Two-time champs capture third titles
Latrobe junior Willochell will have chance to win his fourth in 2025
Luke Willochell, Eli Carr and Juliano Marion entered the Westmoreland County Coaches Association wrestling tournament with the same goal.
All three were two-time returning champions hoping to add another gold medal to their collection. All three reached their goal Saturday at Greensburg Salem High School.
Willochell, a Latrobe junior, claimed the title at 121 pounds and recorded the 100th win of his career with a pin of Penn-Trafford’s Luke DeSantisat 1:33.
“It’s really cool to get my 100th win in the finals,” said Willochell, who was given a banner after the bout to honor his achievement. “Obviously, this title means a little bit more to me than the firsttwo.”
Willochell’s previous two titles came at 107 and 114. He can join the prestigious fourtime champions club next year.
“There’s only one other Latrobe wrestler on the four-time champions list,” said Willochell, referring to Tom Bell who won his titles from 1961-64. “It would be cool to be the second one on that list.”
Bell is one of only 13 wrestlers to win four Westmoreland County tournaments in the event’s 71-year history.
Carr, a Hempfield senior, moved up to 152 to claim his third title, a 1-0 win against Mount Pleasant’s Jamison Poklembo. His previous titles at 132 and 139.
“It’s a pretty hard cut for me,” said Carr, who competed at 145 one week ago at the Powerade Christmas Tournament. “I just wanted to come here and have fun thisweekend.”
Carrrode out Poklembo in the second period, then recorded the only point of the bout with an escape seven seconds into the third period.
“I work out with Jamison all the time, so I knew it would be close,” Carr said. “I’ve worked hard to work on my riding and it was the difference today.”
Marion, a Franklin Regional senior, claimed his third title with a 9-0 major decision of Kiski Area’s Abrahm Taylor at 215 pounds.
“It was a little easier than my first two titles,” said Marion, who won his first two titles while competing at 189. “I feel a lot more comfortable as a senior. I feel like I’m kind of the tone setter. I determine how the match is going to go. It feels good not being the younger kid.”
The three-time champs were among six returning champions. The others were Cam Baker, Leo Josep, and Tasso Whipple. Only one of the three claimed a second title.
Baker, a Burr ell sophomore, def ended his title at 107 witha hard-fought 5-4 victory against Hempfield’s Nico Kapusta.
“It feels great to win again at the county tournament in front of all my friends, family and teammates,” Baker said.
Joseph, a Latrobe junior, madehis third appearance in the finals and lost for the secondyear in a row. Joseph lost 8-4 to Derry Area junior Anthony Mucci, a wrester he beat earlier in the season.
“He beat me a couple weeks ago,” said Mucci, referring to a 5-2 decision in a Dec. 18 dual meet. “I worked hard on getting out and cross-body rides after that match and it really paid off. It’s awesome to be a county champ.”
Whipple, a Penn-Trafford junior, dropped 7-3 decision to Kiski Area’s Cooper Roscosky in the 189-pound final. Roscosky was making his second appearance in the finals, as he lost to Marion in lastyear’s finals.
Possibly the most impressive performance of the weekend was turned in by Mount Pleasant sophomore Dylan Pitzer, who recorded four pins in 1:41 in the 285pound weight class. In the title match he needed only 27 seconds to dispose of South more land’ s Jacob Govern.
“I put in a lot of work over the summer working with my brother and my high school coaches,” said Pitzer, referring to his brother Dayton Pitzer, who is now wrestling at Pitt. “It paid off. I can now say I’m a Westmoreland County champion.”
Latrobe won its third consecutive title with three titles and three individual champions. Franklin Regional was a close second with 180.5 points.
Also winning titles for Latrobe were Jacob Braun and Hunter Snyder. Braun won at 133 with a 7-0 decision of Burrell’s Jake Stewart. Snyder claimed the 172pound title with a 12-8 win agianst Valley’s Charles Perkins.
“This title is much different than the previous two years,” Latrobe coach Mark Mears said. “We have seven first-year starters on this team. We only lose two kids from this team, so we’re hoping to four-peat next year.”