WPIAL wrestling notebook: Derry crowns 2 champs at holiday tournament

By: Paul Schofield
Tuesday, December 23, 2025 | 7:49 PM

Derry freshman William McNeal and junior Mason Horwat won titles at the Panther Holiday Classic at Mount Aloysius College in Cresson last weekend.

McNeal won the 145-pound weight class by defeating Philipsburg-Osceola’s Averi Gable, 6-1. He went 5-0.

Horwat, who was the tournament Most Valuable Wrester, majored Bentworth junior Owen Ivcic, 11-2, at 172. He also went 5-0.

Junior Brody Brown reached the finals but dropped a 1-0 decision to Tyrone’s Kyle Scott. Brown went 4-1.

Placing fourth was Patrick Bulgar at 114. Ewan Olson finished fifth at 160. Mason Keesecker at 107 and Dylan Bateman at 132 placed sixth and Cam Olson placed seventh at 139.

Penn Valley edged Derry in the team race 201.5 to 198.

McGuffey placed 10th, Bentworth was 11th, Armstrong was 15th, Seneca Valley 16th and Indiana 20th.

Armstrong heavyweight Philup Rearick was a champion while placing second were McGuffey senior Lucas Barr at 139 and Quaker Valley’s Matthew Danna at 160.

Third-place finishers included Seneca Valley’s Riley Smith at 107, Avonworth’s Auston Kosanovic at 127, Bentworth’s Drake McClure at 139 and Indiana’s Jackson Higgins at 215.

Tucker Main of McGuffey at 121 placed fourth.

Morgantown mats

Two of the top Class 3A teams from the WPIAL, No. 3 Trinity and No. 1 Franklin Regional, were among the seven from the district to participate in the NursePro Plus Tournament at University High School in Morgantown, W.Va.

Host University took the team title with 287.5 points. Trinity followed with 245.5, Franklin Regional was third with 231,5 and Penn-Trafford was fourth with 154.5 points.

Trinity had two champions: Parker Jennings at 114 and Dom Canali at 132. Jennings defeated teammate Jackson Hoy, 4-2, in the 114 final.

Franklin Regional also had two winners: Max Firestine at 150 and Michael Ruane at 157. Titus Colangelo at 126, Chase Smith at 144 and John Montgomery at 215 finished second.

Penn-Trafford also had two winners: Dylan Barrett at 120 and Luke DeSantis at 126.

Heavyweight Kaden Shannon of Southmoreland also claimed a gold medal.

Placing second were Ringgold’s Evan Tolliver at 138 and Frazier’s Jonah Erdely at 157.

King of the Mountain

Canon-McMillan ended up the highest finisher from the WPIAL at the King of the Mountain tournament at Central Mountain High School at Mill Hall.

The Big Macs placed fifth with 124.5 points behind Chestnut Ridge (148.5), Council Rock South (132.5), Altoona (131.5) and Northampton (125).

Burrell finished 13th with 106.5 points, Latrobe placed 15th with 95 points, West Allegheny was 17th with 88.5, Shaler was 26th with 43.5 points and Bethel Park was 29th with 34.5 points.

No wrestler from the WPIAL reached the finals.

Third-place finishers were Canon-McMillan’s Lee Dreshman at 114 and Brayden Collins at 215, Burrell’s Cam Baker and Jacob Stewart at 139, Latrobe junior Hunter Snyder and West Allegheny heavyweight Cam Danna.

West Allegheny’s Thomas Bencho placed fourth at 139 and Burrell’s Julian Bertucci was fourth at 152.

Latrobe’s other place-winners were Dom Angelicchio (fifth at 152), Brody Bronson (eighth at 121) and Gamin Owens (eighth at 285). Burrell’s other place-winners were Cadyn Crawford (seventh at 145) and Ayden Kun (eighth at 215).

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: Canon-McMillan, Derry Area, Franklin Regional, Norwin