WVU bound: Connellsville wrestler Vielma commits to Mountaineers
Eleanor Bailey
One visit to Morgantown was enough for Lonzy Vielma to make his collegiate wrestling decision.
Vielma, who has a career record of 111-34 entering his senior season at Connellsville, announced on social media Monday that he has committed to the Mountaineers.
“Lonzy did his visit last week to West Virginia,” Falcons coach Bill Swink revealed. “He told me on Sunday, he said, “Coach, I really liked it. I like everything about it. I like the coaches, I like the team, I like the facilities.’ Later that day he decided that’s where he wanted to go.
“He’s had some other schools interested in him as well: Brown, Edinboro, George Mason, Duke, Bucknell.”
Vielma is the second member of the 2024-25 Connellsville wrestling team to commit to an NCAA Division-I college, joining fellow senior Evan Petrovich, who is headed to Pitt.
“Lonzy and Evan, who signed at Pitt in the spring, those two guys were freshmen my first year here,” Swink said. “I’ve been pleased with them. They’ve been very coachable, both of them, the whole time.
“It’s paid off dividends. Lonzy is a three-time state qualifier and placed (fifth at 160) last year. He’s had a really good career. He’s placed in NHSCA nationals. He’s done a lot of good things. He’s a great student, great kid and a great wrestler.”
Vielma was 40-10 as a freshman with the Falcons, 32-15 as a sophomore and 39-9 last season when he played a key role in Connellsville winning its eighth WPIAL Class AAA team championship. Vielma recorded pins in the Falcons’ 31-28 win over Franklin Regional in the semifinals and their 33-32 win over Trinity in the final.
“He did his part in helping us win it,” Swink said. “He’s an extremely hard worker, very consistent. He works out all the time.”
Swink sees Vielma, whose brother Kai is a sophomore for the Falcons, as one of Connellsville’s team leaders.
“It’s not that he’s not vocal,” Swink said. “He talks to the other kids. But he’s more of a lead-by-example guy. He just works hard and gets after it.”
Swink saw a positive in having two of his top wrestlers get their collegiate decisions out of the way.
“I’ve been doing this a long time, and when they first started doing early signings, I was not a huge fan of it,” Swink said. “But I do think it clears a kid’s mind. They’re not worried all season about needing to perform to get recruited.
“Now it’s like they just need to wrestle, go out, have fun and compete, Do their best.”