PIAA approves wrestling regional shakeup affecting western Pa.

By: Paul Schofield
Thursday, October 10, 2024 | 9:48 PM

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The PIAA board of control voted Wednesday to approve the wrestling steering committee’s proposal to make a major change in the individual regional tournaments.

Instead of having five regions in Class 3A, the PIAA reduced the regionals to four with an average of 62.5 teams in each regional.

The committee recommended combining the Southwest Regional (WPIAL) and the Northwest Regional (Districts 5, 8, 9 and 10) to form a West Regional of 64 teams.

The Northeast Regional will feature teams from Districts 2, 4, 11 and 12. They have 61 teams. The South-Central Regional is District 3 with 62 teams, and the Southeast Regional consists of teams from District 1. All four regions will qualify five wrestlers to the state tournament.

“With the decline in larger schools, it was time to make a change,” Canon-McMillan athletic director and WPIAL committee chairman Frank Vulcano Jr. said. “I think it’s good. We tried to do the same in Class 2A, but it didn’t pass this time.”

That means the Class 3A teams from the WPIAL will start the same weekend as Class 2A. The WPIAL 3A finals and West Regional will be held at Canon-McMillan. The Class 2A WPIAL championship will be at Chartiers Valley and the Southwest Regional at Altoona.

“I like it,” new Hempfield coach Brian Kapusta said. “It’s going to make it tougher to get to states with State College, Central Mountain, Altoona, Erie Prep and McDowell now in the region.”

The Class 2A Southwest regional will send seven wrestlers to the state championships.

The WPIAL section tournaments will be held Feb. 15. The host sites are: Norwin, Fox Chapel and South Fayette (Class 3A); and Greensburg Salem, Keystone Oaks and Burgettstown (Class 2A).

The WPIAL finals are Feb. 21-22 and the regionals Feb. 28-March 1.

The PIAA has not determined when and where the team tournament will be held.

Hempfield hires Kapusta

Brian Kapusta recently was hired to coach Hempfield’s wrestling program. He replaces Steve Santia, who resigned.

Kapusta has been working with the wrestlers, and he’s excited for the season to begin. He was a two-time PIAA champion in 1989 and 1990 and a three-time NCAA Division I champion.

“I’ve coached a lot of these guys when they were young, and they know what I expect,” Kapusta said. “The numbers are starting to grow in the junior and youth programs.

“The goal is to get these guys ready to compete for WPIAL and PIAA titles. I can’t wait to get started.”

Mt. Pleasant names Sanders

Gio Vonne Sanders was a standout wrestler and football player at Jeannette.

Mt. Pleasant athletic director James Eckels and the administration feel they are getting someone special to coach their wrestling program. They hired him Monday.

“Gio Vonne was a WPIAL champion (2015), wrestled at Pitt and played football at St. Francis and Western Michigan,” Eckels said. “He also plays pro football in the IFL (Indoor Football League).”

Sanders said his dream is to play in the NFL, but he cannot wait to coach the wrestlers at Mt. Pleasant. He was a two-time PIAA medalist, finishing second in 2016.

“Being that I’m young (26 in November), I believe I’ll be able to relate to the wrestlers. I can’t wait to get started.

“Mt. Pleasant has some good young wrestlers, and I am excited to work with them. I feel I can bring a lot of experience to the program.”

Sanders plays safety, linebacker and cornerback in the IFL.

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.