WPIAL Class 3A wrestling season preview: Connellsville in position to repeat
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Tuesday, November 26, 2024 | 11:01 AM
A look at the 2024-25 WPIAL Class 3A wrestling season:
The Favorite
Reigning Class 3A Champion Connellsville lost one starter, Nick Rohal at 172 pounds, to graduation.
The Falcons have a huge roster (40) that could field three teams.
Heading the returnees are four PIAA qualifiers: sophomore Nolan Rice (38-10) at 107, sophomore Kai Vielma (35-7) at 133, senior Evan Petrovich (41-7) at 145 and senior Lonzy Vielma (39-9) at 160.
Petrovich, a Pitt recruit, placed third in the state, and Lonzy Vielma, a West Virginia recruit, placed fifth.
Others back include sophomore Tommy Gretz (17-5) at 107, junior Zach Franks (25-17) at 114, junior Landon Lynn (19-14) at 121, sophomore Chase Sparks (13-20) at 127, senior Jullian Ruggieri (35-14) at 139, senior Chris Cook (27-19) at 215 and senior heavyweight Tyler Gallis (26-16).
“I don’t like being the favorite,” Connellsville coach Bill Swink said. “I’d rather be the hunter instead of being the hunted.
“We’re going to have some battles for starting jobs. We have good depth. We have some good freshmen coming up.”
Swink has his team entered numerous tournaments, including Tom Best Memorial in Williamsport, St. Edwards Quad, NursePro Plus tournament in Morgantown, W.Va., Powerade and Escape the Rock at Council Rock South.
Preseason Top 10
Teams are listed with last year’s record and final ranking.
1. Connellsville (17-4) 1
2. Franklin Regional (22-3) 3
3. Bethel Park (19-3) 4
4. Norwin (12-7) 9
5. Trinity (13-3) 2
6. North Allegheny 17-4) 6
7. Fox Chapel (15-2) 7
8. Latrobe (13-5) 5
9. Kiski Area (12-12) NR
10. Canon-McMillan (6-5) NR
Teams to watch: Baldwin, Belle Vernon, Butler, Moon, North Hills, Penn-Trafford, Peters Township, Plum, Ringgold and West Allegheny.
2024 WPIAL playoffs
Preliminary round
Kiski Area 33, Moon 24
Pine-Richland 38, Hempfield 35
First round
Trinity 55, Kiski Area 18
Norwin 39, Plum 27
North Allegheny 55, Baldwin 15
Bethel Park 39, North Hills 15
Connellsville 52, Ringgold 12
Fox Chapel 37, Peters Township 24
Latrobe 42, West Allegheny 22
Franklin Regional 42, Pine-Richland 27
Quarterfinals
Trinity 43, Norwin 19
Bethel Park 26, North Allegheny 19
Connellsville 33, Fox Chapel 24
Franklin Regional 38, Latrobe 24
Semifinals
Trinity 27, Bethel Park 26
Connellsville 31, Franklin Regional 28
Finals
Connellsville 33, Trinity 32
Third place
Franklin Regional 28, Bethel Park 27
Returning PIAA Champions
Landon Sidun, So., Norwin, 114
Maddox Shaw, Sr., Thomas Jefferson, 136
Vaughn Spencer, Sr., Pine-Richand
Returning PIAA placewinners
Evan Petrovich, Sr., Connellsville, 145, third
Bode Marlow, Sr., Thomas Jefferson, 160, third
Jake Conroy, Sr., Ringgold, 189, fourth
Luke Willochell, Sr., Latrobe, 121, fifth
Lonzy Vielma, Sr., Connellsville, 160, fifth
Nicholas McGarrity, So., Peters Township, 107, sixth
Santino Sloboda, Jr., Butler, 114, sixth
Hunter Snyder, So., Latrobe, 172, sixth
Cooper Roscosky, So., Kiski Area, 189, sixth
Leo Joseph, Sr., Latrobe, 114, eighth
Connor Smith, Sr., Seneca Valley, 121, eighth
Ramil Islamov, Sr., Baldwin, 133, fourth
Returning WPIAL champions
107: McGarrity; 114: Sloboda; 121: Willochell; Shaw, 139; Petrovich, 145; Marlow, 160; Spencer, 172; Roscosky, 189; Conroy, 215; Shepherd Turk, Sr. Thomas Jefferson.
Keep an eye on
Seniors: Kase Chopp, Butler, 133; Dominic Ferraro, Pine-Richland, 139; Thomas Allison, Trinity, 145; Luke Dunlap, South Fayette, 152; Brock Evans, Waynesburg, 160; Ben Lloyd, 285
Juniors: Dylan Barrett, Penn-Trafford, 107; Nico Kapusta, Hempfield, 107; Collier Hartman, Canon-McMillan; Cole Gibbons, Mt. Lebanon, 145; Roan Tustin, Waynesburg, 285; Brady McConneha, North Allegheny, 285
Sophomores: Nolan Rice, Connellsville, 107; Kai Velma, Connellsville, 133; Roman Thompson, Central Catholic, 189
Alignment
Southern Sectional
Section 1: Blackhawk, Montour, Moon and West Allegheny.
Section 2: Canon-McMillan, Chartiers Valley, South Fayette, Trinity and Waynesburg.
Section 3: Baldwin, Bethel Park, Mt. Lebanon, Peters Township and Upper St. Clair.
Northern Sectional
Section 1: Butler, Mars, North Allegheny, Pine-Richand and Seneca Valley.
Section 2: Armstrong, Fox Chapel, Hampton, Indiana and Kiski Area.
Section 3: Central Catholic, North Hills, Penn Hills and Shaler.
Eastern Sectional
Section 1: Belle Vernon, McKeesport, Ringgold, Thomas Jefferson and West Mifflin.
Section 2: Albert Gallatin, Connellsville, Hempfield and Latrobe.
Section 3: Franklin Regional, Gateway, Norwin, Penn-Trafford and Plum.
Important dates
Nov. 29: Season begins
Dec. 11: First section play date
Dec. 25: 2-pound growth allowance
Jan. 23: Playoff pairings released
Jan. 27: WPIAL team tournament preliminary round
Jan. 29: WPIAL team tournament first round and quarterfinals
Feb. 1: WPIAL team tournament semifinals and finals at Peters Township
Feb. 3: PIAA team preliminary round
Feb. 6-8: PIAA team championships, TBA
Feb. 11: WPIAL individuals pairings released
Feb. 15: WPIAL girls championship at North Allegheny
Feb. 15: WPIAL 2A section tournaments (Eastern at Greensburg Salem; Northern at Keystone Oaks; Southern at Burgettstown).
Feb. 15: WPIAL 3A section tournaments (Eastern at Norwin; Northern at Fox Chapel; Southern at South Fayette).
Feb. 21-22: WPIAL 2A championships at Chartiers Valley
Feb. 21-22: WPIAL 3A championships at Canon-McMillan
Feb. 28-March 1: PIAA 2A Southwest Regional at Altoona
Feb. 28-March 1: PIAA 3A West Regional at Canon-McMillan
March 1: PIAA Girls’ West Regional at Canon-McMillan
March 6-8: PIAA individual championship at Giant Center, Hershey.
Important tournaments
Nov. 28-29: Southwest Classic at Valley
Dec. 6-7: Chartiers-Houston Invitational, Houston
Dec. 6-7: Hickory Invitational, Hermitage
Dec. 6-7: North Coast Classic, Independence, Ohio
Dec. 6-7: Tom Best Invitational, Williamsport
Dec. 6-7: Ironman, Walsh Jesuit Ohio
Dec. 7: Babbit Duals, River Valley
Dec. 7: Carrick Duals
Dec. 7: Trinity Duals, Washington
Dec. 13-14: Panther Holiday Classic, Mount Aloysius
Dec. 14: Hampton Duals, Hampton
Dec. 14: Kiski Area Duals, Kiski Area
Dec. 14: St. Edwards Quad, Cleveland
Dec. 14: Upper St. Clair Duals, Upper St. Clair
Dec. 20-21: King of the Mountain, Lock Haven
Dec. 21: NursePro Plus Tournament, Morgantown, W.Va.
Dec. 21-22: Beast of the East, Newark, Del.
Dec. 27-28: Powerade: Canon-McMillan
Dec. 27-28: Southmoreland Holiday Classic
Dec. 27-28: Steve DeAugustino Classic, West Mifflin
Jan. 3-4: Tri-County AD Association, Ringgold
Jan. 4: Ed Driscoll MAC Tournament, Laurel
Jan. 10-11: Burgettstown Invitational
Jan. 10-11: Mid-Winter Mayhem, Indiana
Jan. 10-11: WCCA Tournament, Greensburg Salem
Jan. 17-18: Allegheny County Champion, Fox Chapel
Jan. 18: Ultimate Duals, Brookville
Jan. 18-19: Escape the Rock, Council Rock South
Jan. 24-25: Fred Bell Tournament, Grove City
Jan. 2-25: Thomas Automotive Tournament, Bedford
Feb. 8: Pine-Richand Duals, Gibsonia
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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