Team dreams lost
Bethel Park turns attention to individual success
Franklin Regional upended Connellsville, 32-25, to capture the WPIAL Class 3A team wrestling title and Norwin grabbed the third PIAA playoff spot by defeating Thomas Jefferson, 36-30, in the consolation match contested Feb. 1 at the AHN Arena on the Peters Township High School campus.
For the Knights, the win over TJ, was their second upset of the tournament. Before toppling the No. 2-seeded Jaguars, Norwin upended Bethel Park, 32-28, in the quarterfinals. The Black Hawks, who reached last year’s final four, were seeded No. 3 in the tournament.
They had captured their second straight section title with a 4-0 slate as well as 10-2 overall record and whopped Butler, 50-10, in the first round of the competition before battling the Knights.
After the loss to Norwin, BP mat boss said the “feelings” are not those of great ones. “That’s the nature of the sport and why it teaches us so many valuable things for life,” he added. “Not everything goes your way. Norwin certainly didn’t. This will make us better and stronger,” he vowed.
Their team title hopes lost, the Hawks are now preparing for the WPIAL individual tournaments.
The quest begins with the Southern Sectional set for Feb. 15 at South Fayette High School. The top finishers advance to the district championships set for Feb. 21-22 at Canon-McMillan High School. The top seven finishers move on to the Southwest Regional, also at Canon-Mac.
The PIAA championships are set for March 6-8 at the Giant Center in Hershey. The top five regional finishers qualify for the state tournament.
“Our expectations for the individual postseason is to get back in the room and train. Continue to push positivity and hard work while fixing and working on the small things,” Nauman said. “From there, I believe we will have multiple wrestlers do very well through the whole postseason with high finishes at sectionals, WPIALs, regionals and states. The Hawks will be ready to battle.”
The Hawks were prepared for a fight against Norwin. They knew heading into the fray they would be spotting the Knights six points because they had to forfeit at 107.
“Beating a good team with a forfeit is tough no matter what the team is,” Nauman said. “We learned that all year, not just against Norwin. That forfeit became the major difference but even with that forfeit we could have pulled this one out.”
Bonus bouts got the best of the Hawks. The Knights scored a major decision and a fall in critical matches at 160 and 172.
“Those were important matches that we did not perform how we could have. Not only were we confident in our guys in those matches but we also thought we could possibly grab bonus points. That didn’t happen. So that definitely hurt,” Nauman explained.
The Hawks lost at 127 by a 7-2 decision. That was a match, Nauman felt, the Bethel Park could have reversed the outcome but again things weren’t falling the Hawks’ way.
The tech fall at 121 to start the bout did not come as a surprise. Although Pierce Reinhardt is a standout sophomore, having come off winning a county championship, he dropped his match to Landon Sidun. In two years, Sidun has compiled a 72-2 record. He was a section and state champion as a freshman in 2024. He is also a Powerade champion and regional runner-up.
“Landon is one of the best wrestlers in the nation and state. Very, very talented,” Nauman said. “So, we knew we would have a tough time in the first match.
“Pierce went out and didn’t back down but Landon showed why he’s number one in the nation.”
In the middle of the contest, BP got the matchups it “liked” but lost three in a row. After Seth Miller, Aiden Stout and Ethan Higgins won their bouts by tech fall, pin and major decision. The Hawks lost from 152 through 172 and trailed, 21-15, heading into the heavier weights.
Nauman noted Caleb Crawford’s effort in a 3-0 loss at 152. “He wrestled a very good opponent in a tight match,” he said. “Really in all those weights they had a lot of options. They chose to go with who they did and it worked out for them.”
As expected Ryan Walsh won at 189, Hunter Goelz registered a pin at 215 and Michael Gibson scored a major decision at heavyweight as BP vaulted into the lead, 28-21.
“We knew we had to get wins and bonus at those weights,” Nauman said. “Their wrestlers are very well coached and even in situations they may not be favored they are coached to limit points.
“They did just that at 145 and 189 and that hurt us as well. That’s the fight that made the difference. But our heavier guys went out and got wins like we knew they could. Hunter wanted that fall and wouldn’t be denied. That was an impressive performance there.”
The forfeit, however, loomed at 107 and the lead narrowed to one point before the decisive tech fall came at 114.
“The team was upset after the match, so I just attempted to be positive and have them hold their heads high,” Nauman said. “We don’t like to make excuses so I told them they got us and that happens. While this was not what we wanted, it wasn’t because of lack of effort, skill or fight. They wrestled well and should be proud. In the end, we were proud of them.”
Bethel Park reached the quarterfinals by beating Butler, 50-10, in the opening round of the tournament.
The Hawks won five bouts by falls. Earning pins were Miller (133), Stout (139), Ian Bucheli (160), Walsh (189) and Goelz (215). Reinhardt (121) and Higgins (152) managed major decisions. Jaden Palombine (114) and Gibson (285) won matches by decisions. Maksim Miller won by forfeit at 172.