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PIAA State Wrestling Tournament

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RoverNation05

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Aug 22, 2010
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Hershey is here! The 88th PIAA Wrestling tournament starts on Thursday, with 20 man brackets in 3A and 2A and 16 woman brackets on the girls side. This is the second PIAA tournament that will feature an officially sanctioned girls bracket alongside the big school and small school classifications.

This preview will predominantly feature 3A, which is obviously what I follow most closely, and for my money is the most interesting. I’ll give high level info and picks on the 2A and Girls side. But 3A is where I make my money. It’s a fascinating year, where I don’t think there is a solid team favorite – Team Champ Bethlehem Catholic has finished third in both their District and Regional tournaments, with state runner-up Nazareth winning the titles in both spots. Easton, Notre Dame, and Council Rock South are sending the most athletes to states with seven. Thomas Jefferson and Connellsville were mere points away from each other and way out ahead of the field in the West Regional. It is the type of state tournament where if a team gets two or three to finals, that might be good enough to win a title. I don’t know if anybody is going to break 100 points, it’s either going to be a “we medaled a ton” or “we had two champs” decides it. Which is fun!

I’ll go weight-by-weight with a breakdown of regional champs and the bracket, which are preliminary right now (Pa-Wrestling is a wealth of information, and they’re good about knowing and applying the seeding criteria to get very accurate brackets out before the PIAA releases them tomorrow). This year, we’ve moved from five regions to four, meaning that the four regional champs all get seeded away from each other, there will be no Region 1 vs Region 1 in quarterfinals, as there has always been. Brackets then get determined based on the placement of each of the regional champs – so wrestlers who finished 2nd through 5th in any region are not seeded, and not seeded away from champs, but rather bracketed based on the seeding of the champ in their region. That may make more sense as we get into brackets. I'll add back in Jeff Upson's state rankings once they post on Tuesday or Wednesday. Here we go!

103 Pounds
Regional Champions
West: Nicholas McGarrity, Peters Township (So. 40-4): S6
Northeast: Brayden Wenrich, Northampton (Fr. 41-5): JH1
Southeast: Chase Williams, CB East (Fr. 36-2)
Southcentral: Sam Culp, Red Land (Sr. 29-6)
Nationally Ranked: #6 Brayden Wenrich, #21 Nico Emili, Bethlehem Catholic (Fr. 33-8; NE2): JH5

The Favorite: Brayden Wenrich, Northampton
Wenrich has been nationally ranked in the top ten all year and is one of the better freshmen in the country for the Konkrete Kids. He medaled at 107 at Ironman back in December, but spent most of the year up at 114. He was fourth at Ironman, third at the Hurricane Classic. He’s a tall, lanky 107 who is brutal on top.

Bracket Buster: Zach Rehak, Thomas Jefferson (So. 38-10; W2)
Rehak has been ranked in the top five in the state at various points in the year, and dropping a pair of matches at regionals has him in from the fifth spot in the west. He should win his first round match, then has Sam Culp on “upset” alert, and could easily get himself into quarters and a match from medaling.

Best First Round Match: Nico Emili, Bethlehem Catholic (Fr. 33-8; NE2): JH5 vs. Tommy Gretz, Connellsville (So. 39-9; W3)
Emili and Gretz met at team states when they were ranked #2 and #3 in the state, with Emili winning by major. Gretz dropped his regional semifinal to qualify out of the third spot, so what we thought might be a semifinal back in February is now a first round matchup.

Predicted Semifinals: Nicholas McGarrity vs. Brayden Wenrich / Andrew Alexander, Mifflin County (So. 39-4; W2) vs. Nico Emili
McGarrity is the most experienced guy here, a medalist last year as a freshman. He should get through quarters rather easily, ditto for Wenrich. That might be the de facto final if they hit in semis. On the bottom half, Alexander and Emili have brutal paths, with Alexander drawing Cael Muller (Notre Dame) in the first round, who easily could switch spots with him, then regional champ Chase Williams in the quarters. Emili has to go through Gretz and the Rehak/Culp winner.

Predicted Final: Brayden Wenrich, Northampton vs. Nico Emili, Bethlehem Catholic
This one feels like an all D11 affair. Wenrich and McGarrity is probably the best bout in the bracket, but give me the talented freshman. Emili is a physical load, and if he gets past his first match, I feel pretty good about him going to finals.

Predicted Champ: Brayden Wenrich, Northampton
Wenrich has beaten Emili 8-4 and 4-0 the last two weeks. The D11 final was a big move for seven, then he coasted. Last week actually showed me how big the gap is, with Wenrich riding out Emili and really staying out of harms way on his feet. He’ll become the second KKid to win a title as a freshman (Juliah Chlebove) and prevent KKid legacy Emili (whose father Dave was a two-time state finalist in the ‘90s for Don Rohn’s crew) from getting his first.
 
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114 Pounds

Regional Champs
Southeast: Dominick Morrison, Hatboro-Horsham (So. 42-1): S1
West: Nico Kapusta, Hempfield Area (Jr. 17-0)
Southcentral: Thunder Beard, Central Dauphin (Jr. 36-3)
Northeast: Emilio Albanese, Emmaus (So. 35-6): S4
Nationally Ranked: #9 Dominick Morrison

The Favorite: Dominick Morrison, Hatboro-Horsham
Morrison is a returning state champion (the first in Hatboro-Horsham history) and can get halfway to the immortality that comes with four state titles by winning this weekend. He’s 86-4 in his career, with his lone loss this season coming in the CoalCracker finals to national #1 Freddy Bachman in a 4-2 match. Morrison doesn’t score a ton of points, but he’s incredibly strategic and hard to score on.

Bracket Buster: Max Tancini, Perkiomen Valley (Jr. 43-5): S6, S5
Tancini is the only person in the bracket with multiple state medals. He was an overtime scramble away from making state finals in 2024, and he’s every bit good enough to roll deep into the tournament.

Best First Round Match: Nico Kapusta vs. Max Tancini
Another match that should be a state semifinal, not a first-round meeting. Both have been to the state tournament every year of high school. There won’t be a ton of scoring in this one, but the tension will be through the roof.

Predicted Semifinals: Dominick Morrison vs. Wilmont Kai, Whitehall (Jr. 31-3; NE2) / Thunder Beard vs. Emilio Albanese
Morrison should get through with relative ease on the top half of the bracket. The other quarter is an absolute monster, with the Tancini-Kapusta winner getting Wilmont Kai, who has been in the top 5 in the state all year and was a medalist in 2024, as the prize for their efforts. Kai is th biggest kid in the bracket, I have no idea how he makes 116. On the bottom half, Beard similarly should feel safe getting to semis. And on the bottom, Emilio Albanese and Matteo Gallegos DuBois (Fr. 37-4, W2, JH6, JH1) will be electric. A quarter fit for a state final. Gallegos got the better of Albanese at the Mid-Winter Mayhem in Chambersburg, and I’d anticipate another one score match.

Predicted Finals: Dominick Morrison, Hatboro-Horsham vs. Emilio Albanese, Emmaus
Morrison feels like a relatively safe bet coming out of the top, but Kai is a tough match up for anybody. I think the Gallegos-Albanese winner is going to come out of the bottom half, though Beard feels like he’s been around forever and feels due. Albanese would be the third state finalist in Emmaus history, joining Bryan Reiss (2005, their only state champ) and Taylor Brown (2007 and 2008).

Predicted Champ: Dominick Morrison, Hatboro-Horsham
Morrison beat Albanese 4-1 last year in the semifinal, and 1-0 earlier this season. They’re close. But Albanese has to show he can score when he needs to in a huge match against a national caliber opponent. Don’t know if we’re there yet.
 
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121 Pounds

Regional Champs
Southcentral: Elijah Hewitt, Northeastern (Sr. 37-2)
Southeast: Brayden Sigle, Downingtown West (Jr. 34-7)
Northeast: Reef Dillard, Bethlehem Catholic (So. 33-8)
West: Braiden Weaver, Altoona (Jr. 38-6; Buffalo): S5
Nationally Ranked: #21 Nick Salamone (Jr. 29-7; NE2; S7, S8)

The Favorite: Braiden Weaver, Altoona
This bracket blew up when Landon Sidun (Norwin) broke his hand at WPIAL Duals, ending his season in February. Sidun was about as heavy a favorite as you could find, which is typical of the national #1 wrestler at a weight. None of the 127s had enough time to make a descent work with the current weigh-in rules, but I’m surprised nobody from 114 came up. Instead, we have a top ranked wrestler in Weaver, who owns a highlight win over 2A favorite Brock Rothermel (Line Mountain), and was sixth at Powerade, but is not the overwhelming national caliber kid you usually see as the top dog in a PA lightweight.

Bracket Buster: Kavin Muyleart, Cedar Cliff (So. 23-4; SC2)
Muyleart came into high school a much ballyhooed freshman, who had huge national freestyle results. But he hasn’t been very healthy in high school and when he’s been on the mat, he’s been inconsistent. But he’s the most talented guy in the bunch, and in a wide open weight class he just might explode.

Best First Round Match: Nolan Rice, Connellsville (So. 34-12; W3) vs. Nick Salamone, Easton
Rice was a match off of the medal stand last year, while Salamone has a pair of low medals in his first two trips to Hershey. Both have wrestled great schedules and a million big matches as part of two of the premier programs in the state. Salamone owns wins over three nationally ranked wrestlers, but hasn’t quite put it together in a big tournament to get those accolades.

Predicted Semifinals: Nick Salamone, Easton vs. Leo Joseph, Greater Latrobe (Sr. 36-5; Navy; W2) / Reef Dillard, Bethlehem Catholic vs. Braiden Weaver, Altoona
Salamone and Elijah Hewitt is a solid quarterfinal, where I feel more confident in the schedule Salamone wrestled during the year as having him ready for a big Friday afternoon match. Joseph should be favored over Sigle, again, having been through the meatgrinder in the WPIAL really helps. On the bottom, Muyleart and Dillard is fireworks versus paint drying, but Dillard is so good as defensive scrambling and a monster on top, exactly what Muyleart struggles with. Weaver should safely come through the bottom.

Predicted Final: Nick Salamone, Easton vs. Reef Dillard, Bethlehem Catholic
Salamone owns a win over Joseph last year at the Hurricane, and the Red Rover has shown, in wins over Ethan Timar (St. Edward) and John McGinty (St. Joseph Regional) that he can beat national caliber kids. His best is better than Josephs. Dillard is not quite his brother, but he’s a really tough match up in his own right, and Bethlehem Catholic wrestlers are notorious for showing up in Hershey.

Predicted Champ: Nick Salamone, Easton
Jody Karam gets his only state champ at Easton in his last year. Salamone and Dillard have been as close as possible – a win by Salamone would even their career series at 4-4, and Salamone won in ultimate tiebreakers at Districts, where Dillard won in tiebrekers at regionals, as the last three bouts have gone to overtime. A similarly close, tense state final would be expected, but I think Salamone has a few more leg attacks that he might convert one to win. A title for Salamone would end the longest individual state title drought in Easton history, as he'd be the first champion since two-time All American Mitch Minotti took the 140 pound bracket in 2011.
 
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127 Pounds

Regional Champs
Northeast: #1 Keanu Dillard, Bethlehem Catholic (Jr. 31-2; Lehigh): S1, S1
Southeast: Quinn McBride, Pennridge (Jr. 29-7): S6
West: Santino Sloboda, Butler (Jr. 45-0; Pittsburgh): S4, S6
South Central: Aiden Herndon, Cedar Cliff (So. 35-4): S2
Nationally Ranked: #5 Keanu Dillard, #21 Gabe Ballard, Northampton, #24 Santino Sloboda

The Favorite: Keanu Dillard, Bethlehem Catholic
They say the third one is the hardest. Keanu Dillard is halfway to being the second four-time state champ ever from District 11 (joining Matt Gearhard of Catasauqua). He’s as elite as they come – a world medalist in 15U, national freestyle champion, Lehigh commit, and one of the top ten recruits in his class. He’s silky smooth and one of the best top wrestlers in America. This is a loaded weight class – an eye popping seven returning state medalists are in the bracket!

Bracket Buster: Aiden Kunes, Central Mountain (So. 36-10; W5)
Kunes won Top Hat back on opening weekend, beating three state medalists on his way to a title. At his best, he can go with the best guys in Pennsylvania. But he’s only 9-5 in his last 14 matches. If we see the best of Kunes, he’s a monster five seed who can give the regional champ a problem in the round of 16.

Best First Round Match: Quinn McBride, Pennridge vs. Aiden Kunes, Central Mountain
Speaking of, Kunes needs to win a pigtail with Noah Fenner, Easton (So. 30-10; NE4), who he beat 9-1 earlier in the year. Fenner is a load on top and can win weird matches, but Kunes is solid. A win gets him a matchup with state medalist and regional champ Quinn McBride, the winner of whom has a great shot at semis.

Predicted Semifinals: Keanu Dillard, Bethlehem Catholic vs. Aiden Kunes, Central Mountain / Gabe Ballard, Northampton (So. 36-10; NE2; S4) vs. Aiden Herndon, Cedar Cliff
Dillard has Dalton Wenner, Cranberry (Jr. 39-6; W3; Clarion; S7, S6) in quarters, who is two-time state medalist in 2A, but Dillard is on another level. The McBride-Kunes winner also should be relatively safe getting to semis. On the bottom, Santino Sloboda-Gabe Ballard is maybe the best quarterfinal in the whole tournament. This very easily could be a state final – both are nationally ranked, both are state medalists from last season. Sloboda is funky and flexible, Ballard is a brawler who can also really scramble. The winner there is the obvious pick to make the final from the bottom half, and I have Ballard in a war. In the other quad, Mason Whitney, Abington Heights (So. 43-4; NE3; S7) was third in the Dillard-Ballard invitational last weekend, and should be in a great quarter with Aiden Herndon. Herndon was a state finalist last year and might have a little more offense than Whitney.

Predicted Finals: Keanu Dillard vs. Gabe Ballard
Our second Bethlehem Catholic-Northampton finals that I’m predicting. Dillard is very safe money to come out of the top. Ballard has his major battle in quarters, if he gets by Slobodoa, if he keeps his foot on the gas, I feel pretty good about him making his first state final, one year after losing a 9-8 classic in semis to Landon Sidun last season.

Predicted Champ: Keanu Dillard, Bethlehem Catholic
Dillard and Ballard went to tiebreakers in the D11 final, and I started to think that maybe Ballard could pick him off in one of these three match ups. But that may have been his shot. Dillard was firmly in control of a 5-2 win in the NE Regional final. I don’t think he is going to lose to a Pennsylvania wrestler in his career, and certainly not this weekend. Third title for Dillard with a chance at becoming a legend in 2026.
 
133 Pounds
Regional Champs
West: Nico Fanella, Indiana (Sr. 39-2; Pittsburgh): S4, S3
Southeast: Anthony Mutarelli, Council Rock South (Sr. 34-3; Oregon State): NP1
Southcentral: Jackson Rush, West Perry (Sr. 36-2): S7
Northeast: Jack Campbell, Nazareth (Jr. 37-6): S5
Nationally Ranked: #18 Anthony Mutarelli, #22 Nico Fanella

The Favorite: Anthony Mutarelli, Council Rock South
This will be Anthony Mutarelli’s first state tournament. He won National Preps while at Malvern Prep as a freshman, then got bumped out of the Malvern Prep lineup as a sophomore and did not wrestle at all in a postseason tournament. He transferred home to Council Rock South as a junior, but had to sit out the postseason as a mid-career transfer. Which was a shame, because Mutarelli would have been a heavy, heavy favorite to win 127 pounds last season. He’s got the champ there in this bracket, so he’ll be able to exact some revenge. But he’s been clearly the guy all season and should show-out this weekend.

Bracket Buster: Trey Wagner, Northampton (Jr. 32-5; Navy; NE2): S1
Any time a returning state champ isn’t on that regional champ line, it’s notable. Wagner won 127 last season by suffocating the bracket (sans Mutarelli) on top. Wagner got taken down in the final seconds last week to lose the regional final, which dropped him into a quarterfinal with Mutarelli. Wagner really could upsend things with an upset there.

Best First Round Match: Luke Willochell, Greater Latrobe (Sr. 41-4; Wyoming; W2; S2, S5, S5) vs. Daniel Dennis, CB West (Fr. 36-6; SE3; JH3)
Willochell went to the 106 pound state final as a freshman, and has been right on the cusp the last two years. He’s tons of fun to watch, wide open, throws, scrambles, you name it, Willochell has it in his toolkit. Dennis is one of the best freshmen in the state, a bronze medalist at the state junior high tournament last night and now putting it on the line against the big guys. He might not be ready to beat Willochell yet, but he’s got a lot of success in front of him in Hershey.

Predicted Semifinals: Nico Fanella, Indiana vs. Anthony Mutarelli, Council Rock South / Luke Willochell, Greater Latrobe vs. Jack Campbell, Nazareth
Fanella is one of the best wrestlers in the state without a title. He should cruise into semis. I like Mutarelli to put it on Wagner, actually, and really show the state what could have been in the state tournament last year. On the bottom, Willochell is a heavy favorite to come out of the first quad. On the bottom, Jack Campbell closed the gap with Wagner throughout the year, losing three close matches before breaking through in the regional final last week, wrestling the best I’ve ever seen him. This is his third Hershey trip, he has a medal last year, and he looks sharp down at 133. Colby Martinelli, Pennridge (Sr. 24-6; SE2; S3) is a state bronze medalist who has had some injury problems and has moved up a ton in weight. In terms of talent, he’s up there with the top guys, but I think Campbell is ready to win that match and make a semi.

Predicted Finals; Anthony Mutarelli, Council Rock South vs. Luke WIllochell, Greater Latrobe
Mutarelli and Fanella is the actual final here, Mutarelli not having any seeding points and being in the fourth slot is stupid and robs us of the final here. Still, it’s more of an issue for Fanella, who will earn his third medal but not make a final, as I think Mutarelli has really separated from this bracket. On the bottom, it will be the funk of Willochell vs. the controlled fundamentals of Campbell. In previous iterations of this preview, I had Campbell as the winner, but I think Willochell gets it done, probably with backpoints somewhere. But both semis will be big-time match ups.

Predicted Champ: Anthony Mutarelli, Council Rock South
It’s Mutarelli’s year. He should already be a state champ and he’s good enough to have that tag. Whoever wins his semi with Fanella is going to be the champ here, but I think there’s a gap between Mutarelli and everybody else.
 
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Thank you for the info Rover. Great stuff as usual. I’ll be there on Saturday for the finals. Quick correction, if I read your comment correctly, Dennis Merriam from Hatboro Horsham, won in ‘75 and lost in finals of ‘76. So he is the first returning state champ for the Hatters. Not to age myself but I was there in person with my father :)
 
16th&Georgetown said:
Thank you for the info Rover. Great stuff as usual. I’ll be there on Saturday for the finals. Quick correction, if I read your comment correctly, Dennis Merriam from Hatboro Horsham, won in ‘75 and lost in finals of ‘76. So he is the first returning state champ for the Hatters. Not to age myself but I was there in person with my father :)
Click to expand...
Ah! I was confident in that one and didn't go back and look it up (thought I remembered from the broadcast last year). That's an unforced error by me!

You're right, Dennis Merriam won 132 in 1975, beat Mike Gill from Clearfield 6-1 in finals. Gill went on to be the head coach at Clearfield. The other big name I recognize in that bracket is Vertus Jones Sr., whose son Greg won three NCAA titles and Vertus Jr. was an NCAA finalist (losing to Cael Sanderson).

In '76, Merriam beat Bernie Fritz (Liberty) in semis, who ended up an All American at Penn State. His brother John was an NCAA champ for the Nittany Lions and was their head coach in the '90s. Lost to Crist Cooley (Erie Central Tech) in finals.

Looking at that bracket now, fun D11 tournament. If you were in the building for this, you also saw Easton legend and 1984 Olympic Gold Medalist Bobby Weaver win his first of three state titles, Rick Billy was the first of about 100 Billy brothers from Northampton to make a deep run at states (Chad won a state title, Rick here lost in finals to Angelo Marino from Canon Mac). Mike DeAugustino of North Allegheny won his second of three titles, sneaking by future Division II finalist Greg Shoemaker, also of Easton (one of the all time nice guys). Jerry Rodriguez's (Saucon Valley) last high school loss came in the 138 semis, he was about to run off 63 wins in a row and win two state titles as one of the all time, dominant but forgotten guys. Rich McIntyre (FreedoM) won one of two state titles in Freedom history, he ended up their head coach for a long time. Brian Statum of Liberty won 155, he beat Doug Herbert (North Allegheny) in OT in semis (Herbert's son Jake won two NCAA titles at Northwestern and was a silver medalist at World Championships one year). I ran PAL track for Statum's dad when I was a kid, one of the all-time characters in Lehigh Valley sports. Gary Albright (Saucon Valley) won the first all D11 final when he won the rubber match with Mike Brown (Bethlehem Catholic) - they split D11 and NE regional matches before Albright won states. Brown end up a four-time All American and NCAA finalist at Lehigh while Albright got drafted by the Orioles and played professional baseball (and played in the Big 33 game, incredible athlete).

Alright, back to 2025. Thanks for keeping me on my toes.
 
139 Pounds

Regional Champs
Northeast: #1 Tahir Parkins, Nazareth (Sr. 46-0; Rutgers): S4, S1
West: Kai Vielma, Connellsville (So. 45-4)
Southcentral: Myles Grossman, Gettysburg (So. 39-5)
Southeast; Patrick Kelly, CB West (Sr. 36-6): S4
Nationally Ranked: #4 (at 145) Tahir Parkins

The Favorite: Tahir Parkins, Nazareth
This one goes pretty high on the confidence picks. Parkins won a state title last season at 133 pounds, and is currently on a 78 match win streak dating back to December of 2023. The Rutgers signee won Beast of the East up at 145, where he was until dropping for state duals. Ony seven of his matches this year have gone the distance, and he has 21 consecutive techs or pins. Parkins is a scoring machine, who has a variety of leg attacks and has a combination of fluidity and speed that is nearly unmatched in Pennsylvania. If he is able to repeat, he’d be Nazareth’s seventh multi-time state champion.

Bracket Buster: Patrick Woloshyn, Council Rock South (Jr. 49-12)
Woloshyn has really stepped his game up in his second full year as a starter for Council Rock South. He’s really blossomed in their schedule, which is as tough as any school’s in eastern Pennsylvania. He’s coming out of the three spot from the South East region, and while he’s not going to beat Parkins in the quarters, he can make a real run through the back side.

Best First Round Match: Dominick Ferraro, Pine-Richland (Sr. 43-2; Edinboro; W2) vs. Chris Kelly, Easton (Sr. 27-10; Kutztown; NE3)
Ferraro is a popular pick to make a run to finals (see below), but he’s got a three-time state qualifier in his opening match. Kelly was on his way to a medal in 2024, when he got reversed to his back and pinned in the blood round. With three trips to Hershey (four counting team states) Kelly’s not going to be intimidated by the atmosphere, so if Ferraro is going to go on a run, he’ll need to be ready right out of the gate.

Predicted Semifinals: Tahir Parkins, Nazareth vs. Kai Vielma, Connellsville / Thomas Allison, Trinity (Sr. 31-4; W5) vs. Dominic Ferraro, Pine-Richland
Outside of Parkins, this bracket has high potential for chaos. Parkins should cruise through to quarters. The bottom quad also should be fairly straight forward, with super sophomore Kai Vielma wrestling spectacularly right now. He’s a year away from being a state champ. On the bottom, there is no clear cut favorites. I think either Beck Babb or Thomas Allison could beat the regional champ Grossman, and frankly Gavyn Kelton or Talan Mizenko could beat either of them. So throw some names in a hat and pick. On the bottom, Ferraro and Patrick Kelly is probably the true semifinal, which we’ll see in quarters. Kelly is a really tough match up with his height and size, but again, in the sake of chaos, I think Ferraro can solve it and punch through to Friday night.

Predicted Final: Tahir Parkins, Nazareth vs. Dominic Ferraro, Pine-Richland
The real state final is Parkins-Vielma. The sophomore getting seeded fourth of the regional champs is not reflective of their ability and unfortunately puts the best match in this bracket on Friday. Vielma is not ready for Parkins yet, though as stated above, he’s on a state champ trajectory. I feel strongly that the Kelly-Ferraro winner will beat whoever comes out of the rubble in the top quad to make finals.

Predicted Champ: Tahir Parkins, Nazareth
This bracket is a coronation. Dave Crowell will get himself another state champ as he starts to creep closer and closer to the all-time record. Parkins sends himself off to the Big Ten as a two-time champ and ready to contribute right away as a freshman at 141. He’s had an awesome career, and seeing him bonus his way through Hershey will be a fitting way to go out.
 
145 Pounds

Regional Champs
West: Dalton Perry, Central Mountain (Sr. 39-3; Penn State): S1, S3, S2
Northeast: Michael Turi, West Scranton (Jr. 38-2; Cornell): S7, S7
Southcentral: McKaden Speece, Wilson West Lawn (Jr. 40-4; Navy): S5
South East: Eren Sement, Council Rock North (Sr. 50-2; Michigan): S3, S3, S3
Nationally Ranked: #5 Eren Sement, #10 Dalton Perry, #21 Michel Turi

The Favorite: Dalton Perry, Central Mountain
Dalton Perry won a state championship as a freshman and committeed to Penn State shortly after, seemingly sending himself on a rocket ship to being one of the best wrestlers in America. Instead, Perry has had a solid career and will in fact enroll at State College in the fall, but he hasn’t climbed back to the top of the state podium. Now, it’s been elite wrestlers standing in his way – he lost a semifinal to Kollin Rath (Bethlehem Catholic) as a sophomore, then fell in overtime to Maddox Shaw (Thomas Jefferson – see next weight) last season in his return trip to finals. He’s the ostensible top dog in a loaded weight class, maybe the deepest in the tournament. Perry still has his back of tricks, he’ll headlock even the best kids and get in an upper body match with him at your own risk (his 30 pins are amongst the most in the state), but he’s been more fundamentally consistent this year, which seems to prep him for a state title run.

Bracket Buster: Ramil Islamov, Baldwin (Sr. 44-1; West Virginia): S4
This weight is too good to have somebody from the four or five seed line making a run. I’m highlight Islamov because he has the best chance to dethrone a regional champ in quarters, where he’ll hit Navy commit Mac Speece (Wilson West Lawn). Islamov is a trendy dark horse pick to win this bracket. He doesn’t wrestle the schedule that some of the top guys have, but he’s elite and very easily could make a finals run.

Best First Round Match Up: Marco Frinzi, Bethlehem Catholic (Sr. 31-8; Columbia; NE3; S6) vs. Ethan Higgins, Bethlel Park (Sr. 42-9)
Frinzi is the other two seed that could make a deep run. He’s already the third Frinzi brother for a state medal with Bethlehem Catholic (and his dad is a New Jersey state champ for P’Burg) and he’s yet another Division I recruit in the bracket. Higgins is a top ten wrestler in the state, though the third qualifier out of the West region behind Perry and Islamov.

Predicted Semifinals: Dalton Perry, Central Mountain vs. Michael Turi, West Scranton / Ramil Islamov, Baldwin vs. Eren Sement, Council Rock North
Perry has the best draw of anybody and should smoothly make it through to semis. Micahel Turi, who has caught fire as a junior, also should smoothly make it through. Turi’s only losses are to Devon Magro and Collin Gaj, both nationally ranked wrestlers at higher weights. Outisde of that, he’s throttled a good schedule and has jumped levels after state medals his first two years. The bottom of the bracket is insane. Islamov-Speece is going to be a war, as is Frinzi and Eren Sement. That’s four Division I commits, all with state medals, two of whom will need to win an additional match just to medal. Give me Islamov and Sement, but any combination of those four on the bottom is possible.

Predicted Finals: Michael Turi, West Scranton vs. Eren Sement, Council Rock North
I changed this from Perry to Turi halfway through typing this. Turi has grown so much as a wrestler over the last three years – he was a precocious freshman who found his way onto the podium, and now is a bona fide national caliber kid, and he’s not going to be afraid of Perry and has the athleticism to go after him. That bout is a coin flip, so let’s go with a little bit of chaos. On the bottom, Sement and Islamov is another finals caliber match up. Sement has been the bronze medalist in Hershey three straight years, with early losses as a freshman and sophomore, then dropping a heartbreaker in semis last year. He took Tahir Parkins to overtime in the Beast final, and in the new year has wrecked shop over the second half of the year. I think he finally breaks through and gets to finals in his last year.

Predicted Champ: Eren Sement, Council Rock North
Actually, I think he wins the whole thing. Turi upset Sement two years ago in the first round of the tournament, 9-8, when Sement was the favorite to win 127, but had to scrap all the way through wrestle-backs. That was ancient history, but this could be a similarly exciting multi-score match between two really good wrestlers. Sement would be the first four-time medalist, and second champ from Council Rock North since the split, joining Jamie Callender (2010 at 189).
 
152 Pounds
Regional Champs
West: Maddox Shaw, Thomas Jefferson (Sr. 34-2; Ohio State): S3, S2, S1
South Central: Nathaniel Replogle, Central York (Fr. 42-6)
Northeast: Cade Campbell, Nazareth (Jr. 36-5)
Southeast: Gavin Carroll, Quakertown (Sr. 44-4; Drexel): S5
Nationally Ranked: #5 Maddox Shaw, #12 Evan Petrovich, Connellsville (Sr. 44-8; Pittsburgh; W3): S3

The Favorite: Maddox Shaw, Thomas Jefferson
Shaw has steadily climbed the state podium, going 3-2-1 and beating Dalton Perry in overtime last year for his first state championship. That avenged a loss to Perry in the state semifinal when both were freshmen. Shaw is also a Super 32 champion (the toughest offseason folkstyle tournament in the country) and a Fargo bronze medalist in freestyle. In short, he’s one of the nationally elite guys in Pennsylvania and should be a solid favorite here. He’s nearly impossible to score on - the Perry takedown are the only offensive points he’s yielded at the state tournament in three years and he’s very comfortable in low scoring matches, because he never gets taken down and he can ride out just about anybody in the country. It would be nice to see him separate offensively in his last high school tournament, but the future Buckeye is likely to defend his state title and cap a fabulous career.

Bracket Buster: Evan Petrovich, Connellsville (Sr. 44-8; Pittsburgh; W3): S3
Petrovich spent most of the reason ranked #1 or #2 in the state (after Shaw dropped from 160), but enters the state tournament only third in his region after getting taken down to his back and pinned by James Whitbred (State College) in the semifinals. Despite the loss, Petrovich is dangerous, and gets thrown into the bottom quarterfinal against the second seeded regional champ, Gavin Carroll.

Best First Round Match: Darisus McMillon, Peters Township (Sr. 52-7) vs. Nathaniel Replogle
McMillon has not quite reached the heights of his brother (a state finalist and four star football recruit who play safety at Florida), but is a dangerous entry into any bracket. Replogle is a Chance Marsteller pupil who has burst onto the District 3 scene as a freshman and very much has four state medals in his sight.

Predicted Semifinals: Maddox Shaw vs. Luke Knox, Perkiomen Valley (So. 42-3; SE2) / Cade Campbell vs. Evan Petrovich
Shaw should pretty comfortably advance through to semis, even though Chris Dennis (CB West; Jr. 33-7; SE2) is no slouch and should be a medalist. The bottom quadrant in that half of the bracket is wide open as is Knox, whose go-for-broke style should make him a fan favorite this weekend. He could lose the opening round to Chase Grabfelder (Northampton; Jr. 30-11; NE3), but if he gets on a roll, look out. The bottom is one of the more fun bracket halves of the weekend. Cade Campbell and James Whitbread is a fabulous quarter, Campbell has been very sharp since dropping from 160 for State Duals. Whitbred, a Fargo All American, has missed a lot of the season with injury, but announced his presence by pinning Petrovich last weekend. I think the steadiness and big match experience of Campbell wins out. Then the last quad has Petrovich and Gavin Carroll, a pair of Division I recruits and returning medalists who have been in the top five of the state all year. This could be a final in a lot of years, and I think the winner is going to finals from this half. Petrovich, despite the loss last week, feels like the pick.

Predicted Finals: Maddox Shaw, Thomas Jefferson vs. Evan Petrovich, Connellsville
I’ve got an all WPIAL affair in this one, with two opponents very familiar with each other. Shaw will handle whoever comes out of the other quad, while Petrovich will have to win two battles with Campbell and either a Whitbred rematch or Campbell. But I think the senior gets it done and gets a rematch with Shaw, which was a 1-0 match in the WPIAL final.

Predicted Champ: Maddox Shaw, Thomas Jefferson
Just because that match was 1-0 though, doesn’t mean Shaw wasn’t in control. Petrovich can’t get out from bottom against Shaw, and I don’t know if he can score from his feet either. Make it two titles for Shaw.
 
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160 Pounds
Regional Champs
Southeast: Collin Gaj, Quakertown (Sr. 40-0; Virginia Tech): S4, S1, S2
Northeast: Charlie Scanlan, Bethlehem Catholic (Sr. 34-8; Columbia)
South Central: Christian Burd, Hershey (Jr. 35-3)
West: Luke Sipes, Altoona (Sr. 39-4; North Carolina): S5, S7, S4
Nationally Ranked: #3 Collin Gaj, #17 Luke Sipes, #23 Charlie Scanlan

The Favorite: Collin Gaj, Quakertown
For my money, Gaj is the best 3A wrestler in the state, pound-for-pound. He’s a scoring machine, with an array of attacks from his feet, and a beautiful combination of violence and skill. He’s wrestled an absolutely brutal set of opponents in his Hershey career, with his only losses coming to good friend and longtime training partner Kollin Rath (Bethlehem Catholic), who is now at the Olympic Training Center and won’t be able to stop Gaj from winning a second title. As a sophomore, Gaj beat two-time defending state champ Mac Church (Waynesburg, now Virginia Tech) in what was both a stunning upset and not an upset at all after watching him dominate the bout. Rath beat him in one of the best state finals we’ve ever seen last year. And this year, the path is clear for this tournamen to be more of a coronation than a competition.

Bracket Buster: Keegan Ramsay, Notre Dame (Sr. 28-10; NE3): S3
Ramsay was a whisker away from making the 2A final last year at 172, barely falling to rival Luke Fugazzotto (Northwestern Lehigh), who he beat in the D11 and NE Regional tournaments. With Notre Dame moving up to 3A, Ramsay has taken a few more losses, and was surprisingly upset in semis at both Districts and Regionals, but he’s got deep Hershey experience and wrestles one of the best schedules in the country, he’s not a fun draw.

Best First Round Match: Jesse Scott, Emmaus (Sr. 31-13; NE2) vs. AJ Corp, West Chester Rustin (So. 31-5)
Scott has been a revelation in the postseason, beating Ramsay twice and pushing Charlie Scanlan in D11 and NE Regional finals. He’s part of a resurgence from the Emmaus wrestling program that saw Jim Best win Coach of the Year honors in the Lehigh Valley. To keep it going, he’ll see a solid underclassman from District 1, who has one of their deeper weights behind Gaj in this bracket.

Predicted Semifinals: Collin Gaj vs. Charlie Scanlan / Keegan Ramsay vs. Luke Sipes
Gaj will pin his way to semis, while Scanlan has a rubber match with Lonzy Vielma (Connellsville; Sr. 40-9; Pittsburgh; W2: S5) who knocked Scanlan out of the wrestle-backs last year at states, and Scanlan turned the tables at Team States this year. Scanlan is probably the best wrestler in Pennsylvania without a state medal, and I think the Beast of the East finalist finally punches through quarters in his third trip to Hershey. On the bottom, Ramsay is my wild card to make it back to semis. And we haven’t talked about Luke Sipes yet, but this bracket is very much a “two best guys and then the rest”, with Sipes being a state champion level wrestler who should dominate the bottom half. The future Tar Heel is gunning for his fourth state medal, and should cruise through.

Predicted Finals: Collin Gaj, Quakertown vs. Luke Sipes, Altoona
Sipes would be the first four-time medalist in Altoona history and their first finalist since Parker McClelland’s surprise run in 2018. He should beat Ramsay handily if it comes to that. Gaj and Scanlan have been Red Hawk training partners since they were little kids, so maybe the familiarity helps Scanlan a little, but there is still a big gap there. This weight is pretty clear cut.

Predicted Champ: Collin Gaj, Quakertown
Gaj and Sipes will be competitive, but Gaj just has more ways to score. He’ll cap his career going 4-1-2-1 and is one of the best wrestlers in District 1 history. And maybe we’ll get a Gaj-Rath match in the NCAA finals down the line, as that’s the one Pennsylvania mountain he still can climb.
 
172 Pounds
Regional Champs
West: Asher Cunningham, State College (Sr. 31-3; Penn State): S8, S4, S1
Southeast; Blake Hostetter, Oxford Area (So. 44-3)
South Central: Tucker Seidel, West Perry (Sr. 38-2)
Northeast: Brian Heard, Abington Heights (Sr. 49-3; Penn): S5
Nationally Ranked: #5 Asher Cunningham, #8 Bode Marlow, Thomas Jefferson (Sr. 47-3; Pittsburgh; W2; S3), #15 Brian Heard, #22 Shane McFillin, Bethlehem Catholic (Sr. 40-9; Bucknell; NE3: S4)

The Favorite: Asher Cunningham, State College
Cunningham, son of NCAA champion and Penn State associate head coach Casey Cunningham, is the clear top dog at this weight. He and Bode Marlow are both in the top ten nationally, and Cunningham tech-falled Marlow last week in the West Regional finals. He romped to a state title last year, and has been even more dominant as a senior. It is a pretty impressive trajectory from a wrestler who was a solid, if unspectacular underclassman, but his development curve has a rocket attached to it over the last two years. He’s solid and creative on his feet, and a vicious top wrestler, who will translate very well to the Penn State style in college (particularly where the bow-and-arrow is legal and he can really torque guys over with the bent-leg turk he sets up). He’s in a group with Dillard, Parkins, Shaw, Gaj, and Bechtold as the best kids in 3A.

Bracket Buster: Mario Hutcherson, Kiski Area (Fr. 40-4): JH1, JH1
Hutcherson is one of the most hyped freshmen in teh country, and with good reason. Very rarely do you see a ninth grader at 172 have this level of success, but he’s very clearly established himself as a future multi-time state champion. He’s got the skill level to go with anybody (he very nearly scored the first takedown against Cunningham last weekend) but doens’t have the physical development yet to beat the truly nationally elite guys. But it’s coming, and he’s going to pick someobdy off this weekend.

Best First Round Match: Gavin Cole, Council Rock South (Sr. 48-7; SE2; S5) vs. Mario Hutcherson
And that somebody might be Gavin Cole, despite Cole having a whale of a season and really jumping levels. In a less deep weight class, we’d be talking about both of these guys as state finalists. Instead, they’re fighting to get on the podium and will have to dig out of a first round loss. Cole has really improved on top, where his cross-wrist tilt series is going to really test the freshman.

Predicted Semifinals; Asher Cunningham vs. Connor Wetzel, Shikellamy (Sr. 32-4; Lock Haven; NE2; S4) / Bode Marlow vs. Brian Heard
The name I’m leaving out here are wild. Cunningham should dispatch of Shane McFillin in quarters, though McFillin is worth mentioning as a nationally ranked, Division I recruit who took fourth in the state last year at 152. In a lot of years, he’s the favorite here, but Cunningham will beat him handily. In the bottom half, Wetzel looked awesome last week in regionals, taking Brian Heard to tiebreakers. He can knock out Blake Hostetter, the regional champ from D3. On the bottom, I like Bode Marlow to come out of the first quad rather easily. On the bottom, the Hutcherson-Cole winner has to hit state bronze medalist Brian Heard in the quarters, which is as tough a draw as anybody in the field has this weekend. Heard broke the District 2 wins record last weekend and again, in a lot of years we’d be talking about him as the favorite. I think the chances of him winning one very tough match is greater than Hutcherson or Cole winning two.

Predicted Finals: Asher Cunningham, State College vs. Brian Heard, Abington Heights
Cunningham should dispatch of Wetzel and draw his third wrestler of th weekend with a top four medal at states with Heard in the finals. Heard and Marlow was an instant classic during the regular season, where Heard took an 11-3 lead in the Mid-Winter Mayhem finals, then lost 26-17 as Heard hit an wall in the third period. I don’t foresee 40+ points again, but I do see a world where Heard makes the adjustments and can hang on.

Predicted Champ: Asher Cunningham, State College
This one seems pretty straightforward. It’s a great bracket - Wetzel, McFillin, Heard, Cole, Marlow are all state finalist/champ caliber wrestlers. You’ve got really interesting young guys in Hutcherson and sophomores Hostetter and Justin Cosover (Easton; 24-14; NE4) who will make 172 and 189 really interesting over the next two seasons. But Cunningham takes a lot of the drama out of the final result. He’s too good for the field and will cruise to the title, maybe winning OW in the process.
 
189 Pounds
Regional Champs
South Central: Tyler Morrison, West Perry (Sr. 37-1; Pitt-Johnstown): S6, S4
West: Kendahl Hoare, DuBois (Fr. 41-5): JH2, JH1
Southeast: Brandon Carr, Sun Valley (Sr. 47-2; Franklin & Marshall)
Northeast: Brayden Zuercher, Nazareth (Jr. 37-2)
Nationally Ranked: #18 Tyler Morrison

The Favorite: Tyler Morrison, West Perry
Morrison took fourth and sixth in 2A the last two years, with West Perry moving up to 3A for this cycle. In the fall, Morrison took fifth at Super 32 at 175, then continued to bulk up for the high school season. Like 121, this weight has a level of “who is not here”, with Lehigh commit and returning state champion Vaughn Spencer (Pine-Richland) out for the year with injury. But Morrison has been the most consistently good wrestler in the weight this year - he owns wins over Brandon Carr, ranked second in the state, and his lone loss is to national #3 Lane Foard (Benedictine College Prep, VA) by 1-0 in the TrojanWars finals. He’s the betting favorite coming into the tournament, but this weight feels like it could surprise.

Bracket Buster: Hunter Snyder, Greater Latrobe (So. 39-5; W4): S6
The underclassman upperweights in Pennsylvania are tremendous. We talked about Hutcherson in the last weight class, Snyder was last year’s Hutcherson, who burst onto the scene as a freshman at medaled at 172. He spent a lot of this year ranked #2 behind Morrison, but has lost three matches over the last two weeks that make you scratch your head (third at WPIALs, fourth in the West Region). Still, he was fourth at Powerade, beat 2A finalist Caleb Close (Bald Eagle Area) at King of the Mountain, and was a Fargo Cadet Freestyle finalist over the summer. Tons of talent here.

Best First Round Match: Hunter Snyder vs. Tyler Morrison
So obviously the big match up is those two hitting in the first round (assuming Snyder wins his pigtail). Again, throughout the year, there was pretty good odds this would be the state final, instead we are going to see it in the first round. That’s maybe more of a problem for Morrison, who is getting screwed as the top seed. I’m on record as thinking very highly of Snyder, and think the upset is definitely in play. And I like the winner to make finals, if we’re looking ahead that far.

Predicted Semifinals: Hunter Snyder vs. Kendahl Hoare / Brandon Carr vs. Brayden Zuercher
Throw some names in a hat and you probably have as good a chance as I do of nailing all four semifinalists. Morrison and Snyder is one of the three best first round matches in the tournament, and then the winner gets either Carter Euker (Perkiomen Valley) or Shae Linegar (Easton) who are both returning qualifiers, with Euker a Bloomsburg commit and Linegar going to play Division I lacrosse. The bottom quad gets a great quarter, with Dom Sumpolec (Notre Dame; Jr. 33-11; George Mason; NE2; S7), who went 1-0 with Morrison last year in 2A and has medaled at Beast and Powerade. He’ll get super freshman Kendahl Hoare, who is probably the future of heavyweight in Pennsylvania and has a Cadet Freestyle national title to his name. He spent the season up at 215 before cutting down for the postseason. He and Sumpolec, who is coming up from 172, might come down to the size difference, as both are really talented. On the bottom half, Carr is a horse, who will have to contend with Blaise Eidle (Wilson West Lawn; Sr. 41-6; SC2) and Mark Gray (Kiski Area; Sr. 37-7; Columbia; W3; S7) who have four trips to states, nearly 300 wins, and a medal between them. Brayden Zuercher has been a hammer for Nazareth, really asserting himself as one of the anchors in their lineup after recovering from a devastating early season injury that nearly cost him the year. He has the smoothest path to semifinals of any of the top seeds.

Predicted Finals: Hunter Snyder, Greater Latrobe vs. Brayden Zuercher, Nazareth
Snyder and Hoare is a battle of the future of PA upper weights. That match could be any combination of Morison, Snyder, Sumpolec, and Hoare so far be it from me to make a definitive statement, but I think an “at his best” Snyder is the one who gets through. On the bottom half, Carr beat Zuercher the first weekend of the season and that loss kind of hangs on Zuercher throughout the year. But he has been such a consistent force through Nazareth’s schedule, one of the best in America, and he’s wrestling for the greatest high school wrestling coach of all time. Nazareth always pulls a surprise this time of year, and Zuercher flipping the script on Carr would fit the bill.

Predicted Champ: Brayden Zuercher, Nazareth
Speaking of Crowell, a Zuercher win (combined with Tahir Parkins) would give him thirty state champions in his illustrious career, only the second coach to get to that mark. This is a wide open weight class, and just about every kid I mentioned could win it. So in that event, give me the guy from the powerhouse program with the exceptional head coach who has been wrestling out of his mind over the back-half of the year. A title here also would probably clinch the team race for Nazareth.
 
215 Pounds
Regional Champs
West: Elijah Brown, Belle Vernon (Jr. 44-1; Pittsburgh)
Southeast: Walker Murray, Pennsbury (Sr. 30-1; Villanova - football)
South Central: Brodie Daugherty, Manheim Central (Sr. 39-2)
Northeast: Brody Rebuck, Shikellamy (Jr. 41-1)
Nationally Ranked: #16 (at 189) Elijah Brown

The Favorite: Elijah Brown, Belle Vernon
A year ago, Elijah Brown went 1-2 at the 2A state tournament. This was not unexpected. What was unexpected was Brown going to Fargo over the summer and winning a freestyle national championship in dominant fashion. Suddenly, he was beating some of the best upper weights in America. He followed that up with a fifth place medal at Super 32, and now he’s favored to win his first state title. He moved up to 215 from 189 during the season and has wrestled very well. He’s a monster on to, which has been what separates him from his peers.
Bracket Buster: Jake Controy, Ringgold (Sr. 35-5; Cornell)
Before there was Brown there was Conroy, who went out and won a Fargo medal before he had a state one. The Cornell commit is the only wrestler to beat Brown this year, though he’s also lost to him by technical fall. The West has the top four ranked wrestlers in the state, so Conroy at a 4 seed is misleading. But Roman Thompson has had his number, and two losses to him at regionals drops him into this dangerous spot for a regional champ.

Best First Round Match: Decker Bechtold, Owen J. Roberts (Fr. 17-3) vs. Roman Thompson, Pittsburgh Central Catholic (So. 34-3)
Two more of the overwhelming talent Pennsylvania has at the upper weights in the 9th and 10th grade class. Bechtold is looking to match his brother with a medal as a freshman at 215. His destiny is to have an incredible rivalry with Kendahl Hoare (see 189) at heavyweight over the next three years. But he’ll make his big debut this weekend. Thompson medaled as a freshman and is an elite football in addition to wrestling talent, he has 100+ tackles for the Vikings this fall. He wins this, and might make a real run.

Predicted Semifinals: Elijah Brown vs. Jake Conroy / Cooper Roscosky, Kiski Area (Jr. 38-7; W2) vs. Brody Rebuck
Brown should have a relatively easy path to semis, though John Boggs (St. Joseph’s Prep; So. 35-5; NE3) wrestled really well last weekend at Regionals. In the lower quad up top, Conroy has Villanova football recruit Walker Murray after his pigtail. Murray has dominated Southeastern PA, but Conroy is a step up in difficulty. He’ll likely have Connor Smalley (Notre Dame; Jr. 33-10; NE2) in quarters, who bumped up from 189 when Dom Sumpolec moved up, and is a really good athlete with great leg attacks, but might be small for the elite guys here. On the bottom half, Cooper Roscosky has four losses to Elijah Brown, all by one takedown, and he is undefeated against Conroy and Thompson. Roscosky was sixth here as a sophomore, and I think is solidly favored against the Brodie Daughtery/Lincoln Bibla (Crestwood) winner. The bottom quad is the one to watch here, with the Bechtold/Thompason winner getting Brody Rebuck. Rebuck’s only loss is to Murray back in December, and has won 28 matches in a row between 215 and heavyweight, including wins over Daughtery and Jack Peters (ranked #4 in teh state at time time at heavy). He looked great in dominating Smalley last weekend in the regional finals, and will be a real challenge for the Thompson/Bechtold winner.

Predicted Finals: Elijah Brown vs. Cooper Roscosky
Despite the possible chaos of the bracket, I think we see the top two guys make the run to finals. Roscosky has had everybody’s number but Browns, and Brown has had, well, everybody’s number.

Predicted Champ: Cooper Roscosky, Kiski Area
But I think there will be at least some chaos here, and maybe Roscosky gets it done finally after four close losses to Brown. His issue has been, he can’t go under him, chooses neutral, and then has the pressure to score from his feet to not, which so far has been unsuccessful. If Roscosky can get that first score, it changes the entire tenor of the match. What better time than state finals to do it? If so, he’ll be the fourth Kiski Area state champ (all since 2012) and the first since Darren Miller won 126 in 2019.
 
285 Pounds
Regional Champs
Southeast: Dean Bechtold, Owen J. Roberts (Jr. 13-0; Lehigh): S6, S2
South Central: Gunner Hiller, Cedar Cliff (Sr. 28-8; St. Francis - football)
West: Shepard Turk, Thomas Jefferson (Sr. 43-6; Pittsburgh - football)
Northeast: Maxwell Roy, St. Joseph’s Prep (Sr. 19-0; Ohio State - football)
Nationally Ranked: #3 Dean Bechtold

The Favorite: Dean Bechtold, Owen J. Roberts
To paraphrase the FloWrestling Radio Live guys, Dean Bechtold, next question is my analysis of this weight. Bechtold took 6th at 189 as a freshman, then really arrived last season, beating nationally ranked Nick Pavlechko (State College, now Indiana) in the semis to make the heavyweight finals as a sophomore, despite really having to bump up to heavyweight to accommodate his brother, Dillon, who was the state champ at 215. With Sean Kinney (Nazareth) now graduated, Bechtold is the man for the next two years. He missed a ton of time early in the year with an offseason injury, but since returning to the lineup he’s been predictably untouchable. So polished, so athletic, the Super 32 champ will crush here. Last year, we had an historically deep heavyweight class in 3A. This year, it’s Bechtold (huge gap) everybody else.

Bracket Buster: Gavin Grell, Northampton (Sr. 28-7; NE3)
Grell was ranked as the #1 heavyweight in the state for a stretch this year while Bechtold and Roy were on the shelf with injuries. He’s a classic Northampton upper weight, weight room warrior, really strong, can grind out matches. He’s one of the few returning state qualifiers in the bracket, and should be able to make a run on the back side after his quarter with Bechtold.

Best first Round Match: Jack Peters, Selinsgrove (Jr. 34-6; NE4) vs. Shepard Turk
Peters and Turk were #3 and #4 in the state headed into regionals last weekend. Peters got banged up in a semifinal loss to Dan Schiffert, then forfeited into the fourth spot once he clinched a berth in Hershey. If he’s fully recovered, he’s one of the better talents in the bracket. Turk is an FBS football recruit on the offensive line who is near the top of the tier behind Bechtold. He should win, but Peters will push him.

Predicted Semis: Dean Bechtold vs. Dan Schiffert, Freedom (Jr. 29-4; NE2) / Shepard Turk vs. Maxwell Roy
Bechtold will beat all comers, including a quarter with Grell. On the bottom quad up top, Guner Hiller is the regional champ and is a monster - he’s listed at 6’3 310 and will play FCS football, which makes him a tough match-up, coming down to 285. However, Schiffert is the same story, a 6’5 305 pound offensive lineman with FBS offers who is also making the cut to 285. Schiffert beat Grell in the D11 finals somewhat unexpectedly, and majored Peters last weekend. He gives a ton of credit to former state bronze medalists at 189 from Easton Tyler Greene, who was a college heavyweight at Bucknell, as his coach and training partner, and he’s come an incredibly long way. On the bottom, Shepard Turk is a pretty safe pick on top, as is Maxwell Roy on the bottom. Roy is the only other returning medalist here, after a sixth place finish as a junior. He missed most of the season after tearing his ACL at NHSCA Nationals last year in the offseason, but is a physical specimen who is one of the best football players in the country. Despite wrestling behind an obvious number two, he’s really polished, clearly is well coached, and outside of Sean Kinney, has really competed with anybody you put in front of him in Pennsylvania.

Predicted Finals: Dean Bechtold, Owen J. Roberts vs. Maxwell Roy, St. Joseph’s Prep
Again, Bechtold is going to storm the field and will beat whoever is put in front of him in semis. Roy and Turk is also a pretty obvious semis match up, but will be a fun battle between two FBS football players in the last wrestling tournament of their careers. Roy is the better athlete, and I think the more polished wrestler too, and I see him being the first state finalist ever for SJP, and just the third in 3A from the Philadelphia Catholic League.

Predicted Champ: Dean Bechtold, Owen J. Roberts
The question with Bechtold is whether he pins his way through the field. That’s where the smart money is. His win would give Lehigh’s 2026 recruiting class a pair of state titles from him and Keanu Dillard, which really cements the talent the Mountain Hawks have coming in. A title here will join Dillon as a two-time finalist and state champ, and he’ll be the fourth titleist from Owen J. Roberts, with a chance to be their first repeat champion in 2026.
 
Here's what I've got for 2A

107
Who Can Go to Finals
Keegan Bassett, Bishop McCourt (Fr. 42-5)
Carter Chunko, Saucon Valley (So. 36-5)
Braiden Lotier, Bishop McDevitt (So. 45-4)
Chase Karenbauer, Grove City (Fr. 44-0)
Who Will Win: Chase Karenbauer
Karenbauer, Basset, and Chunko are all nationally ranked, but Karenbauer has stood out as the man to beat here.

114
Who Can Go to Finals
Sam Wolford, Northern LEbanon (Jr. 50-4)
CJ Caines, Hanover Area (Fr. 44-3)
Freddy Bachmann, Faith Christian Academy (Fr. 39-0)
Who Will Win: Freddy Bachmann
Fun weight class. Bachmann is the #1 ranked wrestler in the country at 114 and an obvious favorite, but he’ll have to be sharp to win.

121
Who Can Go to Finals
Will Detar, Trinity (Jr. 39-1)
Dom Deputy, Chestnut Ridge (Jr. 45-4)
Tanner Guenot, Bald Eagle Area (So. 45-7)
Gauge Botero, Faith Christian Academy (Sr. 37-8; Michigan)
Brock Rothermel, Line Mountain (So. 35-1)
Who Will Win: Will Detar
The question is, is 121 2A the best state tournament bracket in the United States this year. Four guys who are nationally ranked, loaded with elite talent. I waffle back and forth between picking Detar and Rothermel, which feels like it’s selling the other guys short. Incredible bracket.

127
Who Can Go to Finals
Joey Bachmann, Faith Christian Academy (So. 41-2)
Bradley Wagner, Mifflinburg (So. 45-3)
Greyson Music, Bishop McDevitt (So. 39-7)
Who Will Win: Joey Bachmann
Bachmann is a returning state champ, Music was a finalist. If Faith Christian is going to break the state champs record (4), I think they need Bachmann to win it. He moved up to 127 during the year to get Botero down to a better weight, and should be rewarded.

133
Who Can Go to Finals
Aaron Seidel, Northern Lebanon (Sr. 54-1; Virginia Tech)
Jax Forrest, Bishop McCourt (Jr. 46-0; Oklahoma State)
Who Will Win: Jax Forest
121 is the best bracket in America, this is the best state final in America. #1 vs. #2 nationally, Aaron Seidel going for his fourth state championship, needing to beat Jax Forest, who is his only loss this year and the only PIAA wrestler ever to beat him. Forrest may be not only the #1 guy at 133, but the best pound-for-pound wrestler in high school wrestling.

139
Who Can Go to Finals
Brandt Harer, Montgomery (Jr. 53-0; Rutgers)
Sam Herring, Bishop McCourt (Jr. 46-4; Penn State)
Camden Baum, Bishop McDevitt (Jr. 45-4; Purdue)
Who Will Win: Camden Baum
Another great weight. Harer is a returning state champ, beating Baum 2-1 in tiebreakers last year. They feel like they’re on a collision course again, but Herring is one of the most talented third bananas there is.

145
Who Can Go to Finals
Bo Bassett, Bishop McCourt (Jr. 48-0; Iowa)
Hudson Hohman, Grove City (Jr. 44-2)
Luke Boyer, Elizabeth Forward (So. 37-4)
Matthew Smith, MIdd-West (Sr. 47-3)
Who Will Win: Bo Bassett
Bo Bassett, next question.

152
Who Can Go to Finals
Devon Magro, Bishop McCourt (Sr. 46-3; Rutgers)
Max Stein, Faith Christian Academy (Sr. 40-7; Penn)
Ryan Lawler, Bishop McDevitt (Sr. 42-6; Bucknell)
Who Will Win: Devon Magro
A real FCA-Bishop McCourt battle. Magro has wins over some of the best wrestlers in America this year and feels like he’s due. Lawler lurking on the other side in finals.

160
Who Can Go to Finals
Melvin Miller, Bishop McCourt (So. 45-1)
Reagan Milheim, Warrior Run (Jr. 43-0)
Chase Hontz, Faith Christian Academy (Sr. 35-8)
Sam Almedina, Mid Valley (Fr. 35-8)
Who Will Win: Melvin Miller
This is a great weight. But Miller is a step ahead of everybody and may be the best sophomore in the country.

172
Who Can Go to Finals
Brady Collins, Clearfield (Sr. 40-1)
Luke Fugazzotto, Northwestern Lehigh (Jr. 47-3)
Nick Singer, Faith Christian Academy (So. 40-7)
Max Wirnsberger, Warrior Run (Jr. 39-5; Cal Baptist)
Who Will Win: Nick Singer, Faith Christian Academy
This is the other tough one for FCA. Collins is a returning bronze medalist, Fugazzotto was in finals here, and Wirnsberger is wrestling out of his mind. Throw these names in a hat.

189
Who Can Go to Finals
Adam Waters, Faith Christian Academy (Jr. 42-0)
Caleb Close, Bald Eage Area (Sr. 41-1)
Who Will Win: Adam Waters, Faith Christian Academy
Adam Waters, next question. Easily wins his third title.

215
Who Can Go to Finals
Austin Johnson, Muncy (Sr. 41-1; Oklahoma State)
Jason Singer, Faith Christian Academy (Jr. 26-9)
Lucas Lawler, Bishop McDevitt (Sr. 46-1)
Who Will Win: Austin Johnson, Muncy
Austin Johnson, next question. Singer and Lawler are really close, but Johnson wins his third title in his fourth finals trip.

285
Who Can Go to Finals
Mark Effendian, Faith Christian Academy (Jr. 38-3)
Rowan Holmes, Somerset (Sr. 40-1)
Mason Higley, Towanda (Sr. 44-0)
Who Will Win: Mark Effendian, Faith Christian Academy
This would give FCA five champs, the first time ever in PIAA history. Effendian is a pretty safe bet, he’s one of the best heavyweights in the country.

If the FCA, McDevitt, and McCort guys stayed at public school, Effendian (Neshaminy) and Bechtold would be a great final, Bassett would win 2A for Forest Hills, as would Magro and Miller. North Penn would be a 3A contender with the Bachmanns and Botero. Singer would probably by the favorite in 3A at 215 for Boyertown, while the younger Singer would be in the mix to see Cunningham in finals. Waters wins wherever he goes, even if he was wrestling for Pottsgrove. In general, 3A in District 1 wouldn’t look so bleak. The McDevitt guys would be at Newport, Annville-Cleona, and Camp Hill, so all would be 2A kids. And of course, Herring and Forrest from McCort would be in Tennessee and North Carolina.
 
On the girls side - finals picks. I know enough to pick mostly favorites! Morgan at 106 would be an upset, as would Julissa at 124, but rooting for Easton and Beat the Streets kids this weekend.

100: Makayla Smith, Northern York (Fr.) over Krizten Walzer, Montour (Jr.)
106: Morgan Hyland, Easton (Fr.) over Julia Horger, Conwell-Egan (Jr.)
112: Marlee Solomon, Canon McMillan (So.) over Tamara Humphries, Brashear (Jr.)
118: Savannah Witt, Palisades (Sr.) over Samiyah Rahming, Northeast (Jr.)
124: Julissa Ortiz, Mariana Bracetti (Jr.) over Neve O'Bryne, Garnet Valley (Fr.)
130: Aubre Krazer, Easton (Sr.) over Chloe Zacherl, Erie McDowell (Fr.)
136: Charlotte Gilfoil, Central Dauphin (Sr.) over Ava Golding, Kiski Area (Jr.)
142: Zoey Haines, Gettysburg (Sr.) over Jenny Gautreau, Owen J. Roberts (Fr.)
148: Violette Lasure, Chestnut Ridge (So.) over Jameson Strickland, Sun Valley (So.)
155: Juliet Alt, Chestnut Ridge (Fr.) over Mylea Lambert, Northampton (Sr.)
170: Jael Miller, Punxsutawney (Sr.) over Bryce Snyder, Palisades (Jr.)
190: Caroline Hattala, Quakertown (Jr.) over Natalie Rush, Canon McMillan
235: Brianna Banks, Panthers Valley over MacKenna Addison, Souderton (So.)
 
And as I wait for prelims, here’s my Easton specific post

121: It’s a successful weekend if Salamone makes finals. You want to win it if you get there, but I think setting fair expectations is you get to the last match then take your best shot.

127: Noah Fenner should have medaled a year ago, save for Salamone cutting to 107 and bumping him out of the lineup (he had multiple wins over 4th place finisher Emilio Albanese). Coming into this year, I kind of thought he would be Easton’s best wrestler. But his style has not really adjusted to being 20 pounds heavier, and I don’t think he makes the podium. He’s such a weird style match up, that he could beat Aiden Kunes and Santino Sloboda today and we’re looking at him in semis. But the best guys at 127 can overpower his weird scrambling and reliance on turning guys from top. An off-season dedicated to scoring from his own leg attacks is how he could realize the potential he showed as a freshmen.

139: Kelly has to medal. Third trip to Hershey, he lost to two finalists as a sophomore, understandable. But he got pinned while leading in the blood round last year and instead of the fifth or sixth he probably should have been, he was off the podium. This weight isn’t super deep, it’s going to be who has a good weekend past Parkins and Vielma. He should have one.

160: Quentin Hammerstone being a state qualifier is awesome. I didn’t think he’d really be a starter when he was an underclassman. Major developmental success story that the kid and coaches deserve credit for. Go win some matches, he’s a competitor, but this weekend is found money.

172: Cosover hasn’t taken the jump I thought we’d see. He qualified as a freshman, I thought he’d be a medal contender this year, then go try to win it the next two. He’s not there yet. He’s got a tough first match. He needs some wins in Hershey, but multiple may be tough.

189: Linegar’s found money year was last year, when he went from career JV to states after bumping up 47 pounds. Now, I think the goals are a little higher. He probably needs to win one match he shouldn’t on the back side to medal. But he should be blood round and take a swing.

215: I felt great about Crossman medaling going into last weekend. But after having to sneak in as a Regional 5, I don’t know if he wins a match. If it was a bad weekend, he could be a bracket buster. But with Elijah Brown waiting if he wins his pigtail, it also could be over fast.
 
RoverNation05 said:
And as I wait for prelims, here’s my Easton specific post

121: It’s a successful weekend if Salamone makes finals. You want to win it if you get there, but I think setting fair expectations is you get to the last match then take your best shot.

127: Noah Fenner should have medaled a year ago, save for Salamone cutting to 107 and bumping him out of the lineup (he had multiple wins over 4th place finisher Emilio Albanese). Coming into this year, I kind of thought he would be Easton’s best wrestler. But his style has not really adjusted to being 20 pounds heavier, and I don’t think he makes the podium. He’s such a weird style match up, that he could beat Aiden Kunes and Santino Sloboda today and we’re looking at him in semis. But the best guys at 127 can overpower his weird scrambling and reliance on turning guys from top. An off-season dedicated to scoring from his own leg attacks is how he could realize the potential he showed as a freshmen.

139: Kelly has to medal. Third trip to Hershey, he lost to two finalists as a sophomore, understandable. But he got pinned while leading in the blood round last year and instead of the fifth or sixth he probably should have been, he was off the podium. This weight isn’t super deep, it’s going to be who has a good weekend past Parkins and Vielma. He should have one.

160: Quentin Hammerstone being a state qualifier is awesome. I didn’t think he’d really be a starter when he was an underclassman. Major developmental success story that the kid and coaches deserve credit for. Go win some matches, he’s a competitor, but this weekend is found money.

172: Cosover hasn’t taken the jump I thought we’d see. He qualified as a freshman, I thought he’d be a medal contender this year, then go try to win it the next two. He’s not there yet. He’s got a tough first match. He needs some wins in Hershey, but multiple may be tough.

189: Linegar’s found money year was last year, when he went from career JV to states after bumping up 47 pounds. Now, I think the goals are a little higher. He probably needs to win one match he shouldn’t on the back side to medal. But he should be blood round and take a swing.

215: I felt great about Crossman medaling going into last weekend. But after having to sneak in as a Regional 5, I don’t know if he wins a match. If it was a bad weekend, he could be a bracket buster. But with Elijah Brown waiting if he wins his pigtail, it also could be over fast.
Click to expand...
Fenner loses his first match, 3-0 to Aiden Kunes. Was 9-1 Kunes back in December. Fenner spent 3 minutes (90 seconds in their feet, 90 seconds in bottom) rolling around in ankle pass scrambles that got stalemated. Kunes hit one clean double he finished in two seconds. Noah just left himself so little time go score, and any opportunity he has takes so long. Onto consys.
 
RoverNation05 said:
Fenner loses his first match, 3-0 to Aiden Kunes. Was 9-1 Kunes back in December. Fenner spent 3 minutes (90 seconds in their feet, 90 seconds in bottom) rolling around in ankle pass scrambles that got stalemated. Kunes hit one clean double he finished in two seconds. Noah just left himself so little time go score, and any opportunity he has takes so long. Onto consys.
Click to expand...
Easton goes 0-4 in prelims. Fenner loses 3-0, Hammerstone loses 7-3, Cosover loses 9-8, Crossman loses 7-6. If the entire schedule was changed to emphasize tournaments, including dropping traditional rivals (Northampton) to go to elite events to get kids ready for states, it’s not off to a good start.
 
Murray will be interesting at 215, after taking a year off to concentrate on football. Probably hasn't wrestled the schedule that the other top contenders have, but is he peaking because he's had to get himself back into form throughout the season? Was a hell of a HS football player, it was a little puzzling that it took so long for someone (Villanova) to snatch him up.
 
Emili just broke. Down 6-1 in the second. Wow.

So I’m down one finalist - Tommy Gretz, after losing 8-0 to him at state duals, beats Nico Emili 6-1 in the opening round at 107. Color me surprised.

He is not the first very talented freshman from D11 to have a spectacular regular season against a national schedule then drop his opening Hershey match. That was the Tahir Parkins story three years ago (he went 0-2) and if you’ve been reading this thread, you see that it’s worked out. I also vividly remember years ago (2002!) Alex Krom tearing through his freshman year at Easton at 103, then dropping his opening bout to Tim Harner. He ended up an NCAA All American and set the D11 wins record, that one also worked out. Doesn’t make Emili feel better in the moment, though. And the real challenge is coming out on the back side. That first match tends to beat young kids and seniors twice.
 
Last edited:
bucksftball said:
Murray will be interesting at 215, after taking a year off to concentrate on football. Probably hasn't wrestled the schedule that the other top contenders have, but is he peaking because he's had to get himself back into form throughout the season? Was a hell of a HS football player, it was a little puzzling that it took so long for someone (Villanova) to snatch him up.
Click to expand...
He’s tough - drawing Conroy in this round is brutal. The WPIAL having the top 4 really skews the bracket for everybody else.
 
Rovers go 1-6 in the opening round. They have completely turned around as a dual team from the Billman era. They’ve done a great job bringing the overall level up, and they’ve made average kids way, way better. They haven’t crafted elite kids yet as well as they should. The first part gets you the most qualifiers (which they have). The second part wins you matches, and they’re not there yet. Worse, the year long plan from last years states to today doesn’t have a lot of fruit. That’s return trips from Kelly, Cosover, Linegar, and Crossman and a 0-4 showing in the opening round out of them.
 
review of my predicted best first round matches. Not terrible prognosticating. Not great, but not terrible.

107: Tommy Gretz, Connellsville decision Nico Emili, Bethlehem Catholic: 6-1
Wow. I had Emili making finals, as did a lot of people, instead he’s out in the first five matches of the tournament. Gretz had a late first period takedown, then three second period backpoints really changed Emili’s body language, and it was a wrap from there.

114: Nico Kapusta, Hempfield Area decision Max Tancini, Perkiomen Valley: 3-2.
Takedown in the first 20 seconds by Kapusta held up. Tancini took top in the second and rode out, but couldn’t get a turn.

121: Nick Salamone, Easton decision Nolan Rice, Connellsville: 2-1
Salamone wins without a takedown, getting a third period reversal, then rode out the rest of the match, juuuuust hanging on in the final seconds, surviving a Rice roll attempt. Tense, well wrestled state tournament match.

127: Quinn McBride, Pennridge fall Aiden Kunes, Central Mountain
Not actually a good match. McBride blew open a 3-0 match with a turn, then the fall.

133: Luke Willochell, Greater Latrobe fall Daniel Dennis, CB West
Never close, Willochell rolled

139: Dominic Ferraro, Pine-Richland decision Chris Kelly, Easton: 5-2
Ferraro trailed 2-1 going into the third after a Kelly reversal, and scored with 35 seconds left to win. Tight, well wrestled state tournament match.

145: Marco Frinzi, Bethlehem Catholic decision Ethan Higgins, Bethel Park: 9-4
Frinzi was in control the whole time. Was up 9-1 with seconds left and bailed for a meaningless takedown.

152: Nathan Replogle, Central York injury default Darius McMillon, Peters Township
Replogle had a big lead before McMillon got hurt and defaulted.

160: AJ Corp, WC Rustin decision Jesse Scott, Emmaus: 5-4
Corp escaped with 1:20 left to tie the match, then forced Scott to get hit with stalling three times in the final forty seconds for the win. Wild finish.

172: Mario Hutcherson, Kiski Area tech Gavin Cole, Council Rock South: 19-4 in 2:47
This was a war in the way Germany taking over Poland was a war. Most impressive performance I saw all day, Hutcherson was flowing on his feet and Cole had no answer.

189: Tyler Morrison, West Perry major Hunter Snyder, Greater Latrobe: 16-2
I went out on a limb picking Snyder and he had no answers. Morrison scored first, then locked up a high figure 4 and went to work with three turns. He might win the weight going away.

215: Roman Thompson, PCC major Decker Bechtold, Owen J Roberts: 11-4
A little too much to ask for the freshman, ad Thompson was in on his legs constantly.

285: Shepard Turk, Thomas Jefferson fall Tal Stoltzfus, Conestga Valley: 1:03
Stoltzfuz best Jack Peters, so I didn’t have the right match. Turk would have pinned him too.
 
And an overview of my bracket busters so far
107: Zack Rehak, Thomas Jefferson
He went 0-2. He got busted, not the bracket.

114: Max Tancini
He gave it a go, but could quite find the score he needed to beat Nico Kapusta

121: Kavin Muyleart, Cedar Cliff
Still very much alive and looked awesome. He can blow things up beating Reef Dillard tomorrow.

127: Aiden Kunes, Central Mountain
Annoyed me by beating Noah Fenner, then got pinned. Womp womp.

133: Trey Wagner, Northampton
Obviously still alive. Opportunity to bust is beating Mutarelli tomorrow.

139: Pat Woloshyn, CRS
Blew a huge lead, then won in SV. Classic state tournament result. He’ll have Parkins tomorrow.

145: Ramil Islamov, Baldwin
Teched as a favorite. Opportunity to bust is tomorrow.

152: Even Petrovich, Connellsville
See above

160: Keegan Ramsay, Notre Dame
Gave up a huge lead to lose. Gave up 7 at the end to clinch a loss.

172: Mario Hutcherson, Kiski Area
He absolutely destroyed Gavin Cole. This kid is a problem.

189: Hunter Snyder, Greater Latrobe
Nice match on paper, but Snyder had no answers on the actual match.

215: Jake Conroy, Ringgold
Beat a regional champ and is lock stock and barrels for a mini tournament.

285: Gavin Grell, Northampton
He lost his opening bout, but then found a witch in the house and have they been doing spells? Either way, he’s hanging on.
 
Fletchster1 said:
Roy looked really solid - can he challenge Bechtold for HWT Gold?
Click to expand...
I don't think so, no. I think he makes the final, but Bechtold is a whole different animal.

Roy is a surprisingly skilled wrestler, given how it's obviously not his priority (nor should it be). He dominates most kids. Where he's struggled is the national caliber/DIvision I types (Sean Kinney, Nick Pavlechko, etc.) who are big enough to not just get horsed by him, and have just another level of skill and mat savvy, that comes from being full-er time wrestlers. Bechtold is considerably better than Pavlechko. Bechtold is actually a significantly better wrestler than Roy is a football player, which seems like an outrageous statement, but Bechtold is legitimately one of the 15 best prospects in his recruiting class. He's a five star.
 
Quarterfinals to Watch This Afternoon

107: Tommy Gretz, Connellsvile vs. Sam Culp, Red Land
Gretz knocked off the finals favorite in the bottom, can he knock out the regional champ in his quad? Would be massive for Connellsville in the team race.

114: Mateo Gallegos, DuBois vs. Emilio Albanese, Emmaus
State final caliber match. Gallegos beat Albanese in sudden victory back in December. Gallegos is one of the best lightweight freshmen in the state, Albanese was state fourth last year at 107.

121: Reef Dillard, Bethlehem Catholic vs. Kavin Muyleart, Cedar Cliff
Two excellent sophomores, Muyleart looked healthy and firing on all cylinders yesterday, and Dillard opened up and scored a ton in his first match.

127: Santino Sloboda, Butler vs. Gabe Ballard, Northampton
State finals caliber match. Two nationally ranked kids, both returning high medalists. Winner is a big favorite to be a finalist.

133: Anthony Mutarelli, Council Rock South vs. Trey Wagner, Northampton
What should have been last year's 127 pound state final. Wagner a returning champ, Mutarelli the favorite to dethrone him.

139: Dom Ferraro, Pine-Richland vs. Patrick Kelly, CB West
Ferraro survived a tight match yesterday, doesn't get any easier with the Southeast regional champ and a reutrning medalist in Kelly. Winner is probably the favorite to make finals from the bottom half.

145: MacKaden Speece, Wilson West Lawn vs. Ramil Islamov, Baldwin
Both have been nationally ranked by some outlets, both have Hershey medals and both like to let it fly. Will be incredibly entertaining.

145: Marco Frinzi, Bethlehem Catholic vs. Eren Sement, Council Rock South
Another pair of Division I kids and high medalists. Sement is on a mission to make his first final, Frinzi is needed by Becahi to stay in the team race.

152: Cade Campbell, Nazareth vs. James Whitbred, State College
Whitbred got tested yesterday, but the Fargo All American found a score late to ice it. Campbell has been on fire since dropping to 152 and cruised yesterday.

152: Evan Petrovich, Connellsville vs. Gavin Carroll, Quakertown
State finals level match. The mat wrestling here will be excellent.

160: Lonzy Vielma, Connellsville vs. Charlie Scanlan, Bethlehem Catholic
Huge team race implications as both are right in the thick of things going into moving day. Vielma knocked Scanlan out of the tournament last year, Scanlan owns a win over him this season. Both are Division I kids who wrestle a methodical pace, so tensions will be high.

172: Mario Hutcherson, Kiski Area vs. Brian Heard, Abington Heights
Hutcherson looked the best of any wrestler I watched yesterday. Heard is nationally ranked and very much has finals in his sights. Another match that in other years is a state final.

189: Dom Sumpolec, Notre Dame vs. Kendahl Hoare, DuBois
Another superstar freshman taking on a returning medalist. Sumpolec is nasty with legs and despite being undersized, will throw some physicality at the freshman. Hoare is huge, but we'll see how the 9th grader responds.

215: Roman Thompson, Pittsburgh Central Catholic vs. Brody Rebuck, Shikellamy
Thompson took apart the youngest Bechtold, while Robuck made short work of his first round. Maybe the two most athletic guys in this bracket.

285: Pass? I feel pretty good about the four regional champs all moving on, maybe all with bonus.
 
Does Easton get any credit for Tommy Marchetti making semifinals in Jersey at 114 for Delbarton? His dad, Tom, was a state finalist for the Rovers in 1987 - famously cutting down to 145 to challenge William Allen’s returning state champ Scott Hovan. Marchetti lost to Hovan at districts, then snapped his 70 match winning streak in the Northeast Regional final, but Hovan won the state championship. Both were All Americans in college, with Marchetti making an NCAA semifinal for Bucknell and taking 4th in 1989.

Tom’s made a ton of money on Wall Street, you’d think he could buy a condo downtown and have his kid wrestle for the red and black (I’m kidding…kind of).
 
RoverNation05 said:
Bechtold is actually a significantly better wrestler than Roy is a football player, which seems like an outrageous statement, but Bechtold is legitimately one of the 15 best prospects in his recruiting class. He's a five star.
Click to expand...
Wow, high praise. Always find it interesting when the higher weight class wrestlers don't play football. One would think Bechtold's mat skills would translate well to OL/DL.
 
Fletchster1 said:
Wow, high praise. Always find it interesting when the higher weight class wrestlers don't play football. One would think Bechtold's mat skills would translate well to OL/DL.
Click to expand...
He’s not massively sized for a heavyweight. He started off at 189, he might be like 240?

I couldn’t get my screen shot to attach, but here is MatScouts top 20 recruits in the junior class
1. Bo Bassett, Bishop McCort (PA)
2. Jax Forrest, Bishop McCort (PA)
3. DreShaun Ross, Fort Dodge (IA)
4. Jayden James, Delbarton (NJ)
5. Aaron Stewart, Warren (IL)
6. Jayden Rainey, Union County (KY)
7. Jordan Rainey, Union County (KY)
8. Michael Mocco, Cardinal Gibbons (FL)
9. Joe Toscano, Buchanan (CA)
10. Tyler Dekraker, Chantilly (VA)
11. Moses Mendoza, Gilroy (CA)
12. Dominic Mutarretto, St. Charles (IL)
13. Antonio Mills, Stone Mountain (GA)
14. Dean Bechtold, Owen J Roberts (PA)
15. Brandt Harer, Montgomery (PA)
16. Henry Asliyken, Birmingham (CA)
17. Keanu Dillard, Bethlehem Catholic (PA)
18. Joe Uhorcheck, Signal Mountain (TN)
19. Blake Cosby, Dundee (MI)
20. Sam Herring, Bishop McCort (PA)
21. Adam Waters, Faith Christian Academy (PA)

Bechtold also has a win in the Super 32 finals over Mocco, the #8 recruit this list (whose dad is legendary Blair/Iowa/Oklahoma State heavyweight Steve Mocco).
 
RoverNation05 said:
He’s not massively sized for a heavyweight. He started off at 189, he might be like 240?

I couldn’t get my screen shot to attach, but here is MatScouts top 20 recruits in the junior class
1. Bo Bassett, Bishop McCort (PA)
2. Jax Forrest, Bishop McCort (PA)
3. DreShaun Ross, Fort Dodge (IA)
4. Jayden James, Delbarton (NJ)
5. Aaron Stewart, Warren (IL)
6. Jayden Rainey, Union County (KY)
7. Jordan Rainey, Union County (KY)
8. Michael Mocco, Cardinal Gibbons (FL)
9. Joe Toscano, Buchanan (CA)
10. Tyler Dekraker, Chantilly (VA)
11. Moses Mendoza, Gilroy (CA)
12. Dominic Mutarretto, St. Charles (IL)
13. Antonio Mills, Stone Mountain (GA)
14. Dean Bechtold, Owen J Roberts (PA)
15. Brandt Harer, Montgomery (PA)
16. Henry Asliyken, Birmingham (CA)
17. Keanu Dillard, Bethlehem Catholic (PA)
18. Joe Uhorcheck, Signal Mountain (TN)
19. Blake Cosby, Dundee (MI)
20. Sam Herring, Bishop McCort (PA)
21. Adam Waters, Faith Christian Academy (PA)

Bechtold also has a win in the Super 32 finals over Mocco, the #8 recruit this list (whose dad is legendary Blair/Iowa/Oklahoma State heavyweight Steve Mocco).
Click to expand...
In the senior class, the PA guys near the top of the recruiting board are:
13. Aaron Seidel, Northern Lebanon
18. Asher Cunningham, State College
25. Kollin Rath, Bethlehem Catholic
26. Maddox Shaw, Thomas Jefferson
32. Collin Gaj, Quakertown
46. Austin Johnson, Muncy
47. Dalton Perry, Central Mountain
50. Tahir Parkins, Nazareth
 
So far in quarters

Wilmont Kai (Whitehall) beat Nico Kapusta (Hempfield) in maybe the match of the tournament, 13-12. First Whitehall semifinalist in a very long time.

Matteo Gallegos (DuBois) beat Emilio Albanese (Emmaus) in tiebreakers when Albanese got hit for two caution points for improperly lining up in the first tiebreaker. Bizarre finish to a high level match.

Nick Salamone (Easotn) was trailing Elijah Hewitt (Northeastern) and hit a flying cement job in a scramble and pinned him in the second period.

Kavin Muyleart (Cedar Cliff) absolutely smoked Reef Dillard (Bethlehem Catholic), 14-0. He might win that bracket.
 
Gabe Ballard (Northampton) looks really good beating Santino Sloboda (Butler) 6-0. Escape and takedown in the second, pair of back points as he rides out the third.
 
Mutarelli with a first period takedown and escapes easily to start the second. If Wagner can't ride him, I don't know how this is going to go for the KKid. Oh shit, beautiful sucker-drag from Mutarelli to go up 7-0. 7-1 is the final. Command performance beating the returning state champion.
 
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