Norwin wrestling team looks strong in thumping Penn-Trafford
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Wednesday, January 24, 2024 | 9:57 PM
Norwin’s Landon Sidun takes down Penn-Trafford’s Luke DeSantis during the 121-pound bout Wednesday.
Penn-Trafford’s Jake Lang attempts to take down Norwin’s Gannon Conboy during their 127-pound match Wednesday.
Penn-Trafford’s Dylan Barrett controls Norwin’s Luca Butera during the 107-pound match Wednesday.
Norwin’s Nathan Klingensmith gets back points against Penn-Trafford’s Ivan Ratesic during the 114-pound bout Wednesday.
Norwin prepped for the WPIAL Class 3A team tournament with an impressive performance against rival Penn-Trafford on Wednesday.
The Knights looked like and wrestled like a team that could be dangerous in the playoffs.
Norwin (11-5, 4-1) won 10 of the 13 matches, including four pins, two wins by forfeit and two technical falls in a 53-11 victory in Section 3-3A. The win ended Penn-Trafford’s hopes of making the team tournament, which begins Jan. 29 with preliminary-round action.
The Knights bounced back from a tough loss at home to Franklin Regional on Jan. 17.
“I thought we came out strong,” Norwin coach Kyle Martin said. “We rebounded well from last week’s loss, and I feel we’re ready to make some noise in team tournament.
“I think we can match up with anyone in the top eight. I’m eager to see what happens.”
Things started well for Penn-Trafford as Dylan Barrett recorded a technical fall against Luca Butera at 107 pounds for a quick 5-0 lead.
But the Knights responded with technical-fall wins by Nathan Klingensmith (114) and Landon Sidun (121) and a win by Gannon Conboy (127) for a 13-5 lead.
Penn-Trafford (4-10, 2-3) stopped the early run as Logan Ventura (133) earned a win, but Gage Mamie (139) responded with the Knights’ first pin for a 19-8 lead.
The teams split the next two bouts before the Knights closed with two forfeits and pins by Nathan Campbell (189), Billy Petko (215) and Aiden Pham (285). Campbell pinned the Warriors’ Tasso Whipple.
“That was a good win for Nathan,” Martin said. “Overall, it was a good win for the team.”
Penn-Trafford coach Larry Hohman said there were at least four or five matches in which he felt the team should have performed better.
Penn-Trafford was missing two starters: Hayden Coy and Dylan Clayton.
“I’m not going to risk further injury for a dual match,” Hohman said. “Sure we were short-handed, but we didn’t wrestle to our capabilities. That’s disappointing.
“I told them after the match the rest of the way is all about individuals. We have three weeks left to get healthy and get ready to accomplish their individual goals. We’ll support whatever they want, but the effort has to be better than we showed.”
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, Penn-Trafford
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