WPIAL Wrestlers Compete at 3A Individual Championships at Canon-McMillian

Monday, March 7, 2022

Pittsburgh, Pa. – The Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) held its individual wrestling championships in the 3A classification at Canon-McMillian High School this past weekend, with 13 champions crowned from 10 different schools.

Three schools produced a pair of individual champions in Greater Latrobe, Hempfield Area, and Waynesburg Central. The other seven schools that could claim a champion were: Chartiers Valley, Connellsville, Franklin Regional, Greensburg Salem, Mt. Lebanon, Seneca Valley, and Thomas Jefferson.

Four different student-athletes claimed their second WPIAL 3A individual championship: Seneca Valley’s Tyler Chappell (113), Greater Latrobe’s Vinny Kilkeary (120), Waynesburg Central’s Mac Church (132), and Mt. Lebanon’s Maclane Stout (189). Chappell and Kilkeary won their first titles in 2021, while Church and Stout previously captured gold in 2020.

The top four wrestlers in each weight class qualified for the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) 3A Individual Championships, which are set to be held on March 10-12 in Hershey, Pa. at the Giant Center.

LINK: 2022 WPIAL 3A Individual Wrestling Championship Final Brackets
LINK: 2022 WPIAL 3A Individual Wrestling Championship Final Results

106 POUNDS
Greater Latrobe freshman Luke Willochell was the first of two Wildcats to claim a WPIAL title, defeating Indiana freshman Nico Fanella by a 7-3 decision. Both Willochell and Fanella pinned two opponents each and won one match by major decision to advance to the championship.

In the third-place match, Franklin Regional sophomore Tyler Kapusta pinned Canon-McMillian sophomore Tanner Mizenko in 2:14. Seneca Valley sophomore Connor Smith finished fifth with an injury default win over Trinity freshman T.J. Allison.

113 POUNDS
Seneca Valley junior Tyler Chappell became a two-time WPIAL champion in a thrilling championship match against Peters Township freshman Darius McMillon, winning by a narrow 1-0 decision. Chappell, who previously won at 106 last year, used a 16-1 technical fall and 10-2 major decision to reach the semifinals, then won by a 2-0 decision to make the final. McMillon earned his spot with three pins, the fastest coming in 1:12.

Canon-McMillian junior Brandon Dami captured the bronze medal with a 3-0 decision over Chartiers Valley junior Brady Joling. In the fifth-place match, Connellsville freshman Evan Petrovich defeated Plum sophomore Sam Snyder by a pinfall in 1:26.

120 POUNDS
Greater Latrobe junior Vinny Kilkeary claimed his second straight WPIAL gold medal with a 16-5 major decision victory over Penn-Trafford senior Troy Hohman. Kilkeary, the 2021 champion at 113, pinned two opponents and won by a 12-4 major decision to advance to the final, while Hohman won by pinfall in the first round and quarterfinals before posting a 7-1 decision in the semifinals.

In the third-place match, Canon-McMillian senior Jacob Houpt defeated Bethel Park sophomore Mason Kernan with a 2-0 decision. Norwin senior Luke Passarelli claimed fifth place with a 3-0 triumph over South Fayette senior James Anderson.

126 POUNDS
Hempfield Area junior Ethan Lebin earned his first WPIAL title at 126, topping Thomas Jefferson freshman Maddox Shaw by decision, 4-0. Lebin started his run to the final with a 15-0 technical fall, then won a pair of narrow decisions by scores of 3-1 and 1-0. Shaw pinned his first two opponents before a stiff semifinal challenge, but he came away with a 3-2 decision to set up the meeting with Lebin.

Waynesburg Central senior Zander Phatorus captured bronze with a 5-2 decision over Pine-Richland junior Anthony Ferraro. Canon-McMillian sophomore Andrew Binni took home fifth with a 7-5 sudden-victory decision over North Allegheny senior Dylan Coy.

132 POUNDS
Waynesburg Central junior Mac Church is now a two-time WPIAL champion, thanks to a 14-1 major decision victory over Connellsville senior Chad Ozias. Church, the 2020 champion at 106, started his tournament with a pin in 1:11, then posted a 20-4 technical fall and 10-2 major decision to reach the final. Ozias also began with a pinfall, followed by two decision victories of 7-4 and 3-1 – the latter being sudden victory.

Trinity sophomore Blake Reihner earned third place with a 6-4 win over Hempfield Area sophomore Eli Carr. In the fifth-place match, Moon senior Khyvon Grace defeated Plum senior Vincent Citrano by a 5-3 decision.

138 POUNDS
Hempfield Area senior Briar Priest gave the Spartans their second WPIAL title of the day at 138, defeating Waynesburg Central senior Colton Stoneking by a 7-5 decision. Priest pinned two opponents – the first in 50 seconds – and won by 5-0 decision to advance to the final, while Stoneking started with a 19-4 technical fall before winning his next two matches by 6-1 and 7-4 decisions.

Taking home bronze was Connellsville freshman Lonzy Vielma, who topped Franklin Regional junior Nathan Stone by decision, 5-2. Belle Vernon freshman Kole Doppelheuer claimed fifth place with a 2-0 decision over North Allegheny junior Jayson Fiener.

145 POUNDS
Needing an ultimate tie-breaker to decide the 145 weight class, Franklin Regional senior Finn Solomon prevailed over West Allegheny junior Ty Watters by a 5-4 score. Both Solomon and Watters advanced to the final with a pair of pinfalls, with Solomon winning his semifinal by major decision (11-2) and Watters moving on via decision (7-3).

Hempfield Area junior Lucas Kapusta took home bronze with a 9-0 major decision over Highlands senior Jrake Burford. Butler junior Levi Donnel finished sixth after knocking off Waynesburg Central junior Nate Jones by a 9-1 major decision.

152 POUNDS
Chartiers Valley junior Dylan Evans captured WPIAL gold at 152, topping Pine-Richland senior Kelin Laffey by a narrow 5-4 decision. Evans started his championship run with a pin in 1:10, followed by a 28-14 major decision and 5-2 decision. Laffey pinned his first round opponent in 0:29 and shutout his next two foes, winning by 8-0 major decision and 1-0 decision.

West Allegheny junior Nico Taddy claimed third place with a 1-0 decision over Greater Latrobe senior Jack Pletcher. The fifth-place match featured the same scoreline, with Kiski Area freshman Mark Gray edging out Armstrong senior Michael Kinzey.

160 POUNDS
Connellsville senior Jared Keslar earned the WPIAL title at 160, winning the championship match with a 9-2 decision over West Allegheny sophomore Shawn Taylor. Keslar started the tournament with an 18-2 technical fall, then collected a pair of pinfalls to move onto the final. Taylor posted two technical falls of 19-3 and 17-2 before a much closer 3-2 decision win in the semifinal.

Norwin senior Chase Kranitz was victorious in the third-place match, defeating Kiski Area senior Enzo Morlacci by a 10-2 major decision. Chartiers Valley senior Christopher Beatty placed fifth with an 8-5 decision over Trinity sophomore Bodie Morgan.

172 POUNDS
Waynesburg Central produced its second individual champion of the weekend in Rocco Welsh, as the junior took home the title at 172 with a 19-7 major decision over Canon-McMillian junior Matthew Furman. Welsh was dominant on his run to the championship match, winning two bouts by technical fall (17-2, 22-7) before pinning his semifinal opponent in 21 seconds. Furman won his first two matches by pinfall, then advanced to the final with a 7-4 decision.

Belle Vernon senior Logan Hoffman earned bronze with a 6-4 decision win over Armstrong junior Connor Jacobs. In the fifth-place match, Mars senior Christian Scheller won by a 12-7 decision over Butler junior Mickey Kreinbucher.

189 POUNDS
Mt. Lebanon senior Maclane Stout captured his second WPIAL title in dominant fashion, defeating Waynesburg Central junior Brody Evans by technical fall, 18-2. Stout, the 2020 champion at 170, had a superb tournament overall, advancing to the final with three pinfalls of 1:00, 1:07, and 0:20. Evans won his first round match by pinfall before an injury default win in the quarterfinals, then won by a 1-0 decision in the semifinals to set up a bout with Stout.

Canon-McMillian junior Gabriel Stafford took home third place, avenging a quarterfinal loss to Franklin Regional junior Juliano Marion with a pinfall in 1:55. Penn-Trafford junior Owen Ott placed fifth with an 11-0 major decision victory over Hampton senior Jayden Resch.

215 POUNDS
Thomas Jefferson senior Brian Finnerty earned WPIAL gold at 215, edging Belle Vernon senior Cole Weightman by a 1-0 decision. Finnerty’s road to a title started with a pinfall in 3:02, but the next two matches had more suspense as he picked up two 1-0 decisions to reach the final. Weightman, a two-time WPIAL champion, advanced to the championship with a trio of pinfalls coming in 1:27, 1:56, and 3:59.

Greater Latrobe junior Corey Boerio claimed bronze over Seneca Valley senior Liam Volk-Klos with a pinfall in sudden-victory time. Waynesburg Central junior Eli Makel finished fifth with a 5-2 decision over Chartiers Valley senior Joshua Sarasnick.

285 POUNDS
Greensburg Salem senior Billy McChesney took home the WPIAL championship at 285 with a 3-2 decision triumph over Waynesburg Central senior Noah Tustin. McChesney opened the tournament with a forfeit win, followed by a pinfall in 1:22 and 4-3 decision win to advance to the final. Tustin started his run with two pins – the first in 17 seconds – before winning by a 6-3 decision in the semifinals.

In the third-place match, Kiski Area senior Stone Joseph pinned Butler senior Jake Pomykata in 1:46 to earn the bronze. Trinity junior Ty Banco finished fifth with a 5-4 decision victory over Pine-Richland junior Joey Schneck.

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