Mar 1, 2026 By Jonathan Guth 5 min read

Belle Vernon’s Elijah Brown and Connellsville’s Kai Vielma are four victories away from a state championship in Class 3A, as the two won titles in the PIAA Class 3A West Regional on Saturday at Canon-McMilland High School.

Vielma, a junior, had his streak of bonus-point victories snapped at 21, but the Stanford commit still won his second regional title in a 5-2 decision over Central Mountain’s Aiden Kunes in the finals at 145 pounds.

Vielma and Kunes wrestled earlier in the season, and Vielma came away with a 5-2 win on Dec. 6 in the finals of the Top Best Memorial Top Hat Tournament at Williamsport High School.

“I was very excited to earn my second regional title,” Vielma said. “He (Kunes) is very good competition and ranked second in the state. Hopefully, everyone saw a preview of next Saturday night, but there are a lot of top guys at my weight.”

Vielma had a 4-0 lead in the third period after securing an escape and takedown in the second before Kunes cut the deficit to two with a reversal, but there were just 21 seconds left in the bout. Kunes cut Vielma to set up the match-tying takedown but couldn’t get anything going in the last 17 seconds of the match.

“I was riding him tough in the third period, but I kind of pulled him back on me,” Vielma said. “I didn’t want to get reversed and put on my back, so I gave up the two points. He cut me quickly but wasn’t able to do anything to me with only a short amount of time remaining. It was a weird position, but I figured it was better to just give it up than risk giving up back points.”

In the first meeting, Vielma had a 5-0 lead and was in control, but decided to cut Kunes to record another takedown, but he was called for unnecessary roughness as he shot a double leg on the line.

“I was more dominant in the first match against him (Kunes), but I knew he was going to come ready,” Vielma said. “Looking at the state tournament, I could see some familiar faces, but also wrestle some new guys, but I will be ready no matter who I face. There are some top-level wrestlers in my bracket, and even though I am on the top of the bracket, I can’t afford to take anyone for granted.”

Brown avenged his only loss this season in a 7-1 victory over DuBois’ Kendahl Hoare in the finals at 215. Hoare beat the Penn State recruit, 10-8, on Dec. 6 in a dual meet as part of the Trinity Duals at Trinity High School.

Brown, who won his third straight regional gold, also has a regional championship from two years ago when the Leopards were competing in Class 2A. Brown, who improved to 42-1 this year and 169-20 overall, is seeking his second straight PIAA title at 215.

Brown won Belle Vernon’s first state championship in program history last season, and with one victory to tie and two to surpass, he will take over as the school’s all-time wins leader with 171.

Zach Hartman is the current leader with a career record of 169-25.

Brown and Vielma will be joined this Thursday at the Giant Center in Hershey for the PIAA Class 3A Individual Wrestling Championships by four Falcons in Tommy Gretz (121), Nolan Rice (127), Dan Smith (139) and Luke Lilley (152).

Rice finished in the West Regional for his third straight trip to the state tournament. The junior placed eighth last season at 127. Gretz was fourth at 121, but the junior qualified for the state championships for the second time. He was sixth last year at 107.

Gretz also won his 100th-career match in the West Regional with a 1-0 victory over State College’s Luke Young in the third round of consolations.

Smith, who was fourth, will make his first trip to Hershey to compete in the individual state tournament.

Lilley earned a 6-0 triumph over Upper St. Clair’s Derek Worstell for a fifth-place finish.

Connellsville’s Trinity Moore placed fourth at 112 in the PIAA Girls West Regional Individual Championships at Mount Lebanon High School. Moore, a senior who recently won her 100th-career match, is making her fourth trip to the state tournament. She was fifth as a freshman and sophomore but didn’t place last year.

Southmoreland’s Zoey Murphy won her second straight regional title with a fall over Albert Gallatin’s Jenna Chapman in the finals at 2:35. Chapman, a sophomore, will be making her first appearance in the state tournament.

Murphy, a senior, is competing at the state tournament for the fourth-straight year. She was seventh as a freshman and runner-up last year.

West Greene ninth grader Josie Mason earned a fall in the consolation finals at 136 to qualify for states.