Seven from WPIAL earn top seeds
Pine-Richland senior Cole Spencer had a minor dental issue during the 160-pound title match at last Saturday’s Class 3A WPIAL/Southwest Region tournament at Canon- McMillan High School.
“I chipped a tooth. That’s the first time that ever happened,” said Spencer, when asked about a short stoppage during the match. “Coach has been telling me that I should probably wear a mouthpiece. A little chipped tooth for a title. I’ll take it.”
Wearing a mouthpiece is not foreign to Spencer, as he donned one on the football field the past four years as the Rams quarterback.
“I wear a mouthpiece while playing football, but I’m barely getting hit on the field,” Spencer said. “I should start wearing one on the mat.”
Spencer collected his sixth WPIAL gold medal with his 31 win against Norwin’s Chase Kranitz.
“I have four football gold medals and now two for wrestling in my career,” Spencer said. “In November, I got my first PIAA football gold medal. Hopefully, I can win another state title in two weeks.”
Spencer has qualified for the PIAA Class 3A tournament two of the past three years and placed seventh and fourth, while competing at 152 pounds. To earn a return trip to Hershey, Spencer must place among the top four at Saturday’s West Super Regional tournament at Altoona High School.
Two super regionals — East and West — are being held in each classification this weekend due to COVID19 restrictions. The PIAA is allowing only eight individuals in each postseason tournament.
“It’s the first time we’ve had a super regional,” Spencer said. “I’m psyched to see some new faces. If you think about it, it’s kind of like the first two days of states. The last day at Hershey is always for placers. This year the state tournament is one day and it’s only for placers. I’m excited and I’m pretty confident.”
Spencer (20-1) is one of seven WPIAL entries who are seeded No. 1 in their weight class. The others are Waynesburg’s duo of Cole Homet and Wyatt Henson, Seneca Valley’s duo of Dylan Chappell and Alejandro HerreraRondon, Latrobe’s Vinny Kilkeary and Franklin Regional’s Carter Dibert.
Homet (25-1) is the top seed at 138 pounds after his 4-2 win against Franklin Regional’s Finn Solomon (29-2) in the WPIAL final.
“It’s the same game plan for this weekend,” said Homet, a two-time PIAA medal-winner. “I will train hard all week and hopefully the outcome will be the same.”
Henson (27-0), a returning PIAA champion, is the top seed at 145. He claimed a second WPIAL title with his 8-3 win against Norwin’s John Altieri (27-3) in the 145-pound final. But his win wasn’t as comfortable as the score indicates.
With an 8-1 lead, Henson made a huge mistake in the final 15 seconds and was put on his back by Altieri. Photos show that Henson was pinned, but it happened so fast that the referee didn’t
have time to react.
“I was flat on my back. I was scared to death,” Henson said. “I just let down for a second. You can’t do that in a big match like this.”
Chappell (32-2), a two-time PIAA runner-up, is the top seed at 132. He won a third WPIAL title with a 7-5 win against Hempfield’s Briar Priest (29-4).
“Advancing is the goal now,” Chappell said. “My ultimate goal is to win the state title, but advancing is the key now. I can’t afford to look ahead.”
Herrera-Rondon (33-0), a two-time PIAA champ, is the top seed at 152 after winning his third WPIAL gold medal with a 2- 0 win against Waynesburg’s Rocco Weish.
“We have three of the top 152-pounders in the state in the WPIAL,” said HerreraRondon, also referring to Welsh and Connellsville’s Jared Keslar. “I would love to see an all-WPIAL final in the super regional and again in the state tournament.”
Kilkeary (21-1) is the top seed at 113 after claiming his first WPIAL title with a pin of Penn-Trafford’s Troy Hohman (22-2). Kilkeary, last year’s PIAA champ at 106, has one of the toughest firstround draws with Cedar Cliff’s Aiden Lewis, who placed second at 113 last year.
“It’s going to be a grind over the next two weeks,” Kilkeary said. “I just have to wrestle as hard as I can in each match.”
Dibert ( 30- 0), a PIAA champ in 2019, is the top seed at 126. Dibert won his second WPIAL title with an 8-5 win against Hempfield’s Ethan Berginc (28-4), a PIAA champ in 2020.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if we meet again the next two weeks,” Dibert said. “We know each other well. I just have to be ready to wrestle.”
Six other WPIAL wrestlers are seeded No. 2: Seneca Valley’s Tyler Chappell (31-2 at 106), North Allegheny’s Dylan Coy (25-1 at 120), Waynesburg’s Luca Augustine (16-0 at 172), Hampton’s Justin Hart (23-4, at 189), Belle Vernon’s Cole Weightman (27-4 at 215) and Hempfield’s Isaiah Vance (30-1 at 285).
The super regional tournament will be wrestled in two sessions. Weight classes 106 through 138 will begin at 8:30 a.m. and run through until the finals at 11:45 a.m. Weight classes 145 through 285 will begin at 2 p.m. and run through until the finals at 6:15 p.m.