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 is still in the running from his ultimate goal, winning a PIAA title.
Barrett knew wrestling at 121 pounds was not the best path to his goal with Norwin junior Landon Sidun, the No. 1 ranked wrestler in the country, at that weight class, but there’s been an adjustment period at his new spot.
“I felt sluggish,” Barrett said. “I will be OK. I need to work on things.”
Barrett won his first two matches — pinning Canon-McMillan freshman Parker Kolarchik and majoring Trinity sophomore Jackson Hoy — before falling to eventual champion Zach Rehak of Thomas Jefferson, 11-5 in the semifinals.
Rehak built an early lead and then held off Barrett.
Barrett then defeated Franklin Regional sophomore Beau Fennick, 5-2, in the consolation semifinals.
He lost to Hoy, 4-1, in the third-place match.
Penn-Trafford coach Travis McKillop said Barrett made a decision to drop from 121 pounds after the Westmoreland County Coaches’ Association tournament after he lost to Sidun twice in a week.
“His decision was to either stay at 121 and not worry about winning a title or his weight, or dropping and going for it at 114,” McKillop said. “He decided to go for it, and he began his descent plan. We did it the right way, and now he’s ready to go.”
Barrett looked good in winning the Class 3A Eastern Section tournament Feb. 14.
He pinned Gateway’s Everett Kuehn at 1:16 then earned a major decision over Connellsville senior Zach Franks, 13-2.
In the finals, he defeated Rehak, 4-0.
Despite an impressive resume, it was Barrett’s first section title. He finished second in 2023 and 2025 and fourth in 2024.
Barrett is also a three-time PIAA qualifier. He finished seventh in the state at 114 in 2025.
“I did not know that he never won a section title,” McKillop said. “He wrestled well.”
“Landon is a stud, and my goal was to win a state title,” Barrett said. “I know 114 pounds will not be easy. There are a lot of good wrestlers in the weight class. But I feel good. My weight is good, and I am ready. Winning the section title is a start.”
Barrett said he watched what he ate, consumed smaller portions and drank more fluids.
“Section title was one of my goals, but I have bigger ones,” Barrett said. “I felt pretty good at 125 pounds and getting down to 116 was a lot easier.”
Barrett was scheduled to face City League champion Keon Lewis (10-6) of Westinghouse at regionals.
Other Warriors joining Barrett in the regional were junior Luke DeSantis at 127 pounds, senior Logan Matrisch at 160, junior Sydney Hand at 172 and senior Cael Ott at 215.