Franklin Regional junior wrestler Ferrell earns state championship title
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It wasn’t enough for the Franklin Regional J.O. Wrestling program to finish its season undefeated, so Kaydon Ferrell went out and earned himself a state championship.
Ferrell was crowned the 8-and-under state champion in the 90-pound division at the Pennsylvania State Wrestling Championship, held March 16-17 at the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh.
“I like winning and having a lot of fun,” said Ferrell, 9, a third-grader from Murrysville.
In the final match, Ferrell and his opponent “just kept going back and forth and then finally I won on points,” he said.
Ten wrestlers represented the program at the state championships: Ferrell, Nate Iampietro, Joey DePaolo, Titus Colangelo, Abby MacDonald, Beau Fennick, Aaron Sadler, Michael Ruane, Brent Hickey and Gabe Sadler, who brought home a third-place finish in the 10-and-under, 70-pound division.
“I like how much we improved from last year,” said Sadler, 10, of Murrysville, who has been wrestling since he was 3 years old.
Sadler and Ferrell both practice four to five days per week, and Sadler said his biggest challenge is maintaining the same level of hard work that his coaches expect.
That no-quit attitude served him well during his second match at the state championships, where an accidental scratch from his opponent left him bleeding and momentarily distracted.
“I kind of let it get to me, because that really hasn’t happened before,” he said. “But later I pinned him.”
JO Wrestling Board President Ralph Petrarca coached both boys at the championships.
“It was very, very exciting,” he said. “Gabe has probably been our strongest wrestler all year. He’s placed second at the state tournament previously. But his bracket was probably one of the most loaded in the tournament, so for him to lose a match and then battle back to finish third is big.”
For Ferrell, this season was about giving himself new challenges.
“He did a lot of 10-and-under wrestling to get practice with some of the older kids,” his mother Kayleen said.
Petrarca said that was part of coaches’ strategy for Ferrell’s second season as a JO wrestler.
“We wanted to push him at the beginning of the year, so we’d double-bracket him, putting in the 8U and 10U brackets,” he said. “Then toward the end of the year, we wanted to get his confidence back up and so we put him in just the 8U bracket. We kind of knew he’d do well at the state tournament.”
Ferrell and Sadler are also both club wrestlers in addition to being members of the FR team.
“That’s key for these kids, to get some additional practice time,” Petrarca said.
Both boys credited their coaches for helping them up their game each year.
“They tell me what I need to work on and put us through hard workouts,” Sadler said. “I’ve improved my strength and quickness on the mat, and I’m also getting better at thinking about how I’m going to win a match.”
Board member Mike Ruane said the entire program is proud of Ferrell and Sadler.
“To place and win at what most consider the toughest youth tournament in the country is just a huge accomplishment and something that will stick with them forever,” Ruane said.