Triple threat
Falcons’ Vielma, Leopards’ Brown earn 3rd section championships
IRWIN — Belle Vernon’s Elijah Brown and Connellsville’s Kai Vielma didn’t run into much trouble in earning their third section championships on Saturday at Norwin High School in the Class 3A Eastern Sectional.
Brown won all three bouts by fall for the championship in the 215-pound weight class. The senior and Penn State commit spent one minute and 31 seconds on the mat, as he won in 20, 37 and 34 seconds.
Vielma won two matches by technical fall and earned one with a pin to win the title at 145. The junior and Stanford commit won by fall in 48 seconds in the quarterfinals before recording technical falls of 17-1 in the semifinals and 19-4 in the finals. His semifinal bout lasted three minutes and seven seconds and his finals match was four minutes and eight seconds. The five points recorded by Vielma’s opponents were escapes, which he conceded to add to his point total by securing takedowns.
Brown, who improved to 35-1 this season and 162-20 for his career, was announced by the public address announcer as a “future All-American at Penn State,” but the future Nittany Lion doesn’t want his attitude to change as he racks up wins. Even though he won all his bouts by fall, Brown stuck with his normal routine to cool down following each match.
“The guy was a Penn State fan and he talked to me afterwards and shook my hand,” Brown said. “It’s a lot to live up to, but it’s also exciting. I am excited to get up there, and that’s one of the goals. I was at Penn State’s match against Ohio State on Friday, and it was awesome. I slept on the way to the match and on the way home, but I didn’t have the greatest of sleep. After the weigh-ins this morning, I took a nap.”
Brown’s resume speaks for itself, but he was quick to point out that he didn’t win a section championship as a freshman, which he uses as motivation in seeking a second straight state title at 215.
“I was fourth in the section as a freshman, and I didn’t even qualify for states,” Brown said. “I really didn’t start to pick it up a lot my junior year. I tell a lot of my friends when they are struggling about my freshman year, and I point to that so they don’t get discouraged if things aren’t going so well.”
Vielma’s victory stopped a run of championships by the Knights, as the host team had won four in a row, which started with Landon Sidun at 121, and followed with Coleton Klipa (127), Dominic Butera (133) and Brooks Blasko (139).
Klipa and Butera edged the Falcons’ Nolan Rice (127) and Landon Lynn (133) in their finals matches.
“We are in the toughest section in the toughest state in the country,” Vielma said. “You have the top two teams in the state in our section, so we are probably going to see some of the same guys in the WPIALs and regionals.
“I am excited for the upcoming weeks. I hope to start with a WPIAL title next week, and follow that with a regional and state title. It may sound cliche, but you have to take it one match at a time.”
Despite the tough stretch in the finals, Connellsville had 10 qualifiers for the WPIAL Class 3A Individual Championships, which was second behind Norwin’s 12.
The Falcons’ Daniel Smith (139) and Dylan Lytle (189) finished in third place, while Zach Franks (114), Tommy Gretz (121), Luke Lilley (152) and Jake Lilley (160) took fourth. Jeremy Gray was fifth at 107.
Connellsville’s dual-meet portion of the season ended on Feb. 7 in a loss to Nazareth in the consolation quarterfinals of the PIAA Class 3A Team Championships, which was a bitter pill to swallow after the Falcons finished third in the state team tournament last year.
“I was pretty disappointed with the result of the state team tournament because we had these big goals coming up and in middle school to be four-time WPIAL and state champs,” Vielma said. “It does kind of hurt when we don’t accomplish those goals, but I still believe in our team. We just needed one or two of those matches to go our way that didn’t, but it is what it is. As a team, we just need to refocus and get back in the room this summer.”
The Leopards had four other district qualifiers in Gracin Guglielmo (3rd/107), Brayden Broadwater (4th/114), Rylee Doppelheuer (6th/121) and Colby Hibner (6th/160).
Albert Gallatin had three advancements to the WPIAL tournament, as Colin Rockwell led the way in third place at 285. Gavin and Greyson Morris were sixth at 107 and 114.
Laurel Highlands didn’t have any district qualifiers, but freshman Will Skowronski earned a fall in 1:41 during the first round of consolations at 114.
The WPIAL Class 3A Individual Championships will be contested this Friday and Saturday at Canon-McMillan High School. Friday’s action begins at 5 p.m. and Saturday’s is scheduled for 10 a.m. The top seven wrestlers from each weight will qualify for the PIAA Class 3A West Regional at Canon-McMillan.