Kiski Area’s Mario Hutcherson is the hunted.
And that is fine with him.
As the No. 1 seed in the 189-pound bracket at Friday and Saturday’s WPIAL Class 3A wrestling championships at Canon-McMillan, the Cavaliers sophomore said he’s feeling good and ready to defend his top billing.
“After the season I’ve had, that is where I thought I would land,” said Hutcherson, who is 36-1 with his only loss coming at the hands of 2025 state medalist Dom Sumpolec from Notre Dame Green Pond in the semifinals at Powerade in late December.
Hutcherson came back to place third, and he hasn’t lost since.
“I enjoy being that top seed,” he said. “In a way, everyone is nervous to wrestle me, and they are also wanting to knock me off. That gives me energy and motivation. Being the hunted shows that all the hard work has paid off, and you’re on top for a reason.
“As the tournament gets closer, I’ve gotten more and more focused. Earlier in the week, I felt beat up, but we started to taper down, and now I am feeling fresh and ready to go.”
Hutcherson rolled through the North Section qualifying tournament last weekend, taking the title with a 21-4 tech fall in two minutes over Armstrong freshman Trace Kinzey. He felt his speed served him well in that tournament and should again this weekend.
He feels he is better prepared to go deeper into the postseason having experienced the pressure at every level in his varsity debut last year.
Hutcherson made it to the WPIAL finals before falling to Thomas Jefferson’s Bode Marlow, who is now a freshman at Pitt. He then took third at regionals and sixth at states, finishing his season at 43-7.
“Experiencing that last year, I now know when I need to pick it up and when I need to tone it down,” he said. “I have a better understanding of how I need to prepare for each tournament.”
Senior Cooper Roscosky is in the twilight of his Kiski Area varsity career, but the Buffalo commit said he has a lot left to accomplish. For him, that starts Friday with a No. 2 seed at 215. Roscosky hopes to build on his North Section title last week that put him at 32-4 overall.
Across the way at No. 1 is Penn State commit Elijah Brown (35-1) of Belle Vernon, a two-time WPIAL champion and last year’s 215-pound state champ. Roscosky finished as runner-up to Brown in last year’s WPIAL, regional and PIAA tournaments.
Roscosky said his goals are clear: get to the finals and win WPIAL gold. If he faces Brown in the finals, that would be added motivation to shoot for the title.
“I am confident,” Roscosky said. “I am looking to get better one match at a time. I can’t look ahead to anyone. It would be nice to get another shot at (Brown), but there is so much to get done before that.”
Roscosky, who owns a 145-27 career record, points to the Cavalier Duals on Dec. 13 and a major decision victory over state-ranked Kendahl Hoare from DuBois and a win over North Allegheny’s Bradyn McConneha, the top seed at 285 this weekend, as major benchmarks in the early season that helped him raise his level to where he is now.
Hutcherson and Roscosky are two of five seeded wrestlers representing the Cavaliers on Friday and Saturday.
Sophomore Gavin Murphy (28-12) finished as runner-up at 133 at the North Section tournament and is seeded third this weekend.
Junior Travis Shearer heads into WPIALs as the No. 5 seed at 172. He improved to 21-10 overall after taking second at sections.
Senior Alex Akerly also finished as a runner-up at the section tournament, and he heads into WPIALs as the No. 7 seed at 285 with a 21-10 record.
“We’ve had a good week of preparation,” Kiski Area coach Chris Heater said. “At this point in the season, you get your days of recovery and some final practices to clean some things up. Now, it’s go time. We’re excited to compete this weekend and see where we’re at.”
Also seeded in Class 3A are Plum senior Owen Campbell (third at 152, 30-6), Fox Chapel senior Adam Haines (eighth at 152, 23-7), Foxes senior Joey Gellar (seventh at 215, 29-8) and Plum senior Frank Grazulis (fifth at 285, 30-5).
After their run to the WPIAL finals and PIAA tournament, Burrell wrestlers have turned their attention to the pursuit of individual postseason glory, which continues Friday and Saturday with the Class 2A championships at Chartiers Valley.
Bucs senior Cam Baker, the 2024 107-pound WPIAL champion, didn’t compete for WPIAL gold last year because of an injury. He is prepared to get back to the top of the podium as the No. 1 seed at 127 pounds. He is 34-3.
Baker’s senior teammate, Julian Bertucci, was a WPIAL runner-up in 2025, and he is gunning for gold as the No. 1 seed at 145 (36-4).
Highlands senior Jaevon Chambers takes a 32-6 record to WPIALs as the No. 2 seed at 114. He hopes to repeat as a WPIAL champion after taking the 107-pound crown last year en route to earning a medal at states in Hershey.
Other seeded Burrell wrestlers are junior Ben Catullo (fourth at 172, 28-11), senior Jacob Stewart (fourth at 139, 33-5), sophomore Antonio Perkins (fifth at 160, 30-8), junior Ayden Kun (sixth at 215, 28-13), freshman Carl Thomas (seventh at 107, 25-14), junior Carter Thomas (seventh at 133, 17-12) and sophomore Liam Jones (seventh at 152, 23-9).
Valley sophomore Juzef Betts (20-5) is the fifth seed at 133, and Vikings senior Raydn Thomas (25-8) is seeded eighth at 121.