Norwin notebook: Chase Kranitz hits 100-victory wrestling milestone

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Saturday, January 22, 2022 | 11:01 AM

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Chase Kranitz checked off a career milestone when the Norwin wrestling team hit the road for a recent tournament.

The senior 152-pounder recorded his 100th win on the way to a third-place finish at the Escape the Rock Tournament at Council Rock South High School in Holland, Pa.

Kranitz, a Buffalo commit, rebounded from a 4-1 loss to Northampton’s Dagen Condomitti in the semifinals and defeated Christian Brothers Academy’s Tyler Barrett, 5-0, and J.W. Robinson’s Sammy Gerard in the third-place match to finish 5-1.

Kranitz reached 100 wins exactly one year after former teammate John Altieri reached the mat milestone.

“It is an impressive accomplishment, more so recently because of covid cutting last year’s season down tremendously,” Norwin coach Kyle Martin said. “Chase earned every one of his wins through the work that he puts in daily. No one wrestled those matches for him, it’s all about him and how he approaches the sport. All credit goes to Chase, no one can ever take that away from him.”

29-14?

It was a head-scratching score to say the least when Norwin hosted Penn-Trafford Tuesday night in a Section 1-6A girls basketball game.

Neither team managed double digits in any quarter. Each team made six two-pointers, but Norwin hit four 3-pointers while the Warriors went 0 for 8 from 3-point range.

“If you told me before the game Norwin will only score 29 points, I’d say I would like our chances,” Penn-Trafford coach John Giannikas said. “I think both teams defended each other very well, but also missed some looks that they would like to have back. Their length on defense was definitely difficult for us to deal with. It’s very difficult to simulate that in practice. I have never coached in a game like that before. I couldn’t be prouder of our defensive effort.

“I have to do a better job of getting the players in different spots on the court to score.”

Norwin coach Brian Brozeski called the game “One of a kind.”

“Those types of games happen when you play your rival, you just never know how either team is going to react,” he said. “We need to learn from the experience and find a way to normalize situations. Sometimes it looks as though we try too hard to make a play or make a difference, rather than making the simple play that presents itself naturally in the game.”

County events on tap

Two Westmoreland County Coaches Association events are on tap, and Norwin is expected to compete.

The county bowling championships were scheduled for Monday at Lincoln Lanes in Latrobe.

On Friday, the two-day WCCA girls and boys swimming and diving championships will get underway at Derry High School.

College scene

Updates on Norwin athletes competing at the college level:

Women’s basketball

St. Joseph’s: In 10 games, grad guard Alayna Gribble (Norwin) is averaging 7.7 points and 4.6 rebounds in 29.4 minutes. Gribble played at Pitt before taking time off after battling concussions.

Westminster: Senior guard Mara Polczynski (Norwin) had 12 points and three assists, and freshman Mackenzie Powell (Penn-Trafford) added 10 points to pace the Titans (8-5, 5-2) to a 62-56 victory over Bethany in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference.

Polczynski went for 10 points, a season-best eight rebounds and five steals in a 55-35 victory over Franciscan.

Wrestling

Bucknell: Sophomore Kurt Phipps (Norwin) registered a major-decision victory at 133 pounds to pace the Bison to a 31-9 win over Brown.

Phipps moved to 9-1 in duals (4-0 in EIWA duals).

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

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