No seed, no problem for Penn-Trafford’s Luke DeSantis at Class 3A regionals

By: Paul Schofield
Friday, February 28, 2025 | 9:45 PM

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Sometimes in life, it is the luck of the draw.

Penn-Trafford sophomore Luke DeSantis came into the PIAA Class 3A West Region on Friday unseeded. But he made a name for himself by advancing to Saturday’s semifinals with a pair of wins.

Any wrestler to reach the semifinals needs only one victory to qualify for the PIAA wrestling championships March 6-8 at Giant Center in Hershey. The top five in each weight class qualify for states.

This is only the second time wrestlers had to qualify in a region tournament. They are competing against those from Districts 6, 8, 9 and 10.

DeSantis is one of 10 Westmoreland County wrestlers to reach the semifinals.

He defeated Meadville’s Ben Fuller, the District 10 champion, 7-4 in the opening round and followed that with a 7-0 victory against Fox Chapel senior Michael Worsen in the quarterfinals. Worsen was added to the tournament because the 121-pound champion from District 8 pulled out.

Now he faces Latrobe senior Leo Joseph in the semifinals, which begin at 10:30 a.m.

DeSantis has been overshadowed junior Dylan Barrett all season. Barrett also advanced with two easy wins at 114.

He pinned Brashear’s Bruce Flores in 46 seconds and then handled Section 8 rival Coleton Klipa of Norwin, 10-2.

DeSantis has not won any tournaments but placed second at the Westmoreland County Coaches’ Association tournament, fourth in sections and fifth at WPIALs last week.

“I am just focused on one match at a time,” DeSantis said. “I knew I could win. I just had to wrestle my match.

“I face Leo again. I know what I must do. I just want to go out and have fun.”

It was the second consecutive week he defeated Worsen.

“I was not focused on seeds,” DeSantis said. “I was confident after I got past the first round.

“Working out with Dylan in the room has really helped me. He pushes me to my limits, and that prepares me for the tough matches.”

Latrobe had a perfect day on the mats as senior Leo Joesph (121), senior Luke Willochell (133) and sophomore Hunter Snyder (189) advanced with two wins each.

Willochell will face Canon-McMillan junior Collier Hartman, and Snyder takes on No. 1 seed Avery Aurand of Mifflin County.

Kiski Area freshman Mario Hutcherson (172) and junior Cooper Roscosky (215) advanced. Both have tough semifinal matches.

Hutcherson faces the No. 1 wrestler in the state in State College’s Asher Cunningham, and Roscosky goes against Central Catholic’s Roman Thompson.

For the second consecutive week Franklin Regional sophomore Titus Colangelo has reached the semifinals at 114. He’ll face Hempfield junior Nico Kapusta. The Panthers have four others alive in the consolation round.

Belle Vernon junior Elijah Brown had two first-period pins in less than 47 seconds to reach the semifinals. He will face Mon Valley rival Jake Conroy of Ringgold. They have split their matches this season.

Thomas Jefferson leads Connellsville, 55-48, in the team standings.

The four Falcons to advance were sophomore Nolan Rice (127), sophomore Kai Vielma (139), senior Evan Petrovich (152) and senior Lonzy Vielma (160), who won his 150th match.

TJ’s semifinalists are freshman Zach Rehak (107), senior Maddox Shaw (152), senior Brayden White (160), senior Bode Marlow (172) and senior heavyweight Turk Shepherd.

The finals are slated for 3 p.m.

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.