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PIAA 3A Wrestling Postseason

RoverNation05

Well-Known Member
Aug 22, 2010
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113
The favorites (national ranking before their name)

106: #1 Keanu Dillard, Bethlehem Catholic (Fr. 12-0)
Dillard missed the first three months of the season with a pair of injuries, first a broken orbital bone, then a sprained wrist that kept him out of all of Becahi’s major tournaments (Ironman, Beast of the East, Escape the Rock). But Dillard is 12-0 since returning and has barely been touched. The three-time Junior High State champ is also ranked #1 nationally. He’s silky smooth on his feet – the chain wrestling is high level, and like all Red Hawk kids, he’s brutal on top. It would be a very large surprise if he is not the state champion here.

113: #3 Nathan Desmond, Bethlehem Catholic (So. 30-1) – State Champ
Again, a big favorite here for the Golden Hawks. Desmond rolled to a state title last year at 106, and should similarly be a huge favorite here. His only losses in high school are to national #2 Beric Jordan (Stillwater, OK) at Ironman last season and this season (one in overtime, one by one point) and bumping up last season to 113 to wrestle Tahir Parkins (see the next weight class). Since winning the Beast of the East final, he’s only had two matches not end in pins – both wins over national #5 Luke Littleton-Mascaro of Malvern Prep. He’s maybe the best wrestler from top in the state, and is brutally physical.

121: Cael Nasdeo, Williamsport (Sr. 29-5; Penn State) – State 6th, State 2nd
This is the most wide open weight class in the tournament. Nasdeo is ranked #1, but has five losses on the season and while most of them are out of state, he was pinned by state #7 Carson Wagner (who owns multiple career wins over Nasdeo). Nasdeo put together a nice state tournament as a sophomore, where a win over Wagner put him in the state final. But with six other returning state medalists, plus Tahir Parkins, in the weight class, Nasdeo will need to put together the weekend of his life.

127: #5 Vinny Kilkeary, Greater Latrobe (Sr. 18-0; Ohio State) – 2x State Champ, State 3rd
Kilkeary is one of the most fun wrestlers in the state – a go-for-broke style full of upper body throws and big moves. He went on a stunning run to a state title as an undersized freshman in one of the best weight classes the state has ever seen (2020 at 106 had five different wrestlers who have won state titles so far, and 11 of the 20 are Division I wrestlers) and after dropping his semifinal as a sophomore, stormed back as a junior to win a second state title. He’s a heavy favorite this year, with 17 of his 18 matches this season ending by fall.

133: #12 Maddox Shaw, Thomas Jefferson (So. 34-2) – State 3rd
The first big domino of postseason weight adjustments was Shaw coming down from 139 to take over the top spot here. Shaw is a supremely talented underclassman who is nip-and-tuck with the elite up at 139 (which include two state champs and three nationally ranked wrestlers) and assuming he manages the cut, should be a solid favorite here. Very athletic and a star pupil from the Quest school of wrestling, which has produced some of western Pennsylvania’s best guys lately.

139: #7 Kollin Rath, Bethlehem Catholic (So. 27-1) – State 3rd
Rath was the talk of the PIAA Duals when he posted back-to-back wins over state champions, bumping up to 145 to beat Mac Church (see next entry) and then posting a suffocating ride to shut-out Dalton Perry. Rath also beat Pierson Manville back at Escape the Rock in January, giving him three wins over returning state champions this season. His only loss is in the Ironman final, 6-5 to national #1 Kannon Webster (Washington, IL). Rath may be the most talented kid in the Bethlehem Catholic room, and wrestlers with a punishing pace. He has to go through maybe the toughest field, but he’s already shown he can beat his challengers.

145: #3 Mac Church, Waynesburg (Sr. 25-2; Virginia Tech) – 2x State Champ, State 3rd
Church has been a star on the state radar since winning two Junior High state championships. He narrowly missed out on a state final as a freshman in the absurd 2020 class at 106, and has pretty much cruised to two state titles since. His only loss to a PIAA wrestlers since January of his sophomore season was the last second loss to Rath, who he will not see come postseason time. His misdirection stuff from his feet is awesome, and he’s one of the toughest kids to ride in the state. Again, he’s got some awesome competition here, but he’s a proven champion.

152: #4 Ty Watters, West Allegheny (Sr.28-0; West Virginia) – State Champ
Watters, another graduate of the 2020 class at 106, missed his sophomore season with a knee injury, then tore through the postseason last year on his way to becoming West Allegheny’s first state champion. He’s been a buzzsaw this year, 28-0, Powerade Champion, win over 2A champ Connor Harar, and is generally been the man at 152 statewide.

160: #13 Shawn Taylor, West Allegheny (Jr 28-1; West Virginia) – State 4th
Taylor has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of Watters’ excellence, and you can see the jump he’s made as a training partner. His lone loss came to national #1 Joe Sealy (Wyoming Seminary/Penn State) and has wins over the other two nationally ranked guys in this bracket (returning champ Dylan Evans and Dom Frontino). Again, this is a super deep weight, but Taylor has the early wins over the other top guys going into the postseason.

172: #1 Rocco Welsh, Waynesburg (Sr. 32-0; Ohio State) – State Champ, 2x State Runner-Up
Welsh is MatScouts’ pound-for-pound #2 ranked wrestler in the country, and is the cleary #1 at 172. He’s looking to become Waynesburg’s first four-time state finalist, and after losing as a freshman and sophomore, tech falled his way through the first last year and should similarly roll here. The Ohio State recruit should start for the Buckeyes right away in 2023-24 and is maybe the best high school wrestler in the country this year, not just Pennsylvania. His 71 match win streak is the longest in the state.

189: Hadyn Packer, Jersey Shore (Sr. 30-1; Rutgers) – State 3rd
Packer is a load, one of the most physical guys in the class, and while I would have loved to see Sasso stay at 215 and get this incredible contrast in styles, it’s right that they’re both competing as favorites for state titles. Packer has not wrestled the schedule of some of his competitors (finding great matches up in District 4 is hard if you’re team isn’t strong enough to do a ton of traveling) but he also won’t face the depth in his weight class of some others.

215: #8 Sonny Sasso, Nazareth (Sr. 16-0; Virginia Tech) – State Champ, State 7th
Sasso made a massive jump between his sophomore and junior seasons, going from a nice wrestler who earned a state medal to one of the best upper weights in America. His win over Mac Stout last year was the marquee match of the state tournament. He’s had a weird senior season, breaking his hand playing quarterback for the Blue Eagles and just coming back from surgery in early February. He’s had his hand heavily guarded and basically is just wrestling with grip on one hand. That said, he’s incredibly fluid, super hard to score on, and is both a better athlete and better wrestler than anybody else in the class. He's on a 63 match win streak dating back to his sophomore season.

285: #6 Sean Kinney, Nazareth (Jr. 25-0) – State Champ, State Runner-Up
Kinney is on track to become the first ever four-time state finalist at heavyweight in Pennsylvania. He lost in overtime as a freshman to current Iowa State wrestler Nate Schon, then blew through the field last year before riding out current Penn wrestler Matt Cruise for a 1-0 win and his first state title. Kinney is a huge kid with great balance and very good instincts on top. Lots of kids with Kinney’s athletic pedigree (he’s also an all state offensive tackle) are usually athletes first, wrestlers second, but Kinney has been finely trained in the sport – to the point that even though I know he wasn’t a lightweight as a kid, it looks like it. He also missed time with a football injury, so he missed Beast of the East. But only one of his 25 matches have gone the distance – a 13-0 major over New Jersey state title contender John Wargo (Phillipsburg).

Team: #10 Bethlehem Catholic
The Golden Hawks rolled to the 3A State Duals title and may be better suited to individual tournaments. Dillard, Desmond, and Rath are all solid to heavy favorites for a state championship, which right away makes them heavy favorites. But they also have potential finalists in Cael McIntyre (133), Andre Harmon (160), and Charlie Scanlan (145) and are projected to have eight state medalists (top 8). This is probably Jeff Karam's best Becahi team since 2016 (that also had three champs and medaled six on their way to a 126.5 point state tournament, good for sixth most ever in 3A). They will have a shot at Franklin Regional's record of 152.5, and certainly will be gunning for the D11 3A record (Northampton's 137.5 in 2000) and their own school record (138.5 in the 2012 2A tournament). Particularly after last year's disappointment - Nazareth knocked Bethlehem Catholic out in four different blood round matches on their way to 136 points and a team title - the Hawks are ready to dominate.
 
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So picking this back up after some life things knocked me out for the last week or so.

The Contenders



106
Luke Sirriani, Abington Heights (Sr. 35-2; Army) – State 6th, State 7th
Santino Sloboda, Butler (Fr. 31-0)
Dorian Hoffman, Wyoming Valley West (Sr. 37-2)

Dillard is the prohibitive favorite at 106, particularly without some of the walk-right-in stars in the freshman class. We should see a state final preview this week in the Northeast Regional with state #1 Dillard and #2 Sirriani. Sirriani is a tough senior who has been around the block and medaled here twice. Dorian Hoffman of Wyoming Valley West is similar, that he’s been a regional/state qualifier a number of times in his career at 106 and has one more shot at it after cutting down to the lowest class as a senior. Santino Sloboda is the one highly regarded freshman here with a shot at finals – Dillard beat him 5-2 on the way to a Junior High state title last year, and the Butler Tornado hasn’t taken a loss yet in 9th grade.

114
Kaedyn Williams, Manheim Township (Jr. 20-0) – State Champ, State 3rd
Luke Willochell, Greater Latrobe (So. 30-2) – State Runner-Up
Carson Wagner, Northampton (Sr.; 27-9; Binghamton) – State 4th, State 5th, State 6th

Desmond is another big favorite, but there are some fun match ups here. Williams won states as a freshman, then fell back to third last year. He was one of the most highly regarded freshmen in the country back in 2021, but seems to have stalled out in his development, to the point that Desmond should be solidly expected to beat him. Willochell got majored by Desmond in the state final last year, but he’s funky and will be a tough match up through the bracket. Finally, Wagner is a three-time state medalist who has slowly climbed the podium each year. He dropped down from 121 for the postseason – Desmond beat him 9-1 in last week’s D11 final, but it should be interesting to see if he can close the gap this weekend at Regionals.

121
CJ Horvath, Freedom (Sr. 31-3)
Mason Ziegler, Quakertown (Jr. 38-4; Lehigh) – State 7th
Trey Wagner, Northamnpton (Fr. 29-7)
Dean Houser, Daniel Boone (Jr. 37-6)
Jame Garcia, Wilson West Lawn (Jr. 44-9)
Marco Tocci, Warwick (Sr. 35-5; North Carolina)

This was the deepest and most interesting weight in the state at the end of the regular season, but a series of events have thinned it out. Tahir Parkins moved up to 127, Carson Wagner moved down to 114. Returning state champion Zac Jacaruso is officially out for the season with a knee injury. And so what had about eight guys who could win a title has thinned way down. CJ Horvath is probably the best kid in the state without a medal – he got locked out of regionals as a freshman and a sophomore in incredibly tough weight classes (Wagner, Jacaruso, Tyler Kasak, and others all in his weight class) and finally made states last year, but lost in the blood round. This year, he’s been a monster, running through Carson Wagner, James Garcia, and Mason Ziegler all at the Hurricane Classic. He’s the best Freedom wrestler in long time and looking to win their first state title since Dave Foley in 1988. Ziegler, who is a fellow Red Hawk kid with a lot of the Bethlehem Catholic wrestlers, is a monster on top who has approved dramatically over the last year. A lot of experts I’m reading think he’s the favorite. Houser, Garcia, and Tocci all came out of a brutally tough Southeast Region, that knocked out Kamdyn Williams, and all could win. Tocci is particularly tough as a rugged, veteran senior, who’s dad Pat was the longtime head of the National Wrestling Coaches Association (and a Liberty grad). Finally, Trey Wagner dropped here from 127 – he was a Junior High state champ last year and is having an excellent freshman season. I think a lot of people thought they’d be wrestling his older brother Carson here, but he’ll be the Wagner to mess with here.

127
Hayden Cunningham, State College (Sr. 28-7)
Eren Sement, Council Rock North (So. 33-3) – State 3rd
Tyler Chappell, Seneca Vcalley (Sr. 25-7; Pittsburgh) – State 3rd, State 7th
Andrew Binni, Canon McMilan (Jr. 39-4)
Tahir Parkins, Nazareth (So. 21-2)

This weight got thrown into some disarray when Brock Weiss, returning state runner up from Jersey Shore, missed weight at the District 4 tournament and had his season ended. Hayden Cunningham, whose father Casey is the top assistant at Penn State, comes down from 133 where he had a marquee win over 2A state champ Scott Johnson. He missed last post season with an injury, but will be a handful. I’ve always liked Sement, who was third in the state at 106 last year and probably was the second best kid. He’s excellent in the Olympic styles and is as dangerous as you’ll find in the bracket. Chappel and Binni are tough WPIAL kids that have been around the block – I don’t necessarily see either of them winning, but could definitely make finals. And the most interesting guy is Tahir Parkins. Parkins was nationally ranked as a freshman last year at 113, but flamed out in Hershey and did not medal. This year, he looked like an absolute monster early in the season for Nazareth, but suffered a pretty serious knee injury at Beast of the East and sat from the end of December to mid-February. He’s the most talented non-Kilkeary in the bracket. But he planned on being at 121, but couldn’t’ hold the weight coming off of injury, so he might be small here, and while he’s looked fantastic coming back, I’m not sure what he’ll look like against the best-of-the-best competition. He would have been my pick at 121, particularly fully healthy, but I’m not totally sure how he fits into the mix here.

133
Cael McIntyre, Bethlehem Catholic (Sr. 30-7; American) – State 6th
Luke Simcox, Central Mountain (Jr. 38-4; Penn) – State 5th, State 5th
Ethan Lebin, Hempfield Area (Sr. 28-5; Bucknell) – State Runner-Up
Charlie Bunting, Nazareth (Sr. 30-7; George Mason) – State 3rd, State 5th

Here’s another fun one. McIntyre beat Simcox at team states and has put together an excellent senior year. Obviously he has monster training partners. He and Bunting have a tremendous rivalry – McIntyre beat him last week in the D11 finals to even up the all-time series at 6-6. But Bunting knocked McIntyre off in the blood-round of states last year after losing to him in D11 and NE regionals. Bunting has not looked like himself this year – I wonder if he is injured – and he moved up from 127 to 133 when Parkins could not hold 121. He’s gunning for his third medal and first final, which going into the season I would have said is a better bet than I think it is now. Lebin was the state runner-up last year at 126 and is a grinder.

139
Pierson Manville, State College (Jr. 29-2) – State Champ
Dalton Perry, Central Mountain (So. 40-5; Penn State) – State Champ

This weight goes three deep, but oh what a three. Manville was a surprise state champ last year, pinning national #1 Tyler Kasak in a scramble in semis. Manville has a pair of wins over Dalton Perry, who won 126 last year and committed to Penn State after his excellent freshman year. Perry has a vicious headlock and is putting together more and more offense on his feet. It’s interesting that the favorite here is the only guy without a state championship, but Kollin Rath owns wins over both of these wrestlers, albeit by thin margins. Should be a great round-robin.

145
Collin Gaj, Quakertown (So. 41-0) – State 4th
Matt Repos, Central Dauphin (Sr. 47-3; Lehigh) – State Runner-Up, State 4th, State 7th
Asher Cunningham, State College (So. 25-5) – State 8th

Mac Church is going to have to earn his third state title. Gaj has exploded in his sophomore season – he really put it together this summer at Fargo and has 27 pins on the year in addition to wins over NJ state champ favorite Julian George, and 160 pound potential finalist Bekhruz Sadriddinov. He’s a master scrambler. Repos has been one of my favorites for his entire career, like most Central Dauphin kids he’s excellent on top. He gave Church his only ever loss in Hershey when he beat him in quarters when both were freshman. Asher Cunningham, also the son of Casey Cunningham, is a third potential finalist here, but would have to upset one of the top three.

152
Ryan Garvick, Central Dauphin (Jr. 46-3) – State Runner-Up
Dagen Condomitti, Northampton (Sr. 29-5; Oregon State) – State 4th, State 7th

So Ty Watters was a runaway favorite for the entire regular season, but these two dropped down to chase the returning champion. Garvick lost a close state final to Jared Keslar last year, and is probably Central Dauphin’s best kid in years. Condomitti, whose brother Jagger was a state champ in 2021, was a trendy pick to win last year before getting upset in the first round (he battled all the way back through consolations for fourth). He took a bunch of losses wrestling an exceptional schedule up at 160, but should be the biggest and strongest guy in the weight at 152.

160
Dylan Evans, Chartiers Valley (Sr. 30-3; Pittsburgh) – State Champ, State 4th, State 8th
Dom Frontino, Shippensburg (Sr. 32-1; Brown) – State 8th
Andrew Harmon, Bethlehem Catholic (Sr. 36-6; Air Force) – State 7th
Bekhruz Sadriddinov, Council Rock South (Jr. 37-7; Lehigh)

Evans is the returning state champ, but took a tight loss to Taylor, so he’s the top challenger here. He’s gunning for his fourth medal and has been as consistent a wrestler as there has been in Pennsylvania over the course of his career. Frontino took Taylor to overtime back in December. Harmon has been firing on all cylinders recently, and probably forced Condomitti down to 152. He does not have a loss to a PIAA 3A wrestler and medaled at Beast of the East and Ironman, and smoked Sadriddinov at team states. Of course, Sadriddinov has done a great job turning the tables on guys in their second match up – see his pin of Condomitti after losing back in December. He is a Fargo Freestyle champion, and while he’s probably better in the Olympic styles, he’ll be a really tough out for the top of the weight.

172
Dom Wheatley, Nazareth (Sr. 34-3; Franklin & Marshall) – State 7th
Matt Furman, Canon McMilan (Sr. 33-4; Cornell) – State 4th

Everybody is battling for second here – Welsh should walk – but it’ll be a fun set. Wheatley is the number two guy after winning a great overtime bout against Furman at team states. He’s vicious on top, which tends to really help guys separate in Hershey. Furman is another national caliber kid who will love another crack at Wheatley – it should be a semi – he’s a little more physical and polished on his feet.

189
Tucker Hogan, Daniel Boone (Jr. 40-0) – State 3rd
Cole Bartram, Northern York (Jr. 36-2) – State 8th
Juliano Marion, Franklin Regional (Jr. 25-4) – State 6th
Adrien Gacek, Parkland (Sr. 34-2; Clarion)

One change from the initial favorites – Sasso went up to 215 while Hadyn Packer came down here, so each guy is still a favorite, just in a different weight. Hogan has been the #1 guy here all year while Sasso was hurt. He’s a precocious upper weight who was a high level finisher as a sohpomre at 172, which is quite uncommon. He’s probably a cut above the other four here, though Gacek is somebody I’ve really been impressed with as he’s blossomed under Jon Trenge.

215
Dillon Bechtold, Owen J. Roberts (Jr. 39-2; Bucknell) – State 5th
Calvin Lachman, Quakertown (Jr. 37-4)
Eli Makel, Waynesburg (Sr. 39-3; Edinboro)
Corey Boerio, Greater Latrobe (Sr. 33-5; Kent State) – State 6th

Everybody here is competing for second behind Sasso. Lachman is the third guy in just an excellent individual group from Quakertown. Makel has been a state level guy for years wrestling a really good Waynesburg schedule. Boerio and Bechtold are the returning medalists.

285
Nick Pavlechko, State College (Jr. 29-4) – State 3rd
Layton Schmick, Carlisle (Sr. 36-1; East Stroudsburg)
Ty Banco, Trinity (Sr. 34-3)

Pavlechko is a national caliber kid who lost a heartbreaker in state semis last year when he was the favorite at 220. He’s a step behind Kinney, but I think he’s a step above everybody else here. Schmick is a massive heavyweight who has been to Hershey a couple times, and Banco is another who has been in the mix but hasn’t found a medal yet so far.
 
Recap

106: Keanu Dillard, Bethlehem Catholic over Luke Sirriani, Abinbton Heights
Dillard took his first step to winning four state titles by handling Sirriani, a senior and West Point commit. Too slick on his feet, too technical on top for the brute force of Sirriani. Along the way, Dillard outscored his foes 40-11. Dillard was one of five freshmen to medal in the weight, joined by Butler's Santino Sloboda, Altoona's Braden Weaver, Perkiomen Valley's Max Tacini, and Easton's Nick Salamone. Ridley also got their first state medalist since teh '80s with sophomore Curtis Nelson.

114: Nate Desmond, Bethlehem Catholic over Carson Wagner, Northampton
In an all D11 final, Desmond throttled Wagner for the third week in a row and continued his climb to four state titles. The #2 ranked wrestler in America according to MatScouts, Desmond went fall, 6-0, fall, 12-1 to win his title. Wagner was a four-time state meadlist (just the third in Northampton history) but Desmond put him on his back twice and generally dominated, It's the fifth state title, seventh state final, and tenth state medal for the Desmond/Ciasulli family. Wagner was the star of the show otherwise, scoring a last minute takedown to beat returning state finalist Luke WIllochell (Greater Latrobe) in the quarterfinals, then hit a five point chin-whip with nine seconds left to beat former state champ Kaedyn Williams (Manheim Township) 7-5 in the semifinal. Williams and Willochell finished 4th and 5th. THe lone freshman placer was CB West ninth grader Chris Dennis (who frequents the Easton room in the summer), who took 6th.

121: Cael Nasdeo, Williamsport over Mason Ziegler, Quakertown
Nasdeo, a two-time state finalist and Penn STate recruit, became the first Williamsport state champion in 33 years with a solid 4-0 win over Ziegler. He outscored his opponents 23-2, plus a first period fall in his opening round. He reversed Ziegler, a Lehigh recruit, and rode him out in the second period, then got a takedown to seal it. The big news was state #2 CJ Horvath (Freedom) failing in the quarterfinal round and then not placing. There was also an unfortunate injury to UNC recuit Marco Tocci (Warwick) who broke his elbow in wrestle-backs after dropping to Nasdeo in semifinals. The medal state was entirely juniors and seniors here.

127: Vinny Kilkeary, Greater Latrobe over Andrew Binni, Canon McMillan
Kilkeary joins the three-timers club, going 1-3-1-1 in his career, capped by an 8-5 win over Binni. The match was never in doubt, though Binni did close the gap with a takedown at the end. Kilkeary has long been a fan favorite - his wild third period comeback in a 14-11 win over Tyler Kasak and his vicious lefty headlock in OT of the state final put him on the scene as a state champ in 2020 - and he's been a big-move, go for broke kid that are too few and far between. He'll be a good one at Ohio State. Binni was a surprise finalist, the regional runner-up to Kilkeary, he knocked off nationally ranked Tahir Parkins (Nazareth) in his quarterfinal with a takedown in the last 15 seconds. This bracket also had the upset of the first day where state #2 and returning third place finisher Eren Sement (Council Rock North) fell 9-8 to West Scranton freshman Michael Turi, who was fourth in his own region. Turi, and sophomores Sement and Parkins all medaled here as underclassmen.

133: Luke Simcox, Central Mountain over Maddox Shaw, Thomas Jefferson
The first mild upset in finals saw Simcox ride out Shaw in the third period to take the crown, 1-0. The UPenn recruit earned his third medal and really wrestled well against Shaw, who was considered a contender at 139 before dropping down to 133 for the postseason. Simcox was not a point scoring machine, going 3-0, 2-1, 2-0, 1-0 for a championship, which may be the lowest point total ever for a state champion. He also had to go through the wrestlers that finished 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 6th - which is nearly the toughest path possible. A lot of good can happen when you consistently get out from bottom and can ride. Shaw needed a 1-0 victory on a stalling point to beat Cael McIntyre (Bethlehem Catholic) in his semifinal. The big upset here was returning state 3rd place and two-time medalist Charlie Bunting (Nazareth) dropped his opening round match and failed to medal - he tore his labrum early in the season and has been wrestling in a shoulder harness all year, but a tough end to the career of the George Mason recruit and NE Regional champ. Former state finalist Ethan Lebin (Hempfield) dropped a 2-1 bout to Simcox in quarters and finished fourth. Shaw was the only underclassman to medal here.

139: Kollin Rath, Bethlehem Catholic over Pierson Manville, State College
Rath used a second period reversal and a takedown with :01 in the second to knock off returning state champion Pierson Manville, the second time this year Rath defeated Manville (also the Escape the Rock finals at Council Rock South). Rath, a third place finisher last year, also defeated returning state champion Dalton Perry (Central Mountain) 3-1 in the semifinals to make him one of the few wrestlers ever to knock off two defending champs on his way to a title. Rath's hit-list this year included two wins over Perry and Manville, a win over 145 pound finalist Mac Church, two state champs from New Jersey, a state champ from Ohio, and a state champ from Tennessee. Just a monster season for the Golden Hawk sophomore, who should be one of the best recruits in the country. He also earned Outstanding Wrestler for his efforts. Manville, went fall, fall, 9-2 on his path to finals, and the junior now has 204 career high school wins, which include two seasons wrestling varsity in Minnesota as a 7th and 8th grader before moving to Pennsylvania to follow his brother when he enrolled at Penn State. Perry, already a Penn State commit, wrestled back to finish 3rd in one of the best 1-2-3 weight classes of any state tournament in the country. Perry and Rath are both sophomores.

145: Collin Gaj, Quakertown over Mac Church, Waynesburg
In a bizarre match, Quakertown sophomore Collin Gaj completed an undefeated season by beating two-time returning state champ and Virginia Tech recruit Mac Church, 7-1 in what was one of the marquee bouts of the evening. However, it was weird. Church was clearly trying to bully the 10th grader, and got hit with a penalty point in the bouts first minutes for illegal hands to the face. After Gaj escaped in the second, he was awareded another penalty point when Church clearly stuck his thumb right in Gaj's eye, making it a 2-0 match at the end of the second period. Church escaped, but needed a takedown late, and Gaj countered Church's desperation attempt, then Church added two penalty points (third technical violation) for grabbing Gaj's singlet in the scramble. Again, bizarre way for a two-time champ to lose in his third finals, but hats off to Gaj, who is one of the most improved wrestlers in America and has blown up in his sophomore year. Gaj is an alumni of Red Hawk wrestling (there were rumors he'd be at Becahi instead of Quakertown) and has been a longtime training partner of Rath's, so it was fun to see the good friends go back-to-back. He's Quakertown's first champ since Pat Flynn won 189 in 2006. Church finishes his career going 3-1-1-2. Gaj got to the finals by beating returning state finalist and 4x state medalist Matt Repos (Central Dauphin; Lehigh) with a pair of takedown. He also went through 2x state medalist Nico Taddy (West Allegheny). Repos wrestled back for third, going 4-7-2-3 in his career. Gaj and Asher Cunningham (4th, State College - son of Penn State assistant Casey Cunningham) were the two sophomores to medal here.
 
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152: Ty Watters, West Allegheny over Ryan Garvick, Central Dauphin
Watters was one of the quietest returning champs, despite being ranked in the top 5 in the country, and the West Virginia recruit dominated on his way to a second title - the second in West Allegheny history. Watters pinned his way to finals - including a wild seated flying cement job to pin 3x state medalist and Oregon State commit Dagen Condomitti (Northampton) in semis during a late first period scramble. The finals was a dominant effort, where Watters majored returning state finalist Garvick, and showed what makes him special - the chain wrestling is elite and he is elite in scramble situations. Garvick finishes as the runner-up to a WPIAL wrestler for the second time with one year to go. He'll look to win his fourth medal and first title as a senior. Condomitti rolled through the backside to finish third. For the second year in a row, Griffin Gonzalez (Lebanon) pulled a huge opening round upset, this time by beating Luke Sipes (Altoona). Sipes, a sophomore, wrestled back to medal, making him the only underclassman on the podium in this weight.

160: Dylan Evans, Chartiers Valley over Shawn Taylor, West Allegheny
The most controversial match of the tournament came in the Evans-Taylor final, where Dylan Evans won his second state championship after dropping a pair of matches to Taylor during the season (regular season and WPIAL finals, both in overtime). In their state final, Evans was clearly the aggressor, drawing a stalling warning against Taylor in the third period. Still, they just traded escapes in regulation, and despite a signficiant flurry in OT, the match went 1-1 into rideouts. Both wrestlers escaped in the 30 second tiebreakers, forcing the match into ultimate tiebreaker with Taylor on bottom. For the uninitiated, UTB means that the bottom man has 30 seconds to escape, if so, he wins, if the top man holds him down for 30, he wins. Evans, after initially trying to ride a side headlock, switched to a leg ride, which Taylor initially stopped by standing up - the high school rule is that it is potentially dangerous for the top man to have legs in if the bottom man is standing. On a restart, Evans threw legs in again and Taylor tried to stand up - this time earning Taylor a stall call for intentionally forcing a stalemate, his second stall of the match, meaning Evans got a point and won via the sudden death nature of UTB. It took him a second to realize what happened before celebrating. Lots of boos in the arena, for the refs, not Evans, as it is INCREDIBLY rare to see a stalling call in UTB (i've seen it once, in a very similar situation, but a solid 20 years ago). I think Evans wrestled a better match, but would have much preferred to see them wrestle out the last 15 seconds and decide it on the mat. Evans, a Pitt recruit, completes his career with four state medals, including back-to-back titles to end his career. He won a marquee quarterfinal with Andrew Harmon (Bethlehem Catholic; Air Force) which some were predicting as a chic upset pick, but Evans hammered him 8-3, then outlasted nationally ranked Dom Frontino (Shippensburg) to get to finals. Taylor bested Fargo freestyle champion Behkruz Sadriddinov (Council Rock South) in his semi.

172: Rocco Welsh, Waynesburg over Matt Furman, Canon McMillan
I actually didn't pay a ton of attention to this weight class because Welsh is so in a class by himself. He's the #1 ranked wrestler nationally at 172, and the #2 pound-for-pound wrestler in the country according to Willie Saylor at MatScouts. He went fall, tech fall, 21-8, and 9-2 to claim his second state title, and joined an elite group to make four state finals in their career (2-2-1-1). He's one of the best middle weights to come through Pennsylvania and certainly is in the conversation for the best wrestler from Waynesburg, one of the state's historic programs. he should be a factor right away next year at Ohio State. Furman won the marquee bout of the weight class with a 2-0 decision over Dom Wheatley (Nazareth) in quarterfinals. Furman, a Cornell recruit, lost 4-2 in SV to Wheatley back at team states and those two were a clear 2/3 in the bracket. All medalists here were seniors, save for Kiski Area sophomore Mark Gray.

189: Tucker Hogan, Daniel Boone over Cole Bartram, Northern York
Hogan is one of the more underrated guys in the field, but smothered the 189 pound weight class on his way to his first title. The junior teched his way to finals before shutting out Bartram. He's one of the best wrestlers in Pennsylvania on top, and almost exclusively used his cross-wrist tilt series to outscore his opponents 53-2 in four matches, with only the final seeing the third period. Bartram went through a pair of Division I wrestlers on his way to finals, beating Clarion commit Adrien Gacek (Parkland) and Rutger signee Hadyn Packer (Jersey Shore) on his way to a D3 rematch with Hogan. Superstar sophomore Vaughn Spencer (Pine-Richland) was forced to injury default out of the tournament after suffering an injury in his quarterfinal with Dean Bechtold (Owen J. Roberts). Bechtold, a freshman, took 6th and was the lone freshman to place above 127.

215: Sonny Sasso, Nazareth over Dillon Bechtold (Owen J. Roberts)
Sasso finished his high school career on a 76 match win streak, capped by a 7-5 win in the state final. Sasso, who wrestled much of the season at 189 after returning from a football injury in February, made the decision to move up to 215 so that teammate Marco Malerba could wrestle at 189 and make the deepest possible run after starting in Sasso's place for most of the season. So, despite weighing about 195 pounds, Sasso dominated 220, with two pins and a 12-5 decision to get to finals, where he capped his second straight unbeaten season. That's four state titles for the Sasso family, as Sonny's older brother Sam is the #2 seed in the NCAA tournament this weekend at 149 pounds and won two titles for the Blue Eagles. Sonny is as funky as they come, and will be an immediate impact guy at Virginia Tech. Bechtold knocked off previously unbeated Jose Garcia (JP McCaskey) to earn a finals trip. Bechtold and John Pardo (Kenett - 3rd) are the only wrestlers back in this weight class.

285: Sean Kinney, Nazareth over Nick Pavlechko, State College
The other half of the best high school upperweight duo in America, Kinney rolled to his second state title and put himself in position to become the first Pennsylvania wrestler to win three state titles and go to four state finals all at heavyweight. Kinney is so nimble on his feet and positively brutal on top (the arm bar is second to none) and pinned his way to finals in a combined 4:33, then shutout the fellow nationally ranked Pavlechko, 7-0. That was only his third match to go the distance this year and the first without bonus points. Pavlechko survived an 8-7 opening round match with football standout Max Roy (St. Joseph's Prep) before pinning 4th place finisher Joe Enick (Penn-Trafford) and majoring 3rd place finisher Layton Schmick (Carlisle). Pavlechko and Kinney are both juniors and presumably will be the state final in 2024.

Team Title: Bethlehem Catholic 139 points over Nazareth 102.5
Bethlehem Catholic, with three champs, one third, two fifths, and a sixth won yet another team title, pulling the Dual/Individual double this season. Their 139 points breaks the District 11 3A record (set by Northampton in 2000 who had an amazing 7 wrestlers finish in the top 3) and is the third highest score ever, trailing only Franklin Regional in 2016 and Faith Christian this year in 2A. They're the 10th 3A team with at least 7 medals - and join Easton, Nazareth, and Northampton as the only schools to do it twice (all from District 11). Most impressively, they crowned three champions - a freshman and two sophomores. And they did this al without Tyler Kasak, who would have been the #1 wrestler in the country at 145, but chose to forgo his senior year to train at Penn State while finishing high school online (he's a Nittany Lion commit). They graduate medalists Andrew Harmon (3rd at 160), Cael McIntyre (5th at 133), and Luke Thomas (5th at 172) but return a bulk of their points.

Nazareth owns the dubious distinction of being only the second team ever to score 100+ points in the state tournament and not win a team title (which Becahi did last year while Nazareth won the title, so turnabout fair play). The Blue Eagles had two champs, a third, fourth, and sixth place medal out of their eight qualifiers. They'll bring back Kinney, Tahir Parkins (4th at 127) and freshman qualifiers Jack Campbell (139) and Brayden Zuercher (160).

Waynesburg, State College, and West Allgheny rounded out the top five - the fifth place finish for West Allegheny is far and away the best in school history. Quakertown took 7th, also a high water mark for the program.

Northampton conitinued their state record streak of 40 consecutive years with a medalist - they had two in finalist Carson Wagner and 3rd place Dagen Condomitti. Easton and Canon McMillan stayed lockstep in their state record streaks of 53 straight years with a state qualifier and both schools medaled two. Becahi crowned their 32nd, 33rd, and 34th state champs, inching them closer to Easton (35) for third all-time in Pennsylvania and most in D11. It was also Becahi's 12th straight year with a champion, putting them one away from tying Clearfield's record of 13 straight years with a champ from 1941-1953. Nazareth crowned champ numbers 28 and 29, and for head coach Dave Crowell his 25th and 26th champs, good for second all time behind former Clearfield boss Art Walsh (33). Nazareth also joined Reynolds and Easton as the only schools with over 130 all time state medals.
 
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Being from Greene County PA and wrestling back in the 1980's Waynesburg has always been one of the top programs in the state. With names like Dirk Cole, Josh Koshceck, Coleman Scott, Greg Hopkins The Ayesmans , the Boyds, Headlee, the list goes on and on. My wrestling coach wrestled for Beth Center back in the 60's and early 70's and he called Waynesburg the Big Red W. He said if a kid from another school put on a singlet with the Big Red W on it he automatically became a better wrestler. I hated wrestling those guys they were so sound and coached so well.
 
Being from Greene County PA and wrestling back in the 1980's Waynesburg has always been one of the top programs in the state. With names like Dirk Cole, Josh Koshceck, Coleman Scott, Greg Hopkins The Ayesmans , the Boyds, Headlee, the list goes on and on. My wrestling coach wrestled for Beth Center back in the 60's and early 70's and he called Waynesburg the Big Red W. He said if a kid from another school put on a singlet with the Big Red W on it he automatically became a better wrestler. I hated wrestling those guys they were so sound and coached so well.
Waynesburg unfortunately had their best team ever during the pandemic season - they rolled through a depleted field at State Duals and had five in the finals of the individual tournament with no fans. Mac Church was one of their state champs as was Wyatt Henson (NCAA qualifier for Oklahoma this year) and Luca Augustine (Pitt) with Welsh (who lost 3-1 top a top 5 wrestler nationally) and Cole Homet as runner ups. Really excellent group that didn’t get enough shine because of the circumstances.

Welsh and Church were sophomores on that team and just finished out their career, as decorated as anybody from Waynesburg since Coleman Scott (who I long “hated” as the roadblock to Alex Krom on multiple occasions, though Coleman is actually a great guy). For the uninitiated, Coleman Scott won three state titles from 2002-2004 (and was #1 in the country at 125 as a senior) then was a four-time All American and NCAA champ at Oklahoma State and won a bronze medal at the 2012 Olympics. He’s now the head coach at UNC.

I think Welsh will be an excellent college wrestler, Church might take a little work, but both are going to big-time programs. They don’t have as much underclassmen depth, so they may take a step back now that they’ve graduated the two two-time champs.
 
127: Vinny Kilkeary, Greater Latrobe over Andrew Binni, Canon McMillan
Kilkeary joins the three-timers club, going 1-3-1-1 in his career, capped by an 8-5 win over Binni. The match was never in doubt, though Binni did close the gap with a takedown at the end. Kilkeary has long been a fan favorite - his wild third period comeback in a 14-11 win over Tyler Kasak and his vicious lefty headlock in OT of the state final put him on the scene as a state champ in 2020 - and he's been a big-move, go for broke kid that are too few and far between. He'll be a good one at Ohio State. Binni was a surprise finalist, the regional runner-up to Kilkeary, he knocked off nationally ranked Tahir Parkins (Nazareth) in his quarterfinal with a takedown in the last 15 seconds. This bracket also had the upset of the first day where state #2 and returning third place finisher Eren Sement (Council Rock North) fell 9-8 to West Scranton freshman Michael Turi, who was fourth in his own region. Turi, and sophomores Sement and Parkins all medaled here as underclassmen.
Sement had an impressive comeback. Lose in the first round and then win 5 straight to finish 3rd.
 
Yes nice work by Sement. Back to back 3rds. I remember Zac Fryling did the same his Sophomore year before winning back to back titles.
 
Being from Greene County PA and wrestling back in the 1980's Waynesburg has always been one of the top programs in the state. With names like Dirk Cole, Josh Koshceck, Coleman Scott, Greg Hopkins The Ayesmans , the Boyds, Headlee, the list goes on and on. My wrestling coach wrestled for Beth Center back in the 60's and early 70's and he called Waynesburg the Big Red W. He said if a kid from another school put on a singlet with the Big Red W on it he automatically became a better wrestler. I hated wrestling those guys they were so sound and coached so well.
Q - Is Welsh the best wrestler ever from Waynesburg or Beth Center? A - it depends on who you ask.

Lol
 
Q - Is Welsh the best wrestler ever from Waynesburg or Beth Center? A - it depends on who you ask.

Lol
Not sure but here are the best wrestlers that I have seen when I was in high school. Waynesburg has a long history of great wrestling

1. Cary Kolat Jefferson Morgan
2. Curt Angle- Mt Lebo
3. Jeff Spinetti- Uniontown
4. Dom Snyder- Bentworth
5. Todd Lowry - German TWP
6. Ryan Cella- Avella
7. Jodi Conti -Beth Center
8. Greg Hopkins-West Greene/Waynesburg
9. Chris Pegg-Fairchance Georges
10. Dirk Cole-Waynesburg
11. Jeff Hamilton West Greene

Fairchance Georges , German and AG consolidated my Junior year to form Tri-Valley and then back to Albert Gallatin. Wrestling back in the mid to late 80's was rough. I pretty much wrestled in the Greene, Fayette, Washington county area and mostly AA teams.
 
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Not sure but here are the best wrestlers that I have seen when I was in high school. Waynesburg has a long history of great wrestling

1. Cary Kolat Jefferson Morgan
2. Curt Angle- Mt Lebo
3. Jeff Spinetti- Uniontown
4. Dom Snyder- Bentworth
5. Todd Lowry - German TWP
6. Ryan Cella- Avella
7. Jodi Conti -Beth Center
8. Greg Hopkins-West Greene/Waynesburg
9. Chris Pegg-Fairchance Georges
10. Dirk Cole-Waynesburg
11. Jeff Hamilton West Greene

Fairchance Georges , German and AG consolidated my Junior year to form Tri-Valley and then back to Albert Gallatin. Wrestling back in the mid to late 80's was rough. I pretty much wrestled in the Greene, Fayette, Washington county area and mostly AA teams.
Is Greene County the P4P champ in PA when it comes to producing top level wrestling talent when compared to the small population of the county?
 
Is Greene County the P4P champ in PA when it comes to producing top level wrestling talent when compared to the small population of the county?
Well at one time yes. Back in the Day you had all five high schools that had wrestling
Waynesburg, West Greene, Jefferson Morgan, Mapletown, Carmichaels. All five had solid wrestling back then. Now you only have three teams Waynesburg, West Greene, Jefferson Morgan. Still quality but not what it has been. But Waynesburg pretty much carries that torch now but back in the 1980's wrestling matches were downright nasty and it was beautiful. Everyone Hated Waynesburg, Carmichaels and Jefferson Morgan hated each other. My senior year Jefferson Morgan won the WPIAL , West Greene beat us(Carmichaels) by 1 point to finish Second. It was pretty good competition that year for the conference. But Cary Kolat and Jefferson Morgan were loaded that year. I think they sent 5-6 kids to Hershey that year
 
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The Spencer boy from P-R is Cole Spencer’s brother. Former P-R QB, now wrestling at Penn. He is supposed to be better than his brother at wrestling
 
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Well at one time yes. Back in the Day you had all five high schools that had wrestling
Waynesburg, West Greene, Jefferson Morgan, Mapletown, Carmichaels. All five had solid wrestling back then. Now you only have three teams Waynesburg, West Greene, Jefferson Morgan. Still quality but not what it has been. But Waynesburg pretty much carries that torch now but back in the 1980's wrestling matches were downright nasty and it was beautiful. Everyone Hated Waynesburg, Carmichaels and Jefferson Morgan hated each other. My senior year Jefferson Morgan won the WPIAL , West Greene beat us(Carmichaels) by 1 point to finish Second. It was pretty good competition that year for the conference. But Cary Kolat and Jefferson Morgan were loaded that year. I think they sent 5-6 kids to Hershey that year
Speaking of Kolat and stats. Here is a sad one involving Kolat. Gary Whyte at WG finished with 99 wins in his career. He finished #2/#5 in the state. Great HS career. But, he never got the 100 wins so many kids used to chase. Maybe if he didn't have to wrestle Kolat 6-7x in his career he would've gotten that 100 win mark. I think many kids today would duck a wrestler the caliber of Kolat in order to get that accomplishment.
 
Speaking of Kolat and stats. Here is a sad one involving Kolat. Gary Whyte at WG finished with 99 wins in his career. He finished #2/#5 in the state. Great HS career. But, he never got the 100 wins so many kids used to chase. Maybe if he didn't have to wrestle Kolat 6-7x in his career he would've gotten that 100 win mark. I think many kids today would duck a wrestler the caliber of Kolat in order to get that accomplishment.
I remember that kid. And back then you wrestled who was in your class. There was a kid Mylan from Beth center who followed Kolat to states. Could not beat him but was the next one that was in his class
 
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