WPIAL wrestling notes: Franklin Regional’s Carter Dibert stayed sharp during break

By: Paul Schofield
Thursday, January 7, 2021 | 11:31 PM

High school athletes will be allowed to return to competition Friday after sitting idle for nearly a month.

While coaches couldn’t hold any organized practices, many athletes just didn’t lie around eating Christmas cookies. They found ways to stay active.

“I was able to work out and drill some at home,” Franklin Regional senior Carter Dibert said. “I also ran a lot, so I’m ready to go.”

Dibert, the returning WPIAL Class AAA 113-pound champion and PIAA 106-pound champion in 2019, recently signed his letter of intent to attend Arizona State.

Dibert’s goal is to win another state title.

“It’s going to be tough. We have a lot of obstacles to hurdle,” Dibert said. “There a lot of outstanding wrestlers in the state.”

Dibert plans to compete at 120 pounds. When practice resumed, he was between 126 and 130 pounds.

Franklin Regional will scrimmage Canon-McMillan on Saturday and then begin the season on Wednesday at Penn-Trafford, where it will face Woodland Hills and Plum. The Panthers will face Penn-Trafford and Gateway on Jan. 20.

North Allegheny tournaments

North Allegheny will play host to three tournaments in January beginning on Saturday.

The Tigers will hold individual tournaments on Saturday and Jan, 23 and a duals tournament on Jan. 30.

Teams in action on Saturday are Fox Chapel, Thomas Jefferson, Hempfield, Southmoreland, Fort LeBoeuf, Burrell, Hickory and Trinity.

The teams on Jan. 23 include North Hills, Latrobe, General McLane, Greenville, Grove City, Norwin, Freedom, Belle Vernon and Trinity.

The teams in the duals include Penn-Trafford, North Hills, Pine-Richland, Franklin Regional, Fort LeBoeuf, Chartiers Valley, Mars and Highlands.

Canon-McMillan duals

Canon-McMillan will play host to a six-team duals tournament on Jan. 23. The teams entered include Waynesburg, Connellsville, Latrobe, Erie Cathedral Prep and Cleveland St. Edwards.

Each team will wrestle three matches. Here is the schedule:

• Noon: Canon-McMillan vs. Cathedral Prep, Waynesburg vs. Latrobe, Connellsville vs. St. Edwards

• 1:30 p.m.: Canon-McMillan vs. St. Edwards, Waynesburg vs. Connellsville, Latrobe vs. Cathedral Prep

• 3 p.m.: Canon-McMillan vs. Latrobe, Waynesburg vs. St. Edwards, Connellsville vs. Cathedral Prep

Mid-Winter Mayhem

The Mid-Winter Mayhem, which is scheduled for Jan. 15-16, has been moved from the IUP Kovalchik Center to the Monroeville Convention Center.

WPIAL teams entered include Penn-Trafford, Freedom, Laurel, Ellwood City, Pine-Richland, Trinity, Thomas Jefferson, West Mifflin and Mt. Pleasant.

Other teams in the 28-team field include Malvern Prep, Brookville, Forest Hills and Chestnut Ridge.

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.