Franklin Regional moves on to 3A wrestling semis with pair of convincing wins

By: Paul Schofield
Wednesday, January 31, 2024 | 10:16 PM

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Franklin Regional wrestling coach Matt Lebe paced back-and-forth in front of his match early in his team’s WPIAL Class 3A quarterfinal-round showdown against Latrobe.

The No. 3-ranked Panthers lost the first two bouts against No. 4 Wildcats on Wednesday, and they had their coach nervous.

But the feisty Panthers (18-0) relaxed their coach by rallying to win the next five matches on the way to a 38-24 victory. Franklin Regional advanced to Saturday’s semifinals against No. 2 Connellsville at Peters Township.

After the Wildcats took a 12-0 lead on forfeit to Leo Joseph (114 pounds) and a pin by Luke Willochell (121), Panthers senior Tyler Kapusta started the run with a 13-5 decision against Jacob Braun at 127.

Freshman Chase Smith followed with a pin at 133, Nico Sarnic used a late rally for a 4-3 win at 139, Luke Ankney followed with a 9-0 major decision at 145 and freshman Ethan Cartwright completed the run with a pin at 152 to put the Panthers up 23-12.

“We wrestled well,” Lebe said. “I knew if we did, we’d have a good shot at advancing. We beat a very good Latrobe team. Mark (Mears) does a great job, and we have great respect for their program.

“We won eight matches, so I’m not sure the coin flip mattered. We were prepared to make changes.”

A pin by Latrobe’s Bradan Bronson at 160 and win by Hunter Snyder at 172 trimmed the lead to 23-21.

But pins by Troy McClelland at 189 and Juliano Marion at 215 clinched the victory 35-21 with two bouts left.

Latrobe coach Mark Mears said when they won the coin flip, they were able to dictate the matchups.

“Bottom line is, they wrestled better than us,” Mears said. “They were able to get bonus points, and we weren’t. They probably should have been seeded No. 1 instead of No. 2.

“We’ll learn from this loss, and we’ll get better from it. Now we have to bounce back and get focused for individuals.”

Both teams earned easy wins in the first-round matches.

Franklin Regional defeated Pine-Richland, 42-27, and Latrobe downed West Allegheny, 43-22.

The Panthers built a 26-0 lead against the Rams and again won eight matches.

Picking up pins were Titus Colangelo (107), Smith (127), Kapusta (133), Cartwright (152) and Marion (215).

Latrobe received four forfeits and got a pin from Brady Cole (152).

The best matchup in that match was Leo Joseph, ranked third at 114, getting an 11-4 decision against fourth-ranked Caiden Herbert.

“We were ready to wrestle,” Lebe said. “Pine-Richland has a good team, but we love our guys. They do what is needed to win. We find a way to win.

“We’re looking forward to going to Peters Township and trying to win another WPIAL title. It doesn’t matter who we wrestle. The guys will be ready.”

Franklin Regional 42, Pine-Richland 27

107: Titus Colangelo (FR) p. Aiden Rockacy, 1:09.

114: Mike Ruane (FR) t.f. Max Kohser, 15-0 (4:00).

121: Sal Nassif (FR) d. Peyton Ferguson, 3-0.

127: Chase Smith (FR) p. Ryan Brunecz, 1:23.

133: Tyler Kapusta (FR) p. Robert Hoy, 1:39.

139: Dom Ferraro (PR) p. Ethan Lew, 1:39.

145: Luke Ankney (FR) major Rocco Campanella, 12-2.

152: Ethan Cartwright (FR) p. Aiden Gordon, 1:09.

160: Maclane Miller (PR) p. Joe Pulizzi, 1:19.

172: Spencer Vaughn (PR) p. Gunnre Perez, 1:25.

189: Cole Wilson (PR) p. Ben Hartman, :54.2.

215: Juliano Marion (FR) p. Solomon Weigand. 1:17.

285: Harris Sam (PR) d. Elisua Daugherty, 5-2.

Records: FR 17-0, PR 5-4.

Latrobe 43, West Allegheny 22

107: Cade Stern (WA) p. Brody Bronson, 4:53.

114: Leo Joseph (L) d. Caiden Herbert, 11-4.

121: Evan Pancoast (L) won by forfeit.

127: Luke Willochell (L) won by forfeit.

133: Jacob Braun (L) major A.J. Snatchko, 8-0.

139: Lucas Braun (L) d. Logan Slovick, 9-2.

145: Brady Cole (L) p. Blake Scheppis, 4:40.

152: Chase Scheppis (WA) major Cole Short, 13-1.

160: Nick Jones (WA) won by forfeit.

172: Bradan Bronson (L) d. Louis Martsof, 2-0.

189: Hunter Snyder (L) won by forfeit

215: Cody Krall (L) won by forfeit.

285: Cam Danna (WA) p. Marci Scarton, 3:02.

Records: L 8-3; WA 9-2.

Quarterfinals

Franklin Regional 38, Latrobe 24

107: Titus Colangelo (FR) d. Brody Bronson, 6-0.

*114: Leo Joseph (L) won by forfeit.

121: Luke Willochell (L) p. Mike Ruane, :46.

127: Tyler Kapusta (FR) major Jacob Braun, 13-5.

133: Chase Smith (FR) p. Austin Laidacker, 5:19.

139: Nico Sarnic (FR) d. Lucas Braun, 4-3.

145: Luke Ankney (FR) major Brady Cole, 9-0.

152: Ethan Cartwright (FR) p. Cole Short, 4:50.

160: Bradan Bronson (L) p. Jordan Perks,

172: Hunter Snyder (L) d. Henry Patts, 8-2.

189: Troy McClelland (FR) p. Brock Mears, 1:22.

215: Juliano Marion (FR) Cody Krall, 1:22.

285: Marco Scraton (L) d. Elisua Daugherty, 5-0.

Records: FR 18-0, L 8-4.

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: Franklin Regional, Latrobe, Pine-Richland, West Allegheny