Paul Schofield stories, Page 2
Derry sends 3 wrestlers to PIAA Class 2A semifinals
HERSHEY — It has been quite a season for the Derry wrestling program. And that trend continued Friday morning in the quarterfinals of the PIAA Class 2A wrestling tournament at the Giant Center. Freshman Patrick Bulger (114 pounds) and juniors Mason Horwat (172) and Brady Brown (189) advanced to Friday...
Hempfield’s Nico Kapusta has eventful Day 1 at PIAA Class 3A wrestling championships
HERSHEY — Hempfield senior Nico Kapusta left the Giant Center on a stretcher Thursday during the opening day of the PIAA Class 3A wrestling championships. He also got his first ambulance ride after being slammed in his first-round match. Kapusta was taken to Hershey Medical Center, where he was checked...
Patrick Bulger’s comeback win highlights strong Derry showing at PIAA wrestling championships
HERSHEY — Things did not look good for Derry freshman Patrick Bulger in his debut match at the PIAA Class 2A wrestling championships Thursday. He trailed after one period, but he never lost confidence. He chipped away at the lead against Trinity (District 3) sophomore Cameron Smith. Once Bulger got...
Derry’s Keesecker brother-sister combo make history, hope to medal at state wrestling
It could be a big weekend in Hershey for the Keesecker and Kolesar families. They are the first brother/sister duos to compete in the PIAA wrestling championships, which begin Thursday at Giant Center. The tournament runs through Saturday. Mason Keesecker and Kaila Keesecker are from Derry, and Asher Kolesar and...
PIAA wrestling preview: Norwin’s Sidun looks to rebound after regional loss
DuBois sophomore Matt Gallegos shocked the wrestling community Feb. 28 when he upset Norwin junior Landon Sidun in the PIAA Class 3A West Regional finals. But Sidun was back to work trying to correct his mistakes. “There are things I can do better,” Sidun said. “He wrestled a good match,...
Adjusting to new weight class, Penn-Trafford senior turns focus to PIAA tournament
Penn-Trafford senior wrestler Dylan Barrett said he was not himself during the WPIAL Class 3A championships Feb. 21. He is trying to get used to his new weight class, 114 pounds. Barrett (25-8) finished fourth in the tournament, but he still qualified for the PIAA West Regional at Canon-McMillan. He...
Norwin’s Landon Sidun upset, Belle Vernon’s Elijah Brown gets revenge at PIAA 3A West Regional
The unexpected happened at the PIAA Class 3A West Regional wrestling tournament Saturday at Canon-McMillan. The top 121-pound wrestler in the country, Norwin junior Landon Sidun, lost. DuBois sophomore Mateo Gallegos used a reversal in overtime to defeat Sidun, 3-2. Gallegos (45-2) was able to slow Sidun’s pace down. Sidun...
Hempfield Madison Altman, Latrobe’s Preston Miller win Tri-State indoor titles, head to states
Hempfield junior Madison Altman and Latrobe junior Preston Miller brought home gold medals from the Tri-State Track Coaches Association’s indoor championship on Feb. 21 at Edinboro University. Altman edged out South Fayette senior Delaney Schumaker in the 60-meter hurdles. Both girls ran 8.99 seconds. Miller nudged out Seneca Valley senior...
Belle Vernon’s Elijah Brown gets rematch with DuBois’ Kendahl Hoare at regionals
Belle Vernon senior Elijah Brown has lost one match this season. That was to DuBois sophomore Kendahl Hoare, 10-8, on Dec. 6, 2025, at the Trinity Duals. Brown (41-1) will get a chance to avenge that loss Saturday afternoon at the PIAA Class 3A West Regional at Canon-McMillan. The bout...
Michael Ruane joins decorated group of Franklin Regional champions with 1st WPIAL title
Franklin Regional junior Michael Ruane won his first WPIAL Class 3A wrestling title Feb. 21 and ended a short three-year drought for the program. After having a champion every year from 2008-21, the Panthers did not have a champion until Ruane defeated Plum senior Owen Campbell, 2-1. Ruane (41-3) is...
Hempfield, Penn-Trafford wrestlers have big 1st night at PIAA West Regional
It was quite a night for wrestlers from Hempfield and Penn-Trafford during the first day of the PIAA Class 3A West Regional. Hempfield senior Nate Caracciolo pulled off two upsets Friday at Canon-McMillan and advanced to the final day of the tournament. Wrestlers who reach the semifinals need only one...
With eye on state wrestling gold, Kiski Area, Southmoreland girls turn focus to regionals
Southmoreland senior Zoey Murphy and Kiski Area senior Ava Golding have earned medals in the PIAA girls wrestling championship. But will the third time be a charm for the duo as they look to win state gold? Murphy and Golding have a PIAA Western Regional to work through before they...
2026 PIAA West Regional boys wrestling tournament preview capsules
PIAA Class 3A West Regional Where: Canon-McMillan High School, Canonsburg When: Friday — 5 p.m. (preliminary round, quarterfinals and first round consolations). Saturday — 9 a.m. (second round consolations); 10:30 a.m. (semifinals and third round of consolations); 12:15 p.m. (fourth round of consolations); 3 p.m. (finals and third- and fifth-place...
Derry wrestlers look to build on great season as Southwest Regional looms
The Derry wrestling team did something last weekend that has not been done since 1947: have six WPIAL champions in one season. The Trojans joined Canonsburg (1947, 1939 and 1936) and Waynesburg (1942 and 1943) as the only teams to accomplish that feat. They did it at the WPIAL 2A...
Trinity’s Jonah Williamson headlines 19 WPIAL selections for PSFCA Big School West all-star team
Five productive offensive football players from WPIAL schools were among the 19 individuals selected to the West roster Tuesday for the annual Pennsylvania State Football Coaches Association East-West Big School all-star game. The small school teams were announced Monday. The West squad will face a team from the East on...
New Castle duo delivers winning basket in final second in Class 6A semifinal vs. Central Catholic
New Castle boys basketball coach Ralph Blundo has faith in his freshman point guard Marino Graham to make a play. With New Castle and Central Catholic tied Monday night, Blundo put the ball in Graham’s hands. “I was supposed to put up the last shot,” Graham said. But Graham stumbled...
4 Clairton players among 16 from WPIAL named to PSFCA East-West Small School all-star game
WPIAL and PIAA Class A champion Clairton had four players named to the Pennsylvania Scholastic Football Coaches Association small school West roster. The small school teams were released Monday, and the big school roster will be announced Tuesday. The West squad featured 16 players from WPIAL schools who will play...
Norwin’s Sidun claims 1st WPIAL title; Butler’s Sloboda, Belle Vernon’s Brown win 3rd at 3A tournament
It is hard to believe that the best 121-pound high school wrestler in the country, Landon Sidun, had not won a WPIAL championship. You can now add that to his resume. Sidun (44-0, 117-2) pinned Hempfield senior Nico Kapusta with a headlock in the second period for his first WPIAL...
Butler’s Santino Sloboda, Belle Vernon’s Elijah Brown seeking 3rd WPIAL Class 3A titles
Butler senior Santino Sloboda and Belle Vernon senior Elijah Brown will look to add their names to a growing list of three-time WPIAL wrestling champions Saturday at the Class 3A championships at Canon-McMillan. The list is currently at 89 members. Derry’s Mason Horwat and Brady Brown are also aiming to...
With Norwin’s Landon Sidun on top, 121-pound bracket proves challenging in WPIAL Class 3A
When you have the No. 1-ranked wrestler in the country in your weight class and you want to be a state champion, you have two choices. You either find a new weight class to compete in or accept the challenge of trying to beat the best. Norwin junior Landon Sidun...
Derry duo looks to join 3-time champs club at WPIAL Class 2A wrestling tournament
If things go as expected this weekend, the Derry wrestling program will add to its growing history. Juniors Mason Horwat (172 pounds) and Brady Brown (189) look to become the fifth and sixth Trojans wrestlers to win three WPIAL titles at the Class 2A championships at Chartiers Valley. If they...
2026 WPIAL wrestling tournament preview capsules
Boys Class 3A Where: Canon-McMillan When: Friday – 5 p.m. (pigtail round, preliminary round, quarterfinals and first round of consolations). Saturday — 10 a.m. (second-round consolations); 11:30 a.m. (semifinals and third round consolations); 1:15 p.m. (fourth-round consolations); 3 p.m. (finals and third-, fifth- and seventh-place matches) Returning and past champions:...
Trib HSSN individual WPIAL wrestling rankings for Feb. 19, 2026
Boys Class 3A 107: 1. Lee Dreshman, fr., Canon-McMillan (40-4); 2. Michael Johnson, so., West Allegheny (26-3); 3. Riley Smith, jr., Seneca Valley (36-1); 4. Bryce Thomas, jr., Moon (30-10); 4. Parker Jennings, so., Trinity (31-9). 114: 1. Nick McGarrity, jr., Peters Township (30-7); 2. Dylan Barrett, sr., Penn-Trafford (22-6);...
GCC girls get ‘mad,’ pull away from OLSH in WPIAL Class 3A quarterfinals
Greensburg Central Catholic senior Erica Gribble blew a layup to open the second half of Wednesday WPIAL’s Class 3A game. Our Lady of the Sacred Heart used the Gribble miss and a couple of turnovers during an 11-0 run to grab a one-point lead. But Gribble responded, scored the next...
Baldwin elects to play independent football schedule
Citing a focus on student safety and development, the Baldwin-Whitehall School District announced Wednesday that its high school football program will compete as an independent for the next two seasons. The Fighting Highlanders will join Butler as the only WPIAL football programs to be independent for the next two-year cycle....
