Jaden Pepe of Wyoming Area, left, wrestles Mason Gibson in a 75-pound bout at the Pennsylvania Junior Wrestling Championships at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre Township in 2020.
Sunday Dispatch file photo
Wyoming Area has the rare opportunity of building a team around a defending state champion.
The Warriors return Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Class 2A state 113-pound wrestling champion Jaden Pepe, but they also have other reasons to be excited about the season, which started Saturday.
Wyoming Area also returns Cooper Price, a third-place Northeast Regional finisher.
Pittston Area brings back Jimmy Spindler, a fourth-place Northeast Regional finisher in Class 3A.
Pepe, Price, Wyoming Area’s Connor Wrobleski and Spindler are also returning District 2 champions.
Wyoming Area and Pittston Area both headed out to Wyalusing Valley Saturday morning for the all-day Gary Woodruff Duals.
WYOMING AREA
Seniors Price and Wrobleski join Pepe, a junior, in leading the Warriors into Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2 competition, which begins Wednesday at Berwick.
Pepe (19-1), Price (13-4) and Wrobleski (11-2) all finished in double figures in victories in a season shortened because of COVID restrictions.
Senior Rocco Pizano and junior Ethan Speece are also back after going 7-5. Jonathan Stone went 3-2 as a freshman.
The Warriors could also be bolstered by the addition of promising freshman Anthony Evanitsky.
Wyoming Area finished second in the division last season, going 4-1 and losing only to champion Lake-Lehman. The Warriors went 5-3 overall and finished fifth of 13 in the team scoring at the individual district tournament.
PITTSTON AREA
Spindler and Julian Everitt, who finished second in the district as a freshman, return to lead Pittston Area.
Nico Solano is also back after placing third in the district.
Everitt was 15-3, Spindler 14-5, Solano 10-4 and Dominic Bernardi 8-4.
The Patriots went 2-2 in WVC Division 1, 5-5 overall and were fifth of 13 in the District 2 Class 3A team scoring at the individual tournament.
Pittston Area opens the WVC Division 1 schedule Wednesday at home against Wilkes-Barre Area.
