Three WPIAL wrestlers win gold at PIAA state championships
Three high school wrestlers from the Pittsburgh area brought home gold medals from the PIAA championships over the weekend and are Pennsylvania state champions.
Thomas Jefferson's Maddox Shaw, Belle Vernon Area's Elijah Brown, and Canon-McMillan's Marlee Solomon came out on top on Saturday at the Giant Center in Hershey and came home to Western Pennsylvania with the hardware to show for it.
Maddox Shaw wins second PIAA title, TJ's first ever two-time champion
Thomas Jefferson High School has its first-ever two-time state champion after Maddox Shaw, an Ohio State recruit, defeated Connellsville's Evan Petrovich by a score of 4-2 to win gold on Saturday in the 152 lb. weight class.
Shaw vs. Petrovich was a rematch of the WPIAL championship bout from last month, where Shaw was victorious and became a 3-time WPIAL title winner.
Shaw's route to the championship match came without much trouble as he pinned North Penn's Jonny O'Brien, pinned Central Bucks West's Chris Dennis, and defeated Perkiomen Valley's Luke Knox with an 8-0 major decision.
Brian Finnerty won TJ's first ever PIAA title in 2022, when Shaw was a freshman.
Here’s TJ senior Maddox Shaw after capturing his second consecutive Class 3A state title to close out his sensational career with an overall record of 166-14.
— Steve Rotstein (@SteveRotstein) March 9, 2025
The four-time PIAA medalist and Ohio State recruit speaks about the moments he’ll cherish the most from his time at TJ: pic.twitter.com/GGG8CJiKoo
The school now has a two-time PIAA champion after Shaw won at 139 lbs. a year ago. Shaw finished his season with a 38-2 record and a career high school record of 166-14.
Elijah Brown victorious at 215 lbs. for Belle Vernon's first-ever PIAA title
The Belle Vernon Area Leopards have their first-ever PIAA wrestling champion.
Elijah Brown, a junior and Pitt recruit, won gold on Saturday in a rematch of the WPIAL championship match, beating Kiski Area's Cooper Roscosky with a 4-3 victory in the 215 lb. class.
Pretty sure half of Rostraver turned out to support Elijah Brown in Hershey tonight.
— Steve Rotstein (@SteveRotstein) March 9, 2025
Great moment here with Brown and his legion of supporters, including family, friends and teammates, after the Pitt recruit became the first state champion wrestler in school history 🥇 pic.twitter.com/98jZ0Dyqjw
Brown pinned Unionville's Brady Kelly, defeated St. Joseph's Prep's John Boggs with a 15-0 technical fall, and beat Ringgold's Jake Conroy with a 6-3 victory en route to the title match.
Brown finished his stellar season with a 48-1 record and boasts a career record of 127-19 with one more year left to compete.
Marlee Solomon dominates to win Canon McMillan's second straight girls' gold medal
Canon-McMillan has a girls' wrestling gold medalist and Pennsylvania state champion for the second straight year.
Marlee Solomon had a dominant display on Saturday, defeating Conneaut's Daylee Watson by a 14-0 major decision to win gold in the 112 lb. weight class.
Solomon finished the year with a 39-3 record and only gave up one point in all four rounds of the PIAA wrestling championships en route to her state title win.
I know what you’re thinking — “But Steve, what about champ interviews?”
— Steve Rotstein (@SteveRotstein) March 9, 2025
Don’t you worry.
Let’s start off with 112-lb. girls champion Marlee Solomon from Canon-Mac, who allowed only one point in the entire tournament on her way to becoming the WPIAL’s second PIAA girls champion: pic.twitter.com/Em1R3yJGwB
Solomon, a sophomore, pinned York Suburban's Alysiana Ierley, beat Wilson's Area's Nevaeh Colon by a score of 8-1, and defeated Brashear's Tamara Humphries by an 11-0 major decision on her way to the championship match.
Canon-McMillan has its second straight PIAA title after Valarie Solorio won gold in the 100-lb. weight class last year.