Westmoreland County wrestling notebook: Norwin’s Ryan Weinzen flashes potential

By: HSSN Staff
Wednesday, January 3, 2018 | 3:41 PM

Nobody at the prestigious Powerade Christmas Tournament wrestled more than Ryan Weinzen.

The Norwin sophomore took part in nine matches, winning six, over the two-day tournament and earned a sixth-place medal.

Weinzen was a Pennsylvania Junior Olympic champion in 2013, winning the 105-pound weight class for ages 9-10.

But Weinzen hasn't spent much time on the mat since. He finished 22-14 as a freshman, but four concussions since 2013 have kept him on the sidelines mostly.

A concussion last summer kept him off the mat until the Powerade Tournament.

“He had a few days of practice and came here and did very well,” Norwin coach Brandon Miller said. “He has a lot of potential.”

After losing to Waynesburg's Kyle Homet, the No. 1 seed at 170 pounds in the preliminary round, Weinzen won six consecutive matches. He lost his next two matches, but Weinzen came away pleased. Homet finished second.

What Weinzen proved to himself is that he still has it.

“I probably should have won the last match,” Weinzen said. “I just went out and did what I've been taught.

“Wrestling has been my life, and I missed it. I was happy I got cleared to wrestle.”

Now he's looking forward to competing in the Westmoreland County Coaches' Association tournament Friday and Saturday at Norwin.

Three-peat

Southmoreland senior Tyler Griffiths, Franklin Regional junior Colton Camacho and Hempfield senior Luke Kemerer are seeking their third titles at the Westmoreland County Coaches' Association tournament.

Kemerer is coming off a second-place finish at the Powerade, and Camacho took third.

Griffiths didn't compete in the Southmoreland Holiday Tournament.

Since the WCCA tournament was established 64 years ago, only 12 wrestlers have won four consecutive championships, and 38 others have won three championships.

Other tournaments

The WCCA tournament isn't the only big tournament this weekend.

Teams from Fayette, Greene and Washington counties will participate in the annual Tri-County Coaches tournament at Trinity.

Waynesburg won the team title in 2017 and Canon-McMillan in '16.

Albert Gallatin's Tim Wallace is seeking his fourth title and Waynesburg's Caleb Morris and Jefferson-Morgan's Gavin Teasdale their third titles. Teasdale is coming off his first career loss at Powerade.

The Midwestern Athletic Conference tournament is at Freedom.

Some of the top teams include Montour, West Allegheny, Freedom, Quaker Valley and Mars.

Connellsville is not competing in the Tri-County tournament, opting to compete at the Central Dauphin Duals near Harrisburg.

Paul Schofield is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at pschofield@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Schofield_Trib.

Tags: Franklin Regional, Hempfield Area, Norwin, Southmoreland