The Fox Chapel Area boys wrestling team’s 2023-2024 season was extremely successful and quite historic.
The Foxes captured their first section championship in 53 years, amassed a 15-2 overall record (5-0 in the section), and advanced to the WPIAL tournament, knocking off Peters Township in the first round before falling to Connellsville Area in the quarterfinals. The team also finished fifth out of 37 teams in the Allegheny County Wrestling Tournament.
Coach Michael Frank said the team enjoyed that taste of success and has come into this season with an appetite for more glory on the mat. There is a recipe in place for that to happen, as only two members of last season’s team graduated.
“We have a really experienced group of wrestlers, a bunch of kids that have been part of our program forever,” coach Frank said. “We’re looking forward to an experienced lineup and what that will offer when we get into some matches. They’re excited to get back and compete and want to replicate some of that success this season. When you win a section title for the first time in more than five decades, it’s kind of hard not to want to repeat doing that.”
Coach Frank brings a lot of experience to the program as well, as he is in his seventh year as head coach and joined as an assistant in 2004.
This experienced lineup is bookended by some extremely talented wrestlers. Leading the way is the one-two punch in the lighter weights of senior Landon Funk, the champion at 114 pounds in the Allegheny County Wrestling Tournament, and senior Michael Worsen, the 121-pound champion at the prestigious Southmoreland Holiday Wrestling Tournament, the first Fox Chapel Area wrestler to win a championship at that event. Each also qualified for the regional WPIAL wrestling tournament, with Landon finishing second at his weight class and Michael placing fifth.
“They’ve been practice partners since our youth program,” coach Frank said of the duo. “The two of them should be a back-to-back kickoff for us”
Senior heavyweight D’Angelo Hamilton returns after a successful season in which he placed third in the regional WPIAL tournament.
“He’s the anchor at the end of our lineup that we’ve had for a couple of years,” coach Frank said. “We’re happy to have him sort of round out our roster.”
Those wrestlers were three of 10 Foxes who qualified for the regional WPIAL tournament last season. Others who return this season are seniors Youssef Abdelsalam and Milo Chiu, and juniors Joey Geller, Adam Haines, and Andrew Kratsa.
Coach Frank said the lineup is still being determined, with some tough competition expected since there is so much depth on the roster.
“I can rely on a lot of upperclassmen this year,” the coach said. “We have 14 seniors on the roster and about a dozen juniors. When you’re looking at more than half of your roster being juniors and seniors, I imagine they’re going to fill the majority of the weight classes. I could spend hours talking about not only the wrestling quality, but just the quality of our kids. We’re not only proud of what they’re doing on the mat, but also what they’re doing off the mat. They buy into what we ask them to do in practices and competitions. More importantly, they’re doing it for themselves but more so for their teammates. They care as much about their teammates and their team as they do about their own personal success and glory. It makes coaching this group a joy.”
Fox Chapel Area is in WPIAL Class 3A Section 5 this season along with Armstrong, Hampton, Indiana, and the always tough Kiski Area Cavaliers. The Foxes also have a strong nonsection schedule, beginning Dec. 4 at Peters Township. They also plan to participate in the Hampton Dawg Duals Dec. 14, which always features some tough teams.
“We’ll get the mix throughout the season as to how we stand as a team and what our kids can do individually,” coach Frank said.
To repeat last season’s success, there is much that must go right this season, not the least of which is staying healthy.
“We enjoy the competition,” coach Frank said. “We look forward to it. It’s just finding that day-to-day joy in what we’re doing and making sure we’re doing things the right way from a coaching perspective and an athlete perspective, and just building and going from there.”