Trinity wrestling could be something special
It has been a while since the Trinity Hillers wrestling team has stood atop the WPIAL.
This past weekend, Trinity took three quick, confident and impressive steps upward.
The Hillers swept Penn-Trafford, North Allegheny and Latrobe, 45-24.
In the process, Trinity earned the program’s 800th victory.
“I’ve only been around a couple of years, so I haven’t contributed much to the 800 wins,” said Hillers coach Ron Tarquinio. “The milestone shows how strong the program has been in the past.”
The coaching lineage at Trinity includes Thomas Ellwood, Julius Berry, Milton Decker, James Moninger, Norman “Bud” Allison, Henry Reihner, Stan Dubelle, Joe Shook, Gerald Chambers, Ron Junko, John Abajace, Angelo Marino, Jeff Bricker, Mike Marino, Mark Powell and Tarquinio.
Trinity has won WPIAL team championships 1976, ’77, ’79 and 2002. Shook guided Trinity to its first three titles and Bricker was coach when the Hillers last reigned.
With just two seniors on the roster, Trinity could be on the verge of some team and individual success it has not enjoyed in some time.
Tarquinio and the Hillers are building toward something special.
“We have a good mix of experienced wrestlers and freshmen,” he added. “I was really happy with the fight and effort of the guy’s Saturday.
“We were aggressive against Latrobe, who I know had a couple starters out. It was still a pretty nice win. We had great effort from by everybody. They all stepped up in their own way whether it was not to give up bonus points or to gain a win.”
The only two seniors are heavyweight Ty Banco and Mason Kraer.
Trinity’s junior class includes Mickey Horne, Franco Canali, Robbie Allison (152), Mason Soukup Wong, Zane Garner, Blake Reihner (139), Bodie Morgan (172), Nick Fedorchak (189), Cael Nicolella, Brennan Anderson and Nicholas McAdams.
The Hillers’ sophomores are T.J. Allison (127), Jackson Bruckner (145), Zach Noble and Hunter Martin. The freshman class is Frank Fedorchak, Domonik Canali, Behr Bruckner, Luke Poland, Brock Carrigan and Adam Watson.
Reihner is coming off an outstanding season. Tarquinio expects another strong season from him and believes Reihner is capable of being a top challenger in the WPIAL and PIAA.
Banco slipped a bit in the 2022 postseason after a strong showing as a sophomore. He is one of the top heavyweights in the area and is a contender in both the WPIAL and PIAA as well.
Other top Hillers are expected to be Frank Fedorchak, Morgan, both Allisons and Kraer.
“We had practiced well and with this group they work hard all the time. They know the expectation. We are healthy, we have good numbers and we have a great mix of wrestlers.
“We feel we have something this season.”
Trinity is competing in Section 5-AAA this season as part of the WPIAL realignment. The Hillers are in with Chartiers Valley, Moon, South Fayette, Waynesburg and West Allegheny.
Those are the only other dual meets Trinity will compete in. The Hillers will not meet rival Canon-McMillan in the regular season.
A year ago, T.J. Allison had a 28-13 record, Reihner was 35-12; Morgan went 8-6 in an injury-plagued season, and Banco went 34-7.
“We’re happy to be healthy and off to a good start,” Tarquinio said. “We don’t have to talk about working hard very often. It’s the expectation. We all want to make sure we perform and the effort is there. We won’t win every single match. But we want to work and compete hard in all of them.”