After an action packed dual meet Wednesday night against Norwin, the Penn Trafford Warriors traveled to Greensburg Salem High School for the 2025 WCCA County Tournament. With a field of 16 teams, and each team given the ability to put more than one wrestler at each weight class, the Warriors walked away with a 7th place finish and eight individual place winners.

At 114 lbs, Dylan Barrett (the #1 Seed) walked away as the County champ with a statement. After two wins by fall on day one, Barrett made quick work in the semis with a 19-3 Technical fall over Gavin Murphy of Kiski Area, and capped off his tournament just short of a technical fall with a 16-3 Major Decision in the finals over Coleton Klipa of Norwin. Barrett continues a long history of County champions for Penn Trafford, with the most recent victor before him being Tasso Whipple in 2023. 

At 121 lbs, Luke Desantis (the #2 Seed) finished as the County Runner-up. After receiving a bye in the first round, Desantis worked for a technical fall in the second round to cap off day one. In the semi finals, he continued to push the pace to a 9-3 win in the semifinals over Nate Gulibon of Norwin, and ended his day losing to Leo Joseph of Latrobe by fall.

Also at 121 lbs, Evan Awai (Unseeded) finished his day one with a record of 0-2. Evan shows fight and hard nosed wrestling in every position on the mat, and shows the importance of having a good attitude and working hard. Although not posting a win, he is a staple in the room for the Warriors. 

At 127 lbs, Jake Lang (the #6 seed) ended up falling in the bloodround, going 2-2 after back and forth action over the two day span. After a dominant performance in round one, Lang faced off against Franklin Regional’s Mikey Ruane where he fell to the consolation bouts. On day two, after a gritty 5-3 win over Hempfield’s Murphy Sheridan, his tournament ended against another Hempfield talent in Ty King.

At 133 lbs, Logan Ventura (Unseeded) ended his tournament with a sixth place finish. After a bye in the first round, Logan hit a wall facing off against Latrobe’s Luke Willochell. In the consolations, Ventura recorded a fall, and two tough fought decisions to make it to the placing rounds. After dropping a 4-0 exchange in the consolation semifinals, Ventura ended up in 6th place after falling 5-4 to Norwin’s Dom Butera.

At 139 lbs, Gino Pecora (the #6 Seed) finished his tournament going 1-2. After a bye in the first round, Pecora fell to Julian Bertucci of Burrell to find himself in the consolation bouts for day 2. After a back and forth exchange, Pecora made one mistake ending his tournament against Kiski Area’s Dom Roland.

At 145 lbs, Sidney Hand (Unseeded) walked away with a bronze medal finishing third. After winning by fall in the first two rounds, and a 10-5 decision win in the Quarterfinals, Hand faced off against Gage Mamie of Norwin for the second time this week, losing a 4-1 decision in overtime. After dropping into the consi-semis, Hand picked up a 9-1 Major decision to place himself in the 3rd place bout. He was able to fend off a 3-2 decision over Tristian Wtorkiewicz of Mount Pleasant.

At 152 lbs, Dylan Clayton (the #4 Seed) finished his tournament with a fifth place standing on the podium. After a quick win by fall, and a decision victory, Clayton fell in the semi finals to Derry’s Mason Howat. After a highly contested defeat to Franklin Regional’s Luke Ankney, Clayton found himself in the 5th place bout against Valley’s Antonio Perkins. Being down 7-3, Clayton put his nose to the grindstone. Getting a pair of takedowns, and a set of backpoints, his 13-8 come from behind victory put a highlight on a strong showing.

Also at 152 lbs, Seth Pochiba (Unseeded) finished his tournament with a 2-2 record. After a strong showing with a 16-0 technical fall, he found himself in the consolations after a loss by fall to Franklin Regional’s Luke Ankney. Pochiba made it to day 2 with a statement by way of fall. On day 2, Pochiba faced off against Valley’s Antonio Perkins, dropping his final match 18-1.

At 160 lbs, Cael Ott (the #8 seed) lost in the bloodround after a strong showing for a highly contested weight class. Having a bye in the first round, Ott found himself in the Quarterfinals after an 11-4 victory. After falling to Ethan Cartwright of Franklin Regional, Ott received a win by fall to reach the bloodround where he would end his tournament with a deceivingly close 12-4 loss to Kiski Area’s Travis Shearer. 

Also at 160 lbs, Bryce Klingensmith (Unseeded) ended his tournament on day one with a record of 0-2 on the day. In two highly contested bouts, the freshman continues to show improvements, and with more experience could sway those outcomes in his favor. A worker on and off the mat, we look forward to the future success of Klingensmith.

At 172 lbs, Logan Matrisch (the #5 Seed) kept the ball rolling with a third place finish. A bye in the first round, a win by fall, and a 4-1 decision over Latrobe’s Bradan Bronson led Matrisch to the semi-finals. On day two, he dropped to the consolations after losing to Kiski Area’s Mario Hutcherson, but did not take his foot off the gas. A 5-3 decision victory against Jordan Perks took Matrisch to the third place match, where he finished with a 5-1 victory over Southmoreland’s Landon Delara.

Also at 172 lbs, Brayden Desantis (Unseeded) found himself battling through positions, finishing his tournament with a record of 0-2. Brayden continues to grind on the mat, and does not back down from his opponent. Although not publishing a win this weekend, he continues to be a leader in his own way. 

At 189 lbs, Tasso Whipple finished with a 6th place stance on the podium. 

At 215 lbs, Ben Grabowski (the #8 seed) rounded out the placers of the tournament standing atop the 6th place framing. After a win by fall in the first round, Grabowski fell in the quarterfinals to Cooper Roscosky of Kiski Area. He finished day one with a win by fall to make it to the bloodround. On day two, a win by fall sealed a placement in the tournament. After losing to Burrell’s Luke Boylan, he found himself in the 5th place match. After a high flying exchange that could’ve gone either way, Grabowski ended up losing by fall to Luke Geltz of Kiski Area.

Also at 215 lbs, Jamison Yurt (Unseeded) unfortunately had his tournament cut short. After wrestling the #1 seed Cooper Roscosky from Kiski Area, Yurt would drop to the consolations where he would Medical Forfeit out of the tournament. 

At 285 lbs, Aiden Toth (Unseeded) ended his day one with an 1-2 record. However, this is not to be discredited as Toth continues to make strides at putting his potential together. After a closely contested match in round one, Toth dropped to the consolations where he received a medical forfeit victory. In his last match of the day, he began to put a string of handfighting and leg attacks together. Although a loss to Mount Pleasant’s Payton Schaum, the last match shows coaches and fans that Toth is beginning to come into his own on the mat. 

Placewinners:

114: Dylan Barrett (1st place)

121: Luke Desantis (2nd place)

133: Logan Ventura (6th place)

145: Sidney Hand (3rd place)

152: Dylan Clayton (5th place)

172: Logan Matrisch (3rd place)

189: Tasso Whipple (6th place)

215: Ben Grabowski (6th place)