Franklin Regional Junior Olympics wrestler earns 2nd state title in 3 years

Patrick Varine
Sunday, April 18, 2021 12:47 p.m. | Sunday, April 18, 2021 12:47 p.m.

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Kaydon Ferrell, 11, of Murrysville, square off against an opponent in the first-place match at the Keystone State Youth Wrestling Championships, held in early April in Monroeville.

Patrick Varine | Tribune-Review

From the left, Kaydon Ferrell and Gabe Sadler of Murrysville pose for a photo on Friday, March 29, 2019.

Submitted photo/FR Junior Olympics Wrestling

Members of the Franklin Regional Junior Olympic wrestling team. From the left, in front, is Salvatore Colangelo, Joseph Depaolo and Titus Colangelo; in the middle is John Montgomery, Noah Curren, Michael Ruane, Beau Fennick, Chase Smith and Enzo Azzolina; in the back is Kaydon Ferrell, Ethan Cartwright, Evan McManis and Cohen Buccicone. Not pictured is Jayce Frisk.

Kaydon Ferrell, 11, of Murrysville, poses for a photo after taking the top spot in his age and weight class at the Keystone State Youth Wrestling Championships, held in early April in Monroeville.

Franklin Regional Junior Olympics wrestler Kaydon Ferrell captured his second state title in three years this month at the Keystone State Youth Wrestling Championships, held at the Monroeville Convention Center.

“It was pretty hard,” said Ferrell, 11, of Murrysville. “He was way heavier than me. I was the lightweight in the class, and he was up at the top. He was about to turn me, but I fought back, flipped back over and ultimately won, 2-1.”

FR’s Junior Olympics team qualified 12 wrestlers for the championship, four of whom came home with medals.

Ferrell finished first in the 10-and-under, 120-lb. weight class. He was crowned the 8-and-under state champion in the 90-lb. division in 2019.

“Kaydon wrestled four matches over the course of the tournament, winning twice by fall and never once trailed in the score,” said Mike Ruane, the team’s head of recruiting and an FRJO board member.

Wrestlers John Montgomery (10-and-under, 95-lb. weight class) and Titus Colangelo (12-and-under, 70-lb. weight class) both took third place in their divisions.

“This was John’s first appearance in a state tournament but you couldn’t tell, as he wrestled like a seasoned veteran,” Ruane said. “It’s a huge accomplishment to place as newcomer, but an even bigger accomplishment is to amass an over record of 8-1 between the qualifying event and the championships.”

Ruane said Colangelo showed resilience in overcoming a double-overtime loss against the eventual state champion. “All five of Titus’ matches were against opponents who finished top-five or higher in the tournament,” Ruane said.

Wrestler Michael Ruane (12-and-under, 95-lb. weight class) finished sixth, dropping his first match to the eventual state champion before rattling off four wins in a row to ultimately reach the medal rounds.

Ferrell said he and his coaches upped his conditioning this season in anticipation of another title run.

“I knew it would be more intense and there’d be more competition than a couple years ago,” he said. “I had to use my speed in the (championship) match because of the size difference. That’s where my conditioning came in.”