Norwin wrestler Landon Sidun looking to make noise in Powerade Tournament

By: Paul Schofield
Tuesday, December 26, 2023 | 4:32 PM

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The name is Landon Sidun.

If you don’t know who he is, you will.

The Norwin freshman is one of the top new faces in the WPIAL this season. He is a wrestler in the Spencer Lee and Gavin Teasdale mold.

Sidun is already making a name for himself.

He recently finished third at 120 pounds in the Beast of the East tournament, falling to PIAA runner-up Quakertown senior Mason Ziegler, 3-2, but coming back to defeat Malvern Prep’s Lukas Littleton Mascaro, 3-2, Seton Hall Prep’s (N.J.) Logan Brzozowski, 3-1, Dodyns-Bennett’s (Tenn.) Mason Jakob, 4-3, and Bethlehem Catholic sophomore Keanu Dillard, 3-1. Dillard is a returning PIAA Class 3A champion, and Littleton Massaro is a returning state prep champion.

Sidun was 8-1 at the Beast of the East, including six wins Sunday.

“He’s really a special wrestler,” Norwin coach Kyle Martin said. “He’s incredible to coach. He’s a hard worker, and he loves to compete. He’s always looking to get better. He had the opportunity to wrestle (113) at the Beast of the East and elected to stay at (120) to face the bigger guys. He defeated the great wrestlers.”

Sidun (20-1) also owns wins against Malvern Prep’s Leo Pezone, 9-1, and Seneca Valley’s Connor Smith, 14-4.

Sidun was a national champion at the USA Junior Nationals in Fargo, N.D., this past summer.

Now the freshman gets ready to battle in the Powerade Wrestling Classic on Friday and Saturday at Canon-McMillan. He is seeded fifth at 114.

“He’s looking forward to the tournament,” Martin said. “He’s prepared to face tough competition once again.”

This year’s Powerade Tournament again features some of the top teams and wrestlers in the country.

There are 70 teams that will be represented. That includes No. 1 Wyoming Seminary, No. 2 Malvern Prep, No. 3 Delbarton, N.J., No. 6 Notre Dame-Green Pond and No. 7 Lake Highlands Prep (Fla.). The top WPIAL teams include Canon-McMillan, Connellsville, Trinity, Norwin, Burrell, Franklin Regional, West Allegheny, Frazier, Bentworth and Thomas Jefferson.

There are 11 returning champions, 10 runners-up and 75 returning placewinners.

Some of the top WPIAL wrestlers looking for titles include returning placewinners Frazier senior Rune Lawrence, Canon-McMillan seniors Andrew Binni and Tanner Mizenko, West Allegheny senior Shawn Taylor and junior Cooper Smith, Thomas Jefferson junior Maddox Shaw, Hempfield senior Eli Carr, Franklin Regional senior Ty Kapusta, Bethel Park senior Mason Kernan, Seneca Valley senior Connor Smith, Trinity senior Bodie Morgan and Central Valley senior Brenan Morgan.

Only three WPIAL wrestlers reached the finals, and West Allegheny’s Ty Watters and Waynesburg’s Rocco Welsh won titles. Waynesburg’s Eli Makel placed second.

Another wrestler to watch is Bishop McCort sophomore Bo Bassett, who recently won a title at the Clarion Open against college wrestlers. Bassett is one of 11 returning champions.

The tournament actually begins at 8 a.m. Friday with three rounds. The quarterfinals start at 7:30 p.m.

Action resumes at 9:30 a.m. Saturday with the sixth round of consolations. The semifinals are set for 11 a.m., and the finals are expected to begin at 4 p.m.

Note: Story has been corrected to clarify Sidun wrestled at 120 pounds at the Beast of the East.

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: Norwin