Rematch between Norwin, Canon-McMillan headlines 1st round of WPIAL team tournament

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Tuesday, January 28, 2025 | 4:28 PM


When the 2024-25 wrestling season kicked off Dec. 4, Norwin won six of the final seven bouts and rallied to defeat a young Canon-McMillan team 39-20.

They meet again in the first round of the WPIAL Class 3A team tournament at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Bethel Park, and Norwin coach Kyle Martin expects a closer match.

The Knights (12-1) are seeded No. 5, and the Big Macs (8-9) are 12th. The winner will face No. 4 Bethel Park or No. 13 Butler in the quarterfinals.

“We’ll go wherever they put us,” Martin said. “Canon-McMillan will sure be a test, and I expect the match to be tighter. We won some close matches the first time.”

Canon-McMillan coach Jordan Maier said the first match against Norwin was a good test for his young squad. The Big Macs dominated the four heavier weight classes but got only one win in the first nine weight classes.

Maier is excited to see how much his team has improved since that first match.

Another exciting first-round match will be at Connellsville where No. 9 Kiski Area battles county rival No. 8 Latrobe. The winner faces No. 1 Connellsville or No. 17 Shaler in the quarterfinals.

The Latrobe and Kiski Area match should be a close one. The Wildcats seem to have an edge in the lower weights and the Cavaliers in the upper weights.

The 189-pound match could be a good one between No. 1 Hunter Snyder of Latrobe and No. 3 Mark Gray of Kiski Area if the Cavaliers decide to wrestle it.

No. 2 Franklin Regional will host No. 16 Moon, which defeated Peters Township in the preliminary round, and No. 10 Fox Chapel and No. 7 North Allegheny will square off.

“We have continued to get better since counties,” Franklin Regional coach Matt Lebe said. “These guys work hard and thrive to be their best. Winning the section was one of our goals. The next goal is to wrestle for a WPIAL title and qualify for states.”

At Thomas Jefferson, the No. 3 Jaguars host No. 14 North Hills, which defeated Penn-Trafford. The winner will face No. 6 Trinity or No. 11 West Allegheny. Trinity defeated West Allegheny at the Trinity Duals in December.

The WPIAL semifinals and finals are scheduled for Saturday at AHN Arena at Peters Township High School. Class 2A begins at 10 a.m. and Class 3A at 1:30 p.m.

Burrell, Derry squeeze out wins

The top teams in Class 2A tuned up for the WPIAL postseason by leaving District 7 and winning tournaments over the weekend.

No. 1 Burrell went to Bedford and edged Chestnut Ridge, 183-182.5, for the team title at the Thomas Automotive Tournament.

Burrell had two champions, Carter Thomas (121 pounds) and Julian Bertucci (139), and two second-place finishers, Cam Baker (127) and Luke Boylan (215).

Beth-Center and Frazier also had two champions. Mason Wright (133) and Malachi Peak (189) were the Bulldogs’ winners, and Jonah Erdley (152) and Ryan Celaschi (160) won for the Commodores.

Burrell opens the WPIAL tournament Wednesday against Greensburg Salem, which defeated Knoch, 41-29, on Monday. The winner will face No. 8 Southmoreland or No. 9 Jefferson-Morgan in the quarterfinals.

“I like how we’re wrestling,” Burrell coach Steve Ansani said. “We are ready to keep things rolling.”

No. 2 Derry was at West Branch and nipped Central Mountain, 166.5-165, for the team title.

The Trojans’ winner was Mason Horwat (152). Anthony Mucci (133) placed second. Ewan Olson (160) and Brady Brown (189) were third-place finishers.

The Trojans host Avella in the first round. Avella upset Bentworth, 48-27. The winner faces No. 7 Burgettstown or No. 10 Highlands in the quarterfinals.

No. 3 McGuffey will entertain No. 14 Avonworth, which rolled over Central Valley, 54-18. The winner faces No. 6 Beth-Center or No. 11 Laurel.

No. 4 Quaker Valley hosts No. 13 Elizabeth Forward, which defeated Chartiers-Houston, 42-36. The winner faces No. 5 Freedom or No. 12 South Park.

Boni reaches 100

While Central Valley lost its WPIAL Class 2A preliminary-round match to Avonworth, Antonio Boni and his family still were able to celebrate an individual accomplishment.

His first-period pin of Jackson Colussi at 127 pounds was the 100th win of his career.

The junior is 29-2 this season and 100-13 in his career.

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.

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