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

Patrick Varine, The Tribune-Review, Greensburg
·2 min read

Apr. 18—Franklin Regional Junior Olympics wrestler Kaydon Ferrell captured his second state title in three years earlier 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."

Patrick Varine is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Patrick at 724-850-2862, pvarine@triblive.com or via Twitter .