In just one month, local wrestlers will take their shot at qualifying for the state championships against some of the top grapplers in the WPIAL.

Last weekend, wrestling fans got a preview of what the talent pool will look like at the WPIAL championships, when many of the top competitors in the district were in action.

Six place winners, including one champion, led the Norwin wrestling team to an eighth-place finish Saturday at the 55th annual Westmoreland County Coaches Association Wrestling Tournament at Greensburg Salem.

"My goal for the team was to be in the top half of the county, which we did," coach Todd Schuchert said. "And six place winners at a pretty tough tournament is pretty good."

Burrell claimed the team title with 230 points, while the Knights managed to score 110.

Leading the way for Norwin was senior Virginia recruit Mike Salopek, who defended his WCCA title at 189 pounds.

"He looked good. We had a little scare in the semifinal match, where he hurt his knee a little bit, but he rebounded from it and got the win in overtime. Then, he wrestled a real nice match in the finals," Schuchert said.

"You've got to stay focused at this time of year. As the season keeps going, it gets tougher to keep yourself healthy and stay focused on what we're trying to do. He did a very nice job of it."

Salopek (22-0) earned a first-round bye as the top seed and pinned his quarterfinal opponent. In the semifinals, he edged Valley's Kyle Dudley with a 6-4 decision in overtime.

Then, in the finals, Salopek dominated Burrell's Derek Edwards. He scored eight points in the first period to seal the win.

Senior heavyweight Brad Rodgers (20-2) also had a strong tournament, finishing second after a finals loss to Paul Snyder of Mt. Pleasant, who has nearly 150 career wins, including an 18-1 record this year.

"Paul Snyder is a different type of heavyweight," the coach said. "I thought Brad did a pretty good job against him."

Freshman John Pezze (18-8) finished third in his first appearance at the county tournament after defeating Penn-Trafford's Ryan Bohince in the consolation finals.

"That's huge for a freshman to come in and place like that. I thought he wrestled a pretty good tournament," Schuchert said. "That's a big confidence booster. Those are the kind of kids he'll have to beat if he wants to go to Hershey this year."

Also placing for Norwin were senior Justin Freidhof (19-6), who took fourth at 145 pounds, sophomore Franklin Alvarez (17-10), who was fourth at 152 pounds and junior Andy Hawley (19-10), who took sixth at 125 pounds.

"All three of them have been wrestling well all year. Conditioning-wise, we're beating kids by being able to keep going hard in the third period. Those are the things you need to do."

Norwin (5-2) hopes to take the momentum gained at the county tournament and make a run at one of three playoff spots in Section 1. Schuchert said his team needs to win its remaining matches have a shot.

Norwin will host Plum today, Wednesday, at 7 p.m. and will wrap up the regular season at Penn-Trafford on Jan. 23.