Jan 8, 2026 By the Herald-Standard 5 min read

Connellsville won the first five bouts and never looked back in a 52-15 victory over Hempfield in the Section 8-3A opener on Wednesday night at Hempfield Area High School.

The Falcons’ Jake Lilley recorded a technical fall, 18-1, in 2:52 in the 160-pound weight class for a 5-0 lead.

Teammates Cooper Lembo (172), Dylan Lytle (189), Ryan Brown (215) and Roghan Hollis (285) won by fall for a 29-0 advantage.

The Spartans’ Adyn Wasil (107) and Connellsville’s Zach Franks (114) traded forfeits before Hempfield’s Nico Kapusta earned a 7-3 decision over Tommy Gretz at 121 in a match-up of returning state qualifiers.

The Falcons’ Nolan Rice edged Nate Caracciolo, 3-0, at 127 to clinch the dual meet.

The Spartans’ Dominick Woods (133) won by fall, but Connellsville’s Daniel Smith (139) earned a 13-1 major decision.

The Falcons’ Kai Vielma (145) and Luke Lilley (152) closed the match out with technical falls.

Connellsville (1-0, 3-2) will compete in the Gettysburg Duals on Saturday at Gettysburg High School. The first dual meet is scheduled for 9 a.m.

Latrobe 51, Albert Gallatin 22 — Bryce Kelley and Reese Williams recorded falls for the Colonials, but the Wildcats recorded three falls of their own in a Section 8-3A victory at Albert Gallatin.

Kelley (127) earned his fall in 1:08 and Williams (133) in 2:18.

Teammate Nick Hillyard won a high-scoring affair, 23-15, over Latrobe’s Clayton Burket at 160.

Greyson Morris won by forfeit at 114 for the Colonials (0-1, 5-3).

The Wildcats’ Kai Maxwell (121), Hunter Snyder (189) and Gamin Owens (285) all won by fall. Latrobe’s Logan Peagler eked out a 1-0 decision over Julius Poole at 139.

Latrobe’s Logan Skuta (145), Dominic Angelicchio (152), Owen Sarsfield (172), Nico Dominick (215) and Maddox Medalic (107) received forfeits.

The Wildcats are 1-0 in section action and 5-2 overall.

Beth-Center 72, Frazier 6 — Mason Wright (133 pounds), Evan Miller (160) and Noah Layhue (215) won by fall and the Bulldogs received seven forfeits in a Section 3-2A victory over the Commodores.

The win sets up a crucial match next week for Beth-Center against Jefferson-Morgan.

Jonah Erdely had a pin for Frazier. There were only four bouts contested in the match.

Jefferson-Morgan 60, Brownsville 4 — The Rockets, powered by five pins, rolled over the Falcons in a Section 3-2A match.

Brownsville’s points came on a major decision at 145 pounds by Kody Gates.

Caleb Dulaney (114), Connor Pinchok (127), Ej Lingenfield (139), Alek Palko (172) and Landon Heath (285) recorded the five falls for Jefferson-Morgan.

Chartiers-Houston 43, West Greene 30 — John Dove (121) Kamden Stamm (127), Peyton Garove (139), Caleb Tewell (145) and Tyler Clayton (215) had a pin each in the Buccaneers’ Section 1-2A victory at West Greene.

The Pioneers got pins from Noah Collins (133), Reece Tharp (189) and Colin Whyte (heavyweight).

Girls basketball

Uniontown 40, California 29 — Aierra Jenkins scored 21 points, including seven in the fourth quarter, to help the Lady Raiders pull away from the host Lady Trojans for a non-section win.

Uniontown trailed 7-6 after the first quarter put held California to two points in the second to take a 15-9 halftime lead in the defensive battle. The Lady Trojans sliced the gap to 24-23 after three quarters but the Lady Raiders secured the win with a 16-6 edge in the fourth.

Charley Murtha added 13 points for Uniontown.

Hayley Gibson paced California with 10 points.

Men’s basketball

PennWest California 87, Seton Hill 78 — Bryson Lucas scored 16 of his 22 points in the first half and California stretched its winning streak to nine games with a victory over Seton Hill in PSAC West play at the Convocation Center.

Lucas, who also had nine rebounds, led four Cal players in double figures and kept the Vulcans (7-0, 10-4) unbeaten in PSAC play. Antoine Arnett, Brayden Reynolds and Jordyn Buchanan each tossed in 19 points for the Vulcans, who overcame a 40-33 halftime deficit by shooting 66 percent in the second half.

Seton Hill (6-2, 12-3) shot only 36 percent in the second half. Rashaad Williams poured in a game-high 36 points, which included eight three-point field goals, for the Griffins. Kedrick Curtis had 19 points and 10 rebounds.

Chatham 98, Waynesburg 73 — Lovenson Xavier made 10 of his first 12 shots en route to a 32-point performance as Chatham defeated visiting Waynesburg in a Presidents’ Athletic Conference game.

Chatham (2-1, 7-4) made 18 three-point field goals, including six by Xavier. The Cougars went 18-for-34 from behind the stripe.

Chatham made 11 of its three-pointers in the first half, when it forged a 45-33 lead. The Cougars shot 58 percent from the field for the game and 66 percent in the second half.

Waynesburg (0-3, 4-8) made 11 three-pointers but the Yellow Jackets didn’t have enough offensive firepower to stay with Chatham in the second half. Casey Keesee led the Yellow Jackets with 13 points and Scott Bilovus added 12.

Women’s basketball

Chatham 71, Waynesburg 65 — Alyssa Laukus scored a game-high 21 points, Madison Nereu added 19 and Chatham used a pivotal spurt midway through the fourth quarter to beat visiting Waynesburg in a PAC game.

Chatham (1-2, 8-3) led 54-53 in the fourth before it embarked on a 7-0 run that left Waynesburg (1-2, 5-7) playing catch-up the rest of the way.

Kara McFadden scored 14 points and Waynesburg Central graduate Clara-Paige Miller had 13 for the Yellow Jackets, who closed to within four points three times in the closing minutes.

Seton Hill 90, PennWest California 83 — Sisters Helene and Hallie Cowan combined for 57 points as Seton Hill won a foul-filled PSAC West game over California at the Convocation Center.

The teams combined for 49 fouls and 67 free throws.

California (4-3, 8-9) led 43-41 at halftime but Seton Hill (7-0, 11-2) moved ahead 63-61 after three quarters. The Griffins won the game by making eight of 12 free throws in the fourth quarter.

Helen Cowand led the Griffins with a game-high 34 points on 10-for-20 shooting from the field and 16-for-16 at the free-throw line. Hallie Cowan added 23 points and Mia Klaich contributed 19 points and a game-high 15 rebounds.

Cal had five players in double figures led by 18 points each from Alicia Young and Kennedy Bankett. Hope Hawkins and Trinity Balog each tossed in 13 points and Kimaya Williams had 10 points and a team-high 11 rebounds.