with a heard-earned 5-4 victory against Franklin Regional junior Tyler Kapusta at 114 pounds.
Willochell, who gave up a reversal, used a takedown in the third period to pull out the win. It was the third time this season that Willochell has defeated Kapusta.
“We’ve wrestled three times this year, and he’s got my number a little bit,” Willochell said of Kapusta. “He had a good gameplan. It was good to pull out the win and claim another title.
“It’s awesome to win another title. I’m on the board at school with guys like Luke Pletcher, Zac Zavatsky and Vinny Kilkeary and guys like that. To be in the conversation like that with those guys is amazing.”
Waynesburg senior Rocco Welsh (172 pounds) captured his second consecutive title with a default victory against Canon-McMillan senior Matt Furman. He was leading 12-3 when the match was stopped by Canon-McMillan coach Brian Krenzelak.
Welsh (39-0) was named the outstanding wrestler.
Two other wrestlers, Hempfield senior Ethan Lebin and Chartiers Valley senior Dylan Evans, were denied their second titles.
Lebin dropped a 2-1 decision to Thomas Jefferson sophomore Maddox Shaw at 133, and Evans fell to West Allegheny junior Shawn Taylor, 3-2, in the ultimate tiebreaker.
Canon-McMillan junior Tanner Mizenko wasn’t pleased with his seeding or ranking this season. So the No. 2 seed went out and showed people what he was made of when he pinned No. 1 seed and unbeaten Butler freshman Santino Sloboda in the second period of the 107-pound weight class.
Kiski Area senior Ryan Klingensmith won his first WPIAL title by easily whipping Chartiers Valley senior Brad Joling, 11-2. Klingensmith used a five-point move (reversal and three-point nearfall) in the second period to take a commanding lead.
Winning their first titles were Hempfield junior Eli Carr (139), West Allegheny senior Ty Watters (152), Pine-Richland sophomore Vaughn Spencer (189), Waynesburg senior Eli Makel (215) and Trinity senior heavyweight Ty Banco.
Carr used a five-point move in the last 15 seconds to stun Latrobe senior Nate Roth, 6-5. Roth used a five-point move in the third period to take a 5-1 lead.
“There was a blood timeout, and coach (Vince DeAugustine) told me don’t stop moving and keep creating motion and that’s what I did. I found myself on top, and I figured I had to go with something and I got the cross wrist and said go for it and I went with the cross-wrist tilt, and it paid off.”
Watters jumped on Hempfield senior Luca Kapusta early and recorded a pin.
Spencer (27-0) continued to shine with a 5-1 win against Waynesburg junior Brody Evans.
Makel showed why he’s the top 215 pounder in the WPIAL with a 5-1 victory against Armstrong senior Connor Jacobs, and Banco used a hip toss to pin Penn-Trafford senior Joe Enick in the first period.
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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