Top seeds set to battle for WPIAL team wrestling titles

By: Paul Schofield
Friday, January 30, 2026 | 8:50 PM

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The WPIAL wrestling committee got it right.

The top four seeds in Class 3A and Class 2A reached the team tournament final four Saturday at AHN Arena in Peters Township.

Action begins 10 a.m. with the Class 2A semifinals. The Class 3A semifinals begin at 1:30 p.m.

No. 1 Burrell (15-2), which is looking for its 20th Class 2A title, battles first-time finalist No. 4 Laurel (12-4), whereas No. 2 Derry (11-0) faces No. 3 McGuffey (16-1) in a rematch of last year’s semifinal finals won by the Trojans, 46-21.

“McGuffey has a good program, and we have to focus on them before we can think about Burrell,” Derry coach Troy Dolan Jr. said. “We must go out and do our job.

“McGuffey is going to challenge us. We cannot hold back. We must go out and be aggressive.”

Dolan said everyone will be available. When the Trojans finished third at the Westmoreland County Coaches’ Association meet, the team was missing three starters out with injuries: Jeremiah Gess, Ewan Olsen and Brady Brown.

Derry competed in the Ultimate Warrior tournament last week, finishing second to Reynolds.

It had three champions: freshmen Mason Keesecker (107) and Patrick Bulgar (114) and junior Mason Horwat (172).

Burrell coach Steve Ansani said his team is eager to defend its title. The Bucs recently looked strong in winning the Bedford tournament.

Norwin coach Kyle Martin said he hopes his team builds on Wednesday’s impressive 35-31 win against Trinity.

The No. 2-seeded Knights used five pins and a technical fall in the victory.

Now they face hot Canon-McMillan, the third seed. Norwin defeated Canon-McMillan, 31-24, to open the season.

“I am happy we reached the semifinals again,” Martin said. “Now we can figure out how to beat Canon-McMillan again. It is going to be a challenge.”

The other semifinal is a rematch from last year’s final when Franklin Regional defeated Connellsville, 32-25. The Falcons defeated the Panthers, 28-22, in the PIAA tournament in Altoona.

“We respect the heck out of Connellsville,” Franklin Regional coach Matt Lebe said. “They are well coached, they come from a great community that loves wrestling and we enjoy battling them.

“It’s going to be another challenge. I can see the match going different ways. There will be a couple key matches.”

Connellsville coach Bill Swink said one never knows what to expect at this point of the season.

“We have to be ready for anything,” said Swink, who recently reached the 500-win milestone. “Our kids like the battle ahead of them. It should be exciting.”

Connellsville, which lost to Canon-McMillan and St. Edwards (Ohio), has won 15 consecutive matches.

The Panthers have won 16 consecutive.

The Class 2A finals and third-place matches are slated for 11:30 a.m. Class 3A finals and consolation matches begin at 3.

The top four in Class 2A qualify for the state tournament, and the top three in Class 3A advance.

WPIAL Team Wrestling Championship

When: Saturday

Where: AHN Arena, Peters Township High School, McMurray

Class 3A

Semifinals, 1:30 p.m., finals and consolation, 3 p.m.

No. 1 Franklin Regional (16-0) vs. No. 4 Connellsville (16-2)

The Panthers defeated Peters Township (69-0) and Thomas Jefferson (50-16) to reach the semifinals for the third consecutive year. … The Falcons are the only team to make every WPIAL team tournament since it began in 1979. They have won eight WPIAL titles. … Franklin Regional defeated Connellsville, 32-25, in the 2025 finals. … Connellsville defeated Penn-Trafford, 50-11, and Kiski Area, 47-18, to reach the finals. … The Panthers have won three WPIAL titles (2014, 2015, 2025) and have made the playoffs 19 consecutive season and 20 overall.

Wrestlers to watch: Connellsville: junior Kai Vielma (145), junior Tommy Gretz (121) and junior Nolan Rice (127). Franklin Regional: sophomore Beau Fennick (114), junior Michael Ruane (152) and sophomore Max Firestine (145).

No. 2 Norwin (11-1) vs. No. 3 Canon-McMillan (10-3)

Norwin defeated Canon-McMillan, 31-24, to open the season. … The Knights defeated Seneca Valley, 54-18, and Trinity, 35-31, to reach the semifinals. … The Big Macs defeated Belle Vernon, 44-25, and North Allegheny, 50-12, to advance to the semifinals. … Since the team tournament began in 1979, Canon-McMillan has won 10 titles. … Norwin’s record in the team tournament is 11-11.

Wrestlers to watch: Norwin: junior Landon Sidun (121), junior Coleton Klipa (127) and freshman Noah Curran (152). Canon-McMillan: freshman Lee Dreshman (107), senior Collier Hartman (139) and sophomore Giono Gardner (121).

Class 2A

Semifinals, 10 a.m., finals and consolation, 11:30 p.m.

No. 1 Burrell (15-2) vs. No. 4 Laurel (17-3)

Burrell is going after its 20th WPIAL title and 18th in the past 20 years. The Bucs are 79-14 and have made the playoffs 27 consecutive years. They defeated Southmoreland, 51-20, and Beth-Center, 51-19. … Burrell has won the past two titles after Quaker Valley and Burgettstown won in 2022 and 2023. … Laurel is in the semifinals for the first time. Its playoff record is 5-8. It defeated Freedom, 54-16, and Jefferson-Morgan, 42-30. It has made the playoffs nine times.

Wrestlers to watch: Burrell: senior Cam Baker (127), senior Julian Bertucci (152) and senior Jacob Stewart (139). Laurel: senior Kolton Carlson (215), senior Casey Wilson (285) and senior Braxton Carr (172).

No. 2 Derry (11-0) vs. No. 3 McGuffey (16-1)

Derry has reached the WPIAL semifinals 11 times and the WPIAL finals in Class 3A and 2A four times. The Trojans are looking for their first title. Their playoff record is 32-24. They crunched Highlands, 68-3, and Greensburg Salem, 64-6. Derry defeated McGuffey, 46-21, in last year’s semifinals. … The Highlanders have won three team-tournament WPIAL titles, all in Class 3A. They won a fourth title in 1976, before the team tournament began in 1979. Their playoff record is 69-27. They have made the WPIAL semifinals 18 times. The Highlanders took care of Bentworth, 45-29, and Burgettstown, 51-24.

Wrestlers to watch: Derry: freshman Mason Keesecker (107), freshman Patrick Bulger (114) and junior Mason Horwat (172). McGuffey: junior Tucker Main (121), senior Emmett Wolfe (145) and senior Lucas Barr (139).

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.