The 2025-26 Boys Wrestling season has now come to an end, and with a first year coach in Mickey Moran, the boys had a lot of success this season.
With a new coach, comes new perspectives, and players having to buy into what the coach is selling. Well the Titan wrestlers bought into Coach Moran’s messages.
“Having worked with these athletes as an assistant coach the last few years, my expectations were pretty high. I knew we had the potential to compete for a section championship, and qualify for the WPIAL playoffs again. As expected we were able to do both of those things. We lost a very close dual for the sectional title, and we qualified for the playoffs,” Coach Moran said.
The Titans finished the regular season 5-3, with five wrestlers having 19 wins or more. This was a remarkable accomplishment for the team since only one of them was a senior: Trevor Cignetti who finished 20-12.
“To be honest, I think that we have just scratched the surface of what we are capable of. Getting over 20 wins in this area, with the schedule that we wrestled, it’s a great accomplishment. However, I don’t think we are anywhere near the top of our potential. I think with the right amount of work, we can have guys with 30-40 wins competing to place in the state,” Coach Moran said.
This team knew it needed to trust Coach Moran and what he was telling them, to be able to succeed this year and they did just that.
“The team and I believed in what coach Moran was telling us and listened to everything he said.
when we do that, we are unstoppable,” Sophomore Weston Emmons, who had the best record on the team at 23-11, said.
Five wrestlers made it to Sections and four made it to Districts. Leadership had to also be a big part for this squad this season and the seniors set the tone but it wasn’t just them who provided leadership.
“Our 4 seniors were a big help in demonstrating what the expectations of the program are, but I would be remiss if I didn’t say that we definitely saw some leadership both spoken and action related from our underclassmen as well,” Coach Moran said.
In sections, five Shaler wrestlers placed, with Anthony Jones and Jonah Cable placing second in their respective weight classes. This was a huge accomplishment.
“I will say, both of those guys have the potential to win that tournament on any given day. They definitely demonstrated the ability to know how to win,” Coach Moran said.
The next and what would be final step for Shaler this season was Districts where Cole Tunstall, Weston Emmons, Trevor Cignetti, and Jonah Cable all made it. No one out of those four placed but there is some optimism for a bright future next year.
Emmons had a breakout season this year making it all the way to districts as a sophomore. That was all thanks to a change of mindset.
“This year I started believing in myself and my abilities as well as stopped worrying about winning and instead started focusing on wrestling as hard as I can while having fun. But I always remember how I felt last year when I didn’t accomplish my goals,” Emmons said,
It may have just been a change of mindset for Emmons but coach Moran already believed in this group and expected high things from them this year.
“I absolutely expected those guys to make the WPIAL tournament and compete for a place finish as well, which is exactly what they did. I think this is a sport that rewards hard work and dedication and all of those guys demonstrated those qualities throughout the year. I am very excited to continue working with them to get them to the next level,” Coach Moran said.
