Jan 30, 2024 By Jonathan Guth 4 min read

Trinity wrestling coach Ron Tarquinio never wants his team to dwell on a loss, and they won’t, but the Hillers’ setback via criteria in last year’s WPIAL Class 3A team tournament was a motivating factor during offseason workouts.

Trinity and Hempfield tied 33-33 in the first round of the team tournament at Butler, but because of the Spartans winning seven individual matches to Trinity’s six, the Hillers’ team portion of the season was over.

What made the loss more painful is that Hempfield used the momentum and rode it to a third-place finish in the WPIAL and a berth in the state team tournament.

The motivation to redeem itself has worked for Trinity, as the Hillers earned the No. 1 seed in Class 3A this year after finishing the regular season as champions of Section 5. Trinity’s overall record is 8-0.

“We talked to the kids about losing that match and told them to use that as a motivating factor,” Tarquinio said. “We only lost two seniors from last year’s team, so I knew what we had coming up. It can be hard to tell what you are going to have, lineup-wise, because some kids grow and some stay the same, but we liked what we had coming into the season.”

Trinity is one of four hosts in Class 3A, and the Hillers will face Kiski tonight. The Cavaliers earned a 33-24 victory over Moon in the preliminary round Monday.

Norwin (4-1, 11-5) and Plum (3-2, 7-4) will meet in the other first-round match at Trinity with the winners facing off in the quarterfinals.

The victor in the round of eight will compete in the semifinals Saturday at Peters Township’s AHN Arena. The semifinals are scheduled for 1:30 p.m. with the finals and consolation final at 3.

The top three teams in Class 3A will qualify for the state team tournament next week.

Qualifying for the state tournament would be nice in any aspect, but Tarquinio and his team want the gold. The Hillers won the first WPIAL team tournament in 1979, and their last title was in 2002. Trinity won seven WPIAL championships prior to the tournament being introduced.

“I really don’t think there is one dominant team in the WPIAL this year, so we have to be ready for every match,” Tarquinio said. “We are very excited about competing at home. We have had good crowds.”

Ringgold (20-4) and Peters Township (14-5) are in the Class 3A tournament, and both teams will be at fourth-seeded Connellsville (4-0, 9-2). The host Falcons will battle the Rams in the first round while the Indians meet Fox Chapel (13-1). The winners meet in the quarterfinals.

Burgettstown won its first team title in 49 years last season, knocking off Burrell 31-24 in the Class 2A final.

Burgettstown has not let being the hunted affect its performance so far, as coach Joey Vigliotti’s Blue Devils host the first round and quarterfinals tonight.

Burgettstown (12-0) was rewarded with the top seed and it meets Laurel in the first round.

“The kids know that the target is on their back,” Vigliotti said. “They know that teams are going to come out firing. It’s our job to keep our composure and wrestle like we know how. Everyone has a job to do.

“Of course, the goal is to repeat as WPIAL champions, but we’re not looking that far down the road. We take it one match at a time.”

Frazier (8-6) and Montour (6-1) will compete in the other first-round match at Burgettstown.

Following the Class 3A format, the four semifinalists will compete Saturday at AHN Arena. The Class 2A semifinals begin at 10 a.m. The final and consolation final will be contested at 11:30. All four semifinalists in Class 2A qualify for the state tournament, but a preliminary round dual meet could loom for the third and fourth-place teams.

McGuffey (6-1, 11-1) and Bentworth (5-2, 5-2) qualified for the tournament, and both will be on the road tonight. The Highlanders only loss came in a Section 1 dual meet at Burgettstown. The Bearcats’ two setbacks came to the Blue Devils and the Highlanders.

McGuffey wrestles Freedom (10-1) and the winner meets either Hopewell (6-7) or host Quaker Valley (10-1) in the quarterfinals.

Bentworth battles Highlands (13-4) in the first round at Burrell. The host Buccaneers (10-2) face Hampton (7-5).

The quarterfinals will be contested roughly 15 minutes after the completion of first-round action.