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 win Saturday to earn a trip to the PIAA championships March 5-7 at Giant Center in Hershey.
Action resumes at 9 a.m. with the second round of consolations. The semifinals start at 10:30 a.m. and the finals at 3 p.m.
Caracciolo (32-11) entered the tournament as the sixth seed from the WPIAL.
He began the day by defeating the District 6 champion, Deklan Carr of Altoona, 3-2. Barr was seeded fifth in the state at 127 pounds.
Then Caracciolo used a late takedown to knock off Connellsville junior Nolan Rice, 3-1, in the quarterfinals.
“I practiced well with Nico (Kapusta) this week, and it prepared me,” Caracciolo said. “I put in the work and got rewarded.
“I did not know much about the first guy except we practiced once at Young Guns. As for Rice, this was the first time in four attempts that I beat him.”
After his win, he celebrated with Kapusta and his coaches.
“I need one win,” he added. “I just have to do the same thing I did (Friday), and I will be OK.”
Caracciolo will face Trinity senior Dom Canali in the semifinals.
Kapusta advanced to the semifinals at 121 pounds by pinning Westinghouse freshman De-Juire Springs in 41 seconds and edging State College sophomore Luke Young, 4-3.
He will face DuBois sophomore Mateo Gallegos, the No.-3 ranked wrestler in the state, in the semifinals.
Penn-Trafford had three advance, and two pulled upsets.
Senior Dylan Barrett was not a surprise as he pinned Westinghouse freshman Leon Lewis in 47 seconds at 114.
Then he defeated the WPIAL runner-up, Pine-Richland sophomore Bennett Ferraro, 4-1.
Barrett (27-8) will face Mifflin County junior Andrew Alexander, the District 6 champion.
“I wrestled well,” Barrett said. “I put in extra work this week, and I felt better.”
Barrett said he felt sluggish in the WPIAL championships Feb. 21.
He got a first-period takedown on Ferraro and was able to control match.
“He likes to let it fly, and I like that style,” Barrett said. “I like when guys attack.
“When I am on my game, I feel I can beat anyone in the state.”
The surprises were from junior Sidney Hand (172) and senior Cael Ott (215).
They both advanced with two victories.
Hand pinned District 9 champion, Logan Moore of Punxsutawney, and then he blanked Bellefonte senior Jack McHail, 7-0.
He faces Thomas Jefferson senior Zach Labryer, the WPIAL champion, in the semis.
Ott started the day with a pin of Brashear senior Antonio Roa and then pinned Altoona junior Mike Coyler.
He will face returning WPIAL and PIAA champion Elijah Brown of Belle Vernon.
Canon-McMillan leads the team competition with 60.5 points and advanced five into the semifinals.
Franklin Regional is next with 50 points and four in the semis: sophomore Beau Fennick (114), junior Titus Colangelo (121), junior Michael Ruane (152) and junior Ethan Cartwright (172).
Advancing for Norwin were junior Landon Sidun (121) and junior Nathan Klingensmith (145).
Kiski Area advanced two: sophomore Mario Hutcherson (189) and senior Cooper Roscosky (215).
Hunter Snyder of Latrobe (189) and Plum senior Owen Campbell (152) are in the semifinals.