Chris Elliott:

Seton Hill wrestling coach Chris Elliott said some of his wrestlers joke with him about not recruiting the WPIAL.

But a quick glance at the Seton Hill roster shows Elliott has done quite well there, especially as it relates to Westmoreland County.

"Recruiting the WPIAL guys will be the key to making this program successful," said senior captain Nick Padezan, a Penn-Trafford grad. "If we can do that we'll have a strong steam."
So far, so good.

Seton Hill owns a 4-5 record this season against mainly NCAA Division II competition. The Griffins were edged by Division I Duquesne, 21-18. They are coming off a 58-0 victory against West Virginia Tech.
Padezan is having a solid season. He is 9-1 and is ranked fourth in his region at 194 pounds. He's not the only Seton Hill wrestler with a WPIAL background doing well either.

Logan Downes of Valley, 9-1 at 165 pounds, and Kenny Trumbetta of Greensburg Salem, 8-2 at 125, are having solid seasons, too.
Others from the county in the starting lineup include John Testa of Hempfield at 133, Dan Matthews of Penn-Trafford at 174 and Buck Watkins of Hempfield at 141. Matthews, however, has an injured shoulder and is out of the lineup.

Mike Grant of Greensburg Salem at 133 and Stephen Zubach of Southmoreland at 197 are valuable backups, while freshman heavyweight Eric Minerd of Laurel Highlands is expected to see his first action this weekend when Seton Hill plays host to Mercyhurst, East Stroudsburg and Mercyhurst Northeast.
"Overall, I think the team has improved a lot over the year," Trumbetta said. "

Our expectations are to be in the top half of the region. Individually, we have a lot of people who should do well at nationals. We just have to keep improving and I think we're doing that."

Trumbetta said he wasn't sure he'd wrestle in college when he first came to Seton Hill. But after meeting the coaching staff and the wrestlers on the team, he developed a good relationship with them.
"After meeting them, it made me want to wrestle even that much more," Trumbetta said. "I made the right decision."

Elliott said he's expecting big things from Trumbetta, Downes and Padezan.
"Kenny has absolutely progressed leaps and bounds in three years here," Elliott said. "If he's able to stay focused over Christmas, I see him going to nationals. He's starting to believe in his ability. Kenny is unranked, but he'll be right there at the end.

"Nick is having a real good season. He's debating about dropping to either 174 or 184. We'll have to talk."
Padezan made it to the regions before falling in the semifinals previously. He broke two ribs and was unable to compete.

"I think about the disappointment a lot," Padezan said. "It's my senior year and I want to be an All-American and a National Champion. If I drop, I'll have to suck it up and get tough for a couple months."