The top two wrestling Class 3A teams in the WPIAL put on quite a show Wednesday at Franklin Regional.
The match was not only for the Section 9 title, but it was also for the top seed in the upcoming WPIAL team tournament.
Returning 3A champion and No. 1-ranked Franklin Regional got huge wins from Salvatore Colangelo (107 pounds) and Cohen Buccicone (160) and defeated No. 2 Norwin, 30-28, in an entertaining match.
The WPIAL wrestling committee will meet Thursday to decide seeding for Class 3A and Class 2A.
“Norwin has a great team and a great coaching staff,” Franklin Regional coach Matt Lebe said. “We knew it would be tight. The coin flip matters.”
The match went back and forth.
The Panthers (14-0, 4-0), who have won five straight meetings with the Knights, took a 9-0 lead when Colangelo edged Luca Butera, 2-1, and Beau Fennick, returning to the lineup, recorded a pin.
“Sal’s win was huge for us,” Lebe said. “It gave us a lift.”
Norwin (9-2, 3-1) responded with four consecutive victories to grab a 17-9 lead. Landon Sidun, the top 121-pound wrestler in the country, and Coleton Klipa (127) recorded technical wins, Dom Butera got a major a 133 and Brooks Blasko got a takedown in overtime to defeat Chase Smith, 5-2.
“It was a great match,” Norwin coach Kyle Martin said. “They won the flip, and it was huge for them.
“There were some great matches. Brooks’ win was huge for him. We have work to do. We have to learn to finish matches.”
Franklin Regional was able to stop Norwin’s momentum when Max Firestine rallied to edge Nathan Klingensmith, 5-4, in rideout.
Michael Ruane cut the Norwin lead to 17-15 with a 5-1 win against Noah Curran.
Then came the match-changer. Buccicone wrestled up 15 pounds and rallied to pin Evan Suedhoff at 160 to give the Panthers a 21-17 lead.
Buccicone fell behind 6-2 early but rallied and eventually got the pin.
“Cohen does what he can to get into the lineup,” Lebe said. “He is a great kid and a hard worker. We had to get him in the lineup.”
Buccicone said he did not panic when he fell behind.
“I knew if I got to my stuff, I could beat him,” Buccicone said. “I knew I had to keep pushing him. I beat him once before.”
Norwin reclaimed the lead 22-21 when Jack White won by technical fall.
But a 1-0 victory by Ethan Cartwright at 189 and a pin by John Montgomery clinched the win and the section title.
Montgomery does not play baseball — his dad, Brett, did at West Virginia — but the last two seasons he has become the wrestling team’s closer.
“I prepared myself to wrestle heavyweight,” Montgomery said. “I had a 20-pound weight advantage, and I went after him. I usually do not cut people; I go for the fall.
“This was a huge win for us because it was for the No. 1 seed. We have some work to do before next week.”
Lebe said Montgomery worked hard in the offseason and got more physical and stronger.
He showed that in his clinching pin.