Westmoreland County Senior Spotlight: Franklin Regional’s Juliano Marion

By: Anthony DiFilippo
Sunday, December 24, 2023 | 11:04 AM

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While wrestling might seem like a very individual sport, there are many team aspects to competition.

Only the wrestler can win his contest, of course, but team chemistry is as important as in other sports.

At least that’s the case according to Franklin Regional’s Juliano Marion, who has the group in the back of his mind on the mat, especially during dual meets.

“I’m always looking for that pin to pick up those six points for our team,” Marion said. “Our team chemistry stays up just by simply being excited and hyped up watching each other wrestle.”

Last year, the Panthers went 7-2 but lost in the first round of the WPIAL playoffs.

This season, the competitive nature of FR has stepped up a notch.

“Our team already has a fire lit with high hopes of making a WPIAL run and maybe even a states run,” Marion said of the group’s motivation. “We are already 10-0, winning both the tournaments we’ve been to.”

Marion was one of three Franklin Regional wrestlers to make it to states last year.

That, along with his tenure in the program, gives him the necessary traits to be a leader.

“That makes me excited because I love taking on that role as a guide and the person people look to for help,” Marion said. “My teammates know that I have their back and I will go to war for them.”

He’s coming up on a pretty major milestone for high school wrestlers.

At nine wins on the year and 98 wins for his career, he’s about to eclipse triple digits.

“Hitting 100 wins is definitely something exciting to me,” Marion said. “However, it’s not something that I hadn’t expected myself to hit.”

Before wrestling season, Marion participated in football as well, earning TribLive all-star honorable mention honors as a defensive end.

He does plan to wrestle in college, but he is choosing to keep the process private while he weighs his options.

In the midst of the season, Marion took some time for a Senior Spotlight Q&A:

How did you get started with wrestling?

I got started with wrestling when I was 4 or 5 because of my dad. He thought it would be good for me, and with it being my last year now, I’m glad he did. I owe him a lot of credit.

Coming off states, what kind of momentum did you have coming into the year?

The way I ended at states last year is not what I was expecting. I believe I underperformed a lot at states last year, which gave me a lot of momentum coming into this year because I believe I still have a lot to prove.

How do you stay conditioned to do both football and wrestling?

Staying conditioned is something that has come easy to me because I am always active at all times of the year, whether it’s just getting some workouts in or training for a sport. My conditioning never drops below a level where I don’t think I would be capable of competing in any sport.

What’s your favorite memory from your high school football career?

This may be corny, but my favorite memory about football is the memories I still get to make with the lifelong lasting friendships I built throughout the season.

What is one thing that people might not know about you?

Most people don’t know that I’m a big anime guy because they would look at me and think I’m the type of person to make fun of that stuff. But it’s actually something I do in my everyday life and brings me motivation to push myself.

Tags: Franklin Regional