Both boys’ and girls’ wrestlers made historical postseason runs this winter.
The boys wrestled their way to the top. For the first time in Norwin’s wrestling program history, the team won the County Championship, the first-place team title at the Penn Manor tournament, competed in the WPIAL finals as a team and finished as silver medalists, and also got 2nd in the AAA category in the PIAA state Championship. The boys had many team competitors qualify for an individual playoff run, where they will continue to wrestle at the individual regional and state championships.
“I think the biggest part of our success as a team this year was having each other’s backs and pushing one another in the practice room,” sophomore Dom Butera exclaimed. “We put in tons of hard work, going back to last summer, and it feels great being part of history and setting the tone for years to come for the program.”
Many of the wrestlers explained that having strong team chemistry played an extremely big role in making them successful. Without that team bond, they may not have been as successful as they were.
“The team was very successful for many reasons, one being that we worked very hard and helped each other,” freshman Noah Curren expressed. “But the biggest reason we had major success was the aspect of our team. We became more than a team this year; we were family. We helped each other through rough times and motivated each other. I think that made a huge difference.”
Both the boys and girls worked tirelessly with countless hours of practice, weight-making, and mental preparation. Their hard work truly paid off because they made history.
Unfortunately, the boys lost the section, WPIAL, and state title to their rivals, the Franklin Regional Panthers. Despite the tough outcome, this backyard rivalry will continue to bring excitement to WPIAL wrestling for years to come. Norwin and Franklin Regional will continue to face off in neck-to-neck matches.
“It feels amazing to be the best team in Norwin’s wrestling history. But, we are not satisfied,” Curren expressed.
The team then competed in individual WPIAL playoffs. Some of the girls then made their individual playoff runs as well. The wrestlers competed for individual medals.
At WPIALs, the wrestlers brought their all. Landon Sidun won gold at 121 pounds. Coleton Klipa earned 4th at 127 pounds. Brooks Blasko got 2nd at 139 pounds. Nathan Klingensmith won silver at 145 pounds. Noah Curren achieved 3rd at 152 pounds. And finally, Jack White took silver at 160 pounds.
“Winning WPIALs was cool because I was not able to wrestle last year, I got 2nd my freshman year, and so it was nice to come out on top,” Sidun explained.
For the girls’ team, Octavia Walker took home silver at 170 pounds, and Karsyn Champion also took home silver at 155 pounds. Jojo Dollman also took home silver at 142 pounds at WPIALS.
The wrestlers then moved to the individual regional competition. If the wrestlers placed in the top 5 at the regional competition, they got to move on to the state championship. The wrestlers wanted to win as many matches as possible because it is much easier to stay in the championship bracket than to go into the consolation bracket.
“I want to take advantage of the opportunity. Everyone is 0-0 going into the postseason, and I want to take advantage of that,” Klingensmith explained before going into the regional competition. “Staying strong on my offense and not shutting down is going to be key.”
Landon Sidun lost his winning streak, but still took home silver at the regional competition. Nathan Klingensmith got 5th, and finally, Jack White earned 3rd in the regional competition.
Octavia Walker and Karsyn Champion also took 3rd at regionals as well. Jojo Dollman took silver at regionals.
These 6 wrestlers then qualified for the state championship.
All of the wrestlers put their best efforts in. Landon Sidun came out on top with a gold medal after he took silver in regionals. Landon is now a two-time state champion.
Norwin had a total of four wrestlers medal at the state meet, which is a huge accomplishment for the team. Amongst the boys, Nathan Klingensmith earned 6th, and Jack White earned 8th. For the girls, Karsyn Champion earned 8th place as well.
“The easiest part for me was just having fun. I knew it was my last tournament of the year, so I tried to make it fun and wrestle freely. The hardest part was the wrestling aspect because at that tournament, everyone is really good, so every match is a hard match. The mental part was also hard. I kept telling myself that I belonged there, and I put in the work to be able to get a medal,” Klingensmith exclaimed.
The wrestlers reached huge achievements, with many people on the teams hitting 100 wins throughout the season. Landon Sidun, Karsyn Champion, Jojo Dollman, and Jack White all joined the century club.
Although the teams are losing some key seniors, like Jojo Dollman, Tanner Shaffer, and Jack White, the teams will find people to step up. Norwin wrestling will continue to grow and will hopefully show more success.
The team hopes to continue to make more history and is hungry for more.
