WPIAL wrestlers find tough sledding on 1st day of PIAA Class 2A tournament
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Thursday, March 6, 2025 | 6:30 PM
Derry’s Mason Horwat wrestles Line Mountain’s Dalton Schadel at 152 pounds during the PIAA Class 2A wrestling tournament Thursday at Giant Center in Hershey.
Derry’s Anthony Mucci controls Montoursville’s Blaize Vogel at 133 pounds during the PIAA Class 2A wrestling tournament Thursday at Giant Center in Hershey.
Derry’s Ewan Olson (right) wrestles Berks Catholic’s Layden Acevedo at 160 pounds during the PIAA Class 2A wrestling tournament Thursday at Giant Center in Hershey.
Derry’s Giovanni Beatrice wrestles Conwell Egan’s Michael Gorrell at 121 pounds during the PIAA Class 2A wrestling tournament Thursday at Giant Center in Hershey.
Derry’s Brady Brown wrestles Mahanoy’s Kyler Quick at 189 pounds during the PIAA Class 2A wrestling tournament Thursday at Giant Center in Hershey.
Burrell’s Isaac Lacinski wrestles Cochranton’s Cash Morrell in the 172-pound bracket during the PIAA Class 2A wrestling tournament Thursday at Giant Center in Hershey.
Burrell’s Calio Zanella wrestles Northwestern Lehigh’s Nolan Koehler in 152-pound bracket during the PIAA Class 2A wrestling tournament Thursday at Giant Center in Hershey.
Highlands’ Javeon Chambers wrestles Saucon Valley’s Carter Chunko in the 107-pound bracket during the PIAA Class 2A wrestling tournament Thursday at Giant Center in Hershey.
Burrell’s Carter Thomas wrestles Hamberg’s Chase Homan in the 121-pound quarterfinals during the PIAA Class 2A wrestling tournament Thursday at Giant Center in Hershey.
Burrell’s Julian Bertucci wrestles Conwell-Egan’s Colin Walther in the 139-pound bracket during the PIAA Class 2A wrestling tournament Thursday at Giant Center in Hershey.
Burrell’s Ben Catullo wrestles Mahanoy’s Rory Dixon in the 160-pound bracket during the PIAA Class 2A wrestling tournament Thursday at Giant Center in Hershey.
HERSHEY — There is no hiding at the PIAA wrestling championships.
No matter where a wrestler turns, he is going to face someone good.
Three Westmoreland County wrestlers survived the first round Thursday and advanced to the quarterfinals Friday at Giant Center with solid wins.
The competition for Derry senior Anthony Mucci and sophomore Mason Horwat and Burrell senior Isaac Lacinski gets a lot hotter Friday.
Mucci (43-6) was a takedown machine in his 21-6 technical fall win against Montoursville senior Blaize Vogel at 133 pounds. He took Vogel down seven times and will meet Northern Lebanon junior Aaron Seidel (55-1) in the quarterfinals.
“It was a great start, starting out with my attack,” Mucci said.“I’m wrestling the way I know I can. Give 100-percent effort and I’ll win these matches. I know I can wrestle with anybody on my feet.”
Mucci said he knows his next match will be a lot tougher.
“I’m just going to give everything I’ve got,” Mucci said.
Horwat (44-4) looked strong as well. He breezed to an 18-6 win against Line Mountain junior Dalton Schadel at 152.
He’ll face Schuylkill Valley senior Ian Vitalo (38-4) in the quarterfinals.
“We had a couple nice wins, but we’ve got some work to do,” Derry coach Troy Dolan Jr. said. “We had a couple of tough draws. Giovanni (Beatrice) had two tough opponents, but it was good for him to get here.”
Derry brought six wrestlers to the state tournament, and five picked up at least one victory during Day 1.
Still alive in the consolation round are freshman Dylan Bateman (121), junior Ewan Olson (160) and sophomore Brady Brown (189).
Brown dropped a tough decision, 9-2, to Port Allegany junior Aiden Bliss in a battle of football standouts.
“Brady had wrestled him before,” Mucci said. “It was a close battle. Brady had a couple opportunities and just did not finish.”
Brown (44-7) began the day with a 17-2 technical fall win against Mahanoy junior Kyler Quick. He will face Montgomery senior Coy Bryson in the second round of consolations.
Olson (43-9) won his first match, defeating Berks Catholic freshman Layden Acevedo, 7-0, but fell to third seed Chase Hontz of Faith Christian Academy. He’ll face Saint Marys senior Jaden Wehler in a consolation match.
Bateman (37-17) had a good start. He had a 15-0 technical fall win against Blue Ridge junior Brice Woodruff. He then fell to Bald Eagle Area sophomore Tanner Guenot, 17-0. He will face Erie Prep freshman Davion Edmond in the consolations.
“This tournament is really strong,” Mucci said. “You’re going to bang into another good wrestler in the bracket. You cannot hide here.”
Burrell did not have a great day. The Bucs brought five wrestlers to the state tournament, and only two remain alive for medals.
Lacinski won his 172-pound match in thrilling fashion. He recorded a takedown with two seconds remaining to defeat Cochranton junior Cash Morrell, 6-5. Lacinski (42-11) grabbed a 3-0 lead early in the first period, but Morrell rallied with an escape in the first period and then an escape and takedown in the second period for a 5-3 lead.
Lacinski’s winning takedown was a dump.
“I wanted to get to my attack early, which I did,” Lacinski said. “Then I fell behind. I just kept pushing him, and I finally caught him. I’ll take it.”
Lacinski said he must continue to push if he wants to achieve his goal of earning a medal. He will face Warrior Run junior Max Wimsberger in the quarterfinals.
The other Buc still alive is senior Calio Zanella (34-15). He defeated Northwestern freshman Nolan Koehler, 10-4, in sudden victory but fell to Lewisburg junior Landen Wagner, 17-1. He will face Bradford junior Jordan Thompson in the 152-pound consolation round.
Bucs going 0-2 were sophomore Carter Thomas (121), junior Julian Bertucci (139) and sophomore Ben Catullo (160).
• Highlands junior Jaevon Chambers (107) stayed alive in the consolation round after falling to Saucon Valley sophomore Carter Chunko, 7-2. Chambers bounced back in his consolation match and pinned Conemaugh Township sophomore Carter Christ. Chambers (49-6) will face Huntingdon Area junior Gauge Sholly in the second round of consolations.
• Southmoreland’s Landon Delara (172) earned his 100th career victory with a 6-3 win over Lake-Lehman senior James Mitkowski. Delara had a takedown in the first period and a second takedown to clinch the win in the third period. The senior then was pinned by Faith Christian Academy sophomore Nick Singer in 1:39. Delara will face Corry Area senior Mason Savitz in the second round of consolations.
• Frazier’s Ryan Celaschi (160) had an impressive debut. The senior dominated Saucon Valley senior Cole Hubert by technical fall, 15-0 (4:06) in a first-round match. Celaschi (40-6) will face Warrior Run junior Reagan Milheim, the top seed, in the quarterfinals.
Teammate Jackson Angelo (172) also looked sharp in his first-round match. The junior blanked Corry Area senior Mason Savitz, 7-0. Angelo (46-2) will meet Faith Christian Academy sophomore Nick Singer in the quarterfinals.
• The other WPIAL wrestlers to advance to the championship quarterfinals were Central Valley junior Antonio Boni (127), McGuffey junior Lucas Barr (139), Bentworth junior Owen Ivcic (160), Fort Cherry senior Braedon Walsh (215) and West Greene junior heavyweight Colin Whyte.
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.
Tags: Burrell, Derry Area
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