Rams finish District 6 Class AA Duals as runners-up, beats P-O, Huntingdon
TIM WEIGHT/For the Express Penns Valley's Max Dinges reacts after posting a major decision during the District 6 Class AA Dual championship on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026, at Penns Valley. The Rams finished as district runners-up, clinching their second consecutive state bid.
TIM WEIGHT/For the Express Penns Valley's Cayden Myers wrestles Bishop McCort's Ethan Cotchen at 107 during the District 6 Class AA Dual championship on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026, at Penns Valley. The Rams finished as district runners-up, clinching their second consecutive state bid.
TIM WEIGHT/For the Express Penns Valley's Tripp Watson wrestles Bishop McCort's Owen McMullen at 139 during the District 6 Class AA Dual championship on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026, at Penns Valley. The Rams finished as district runners-up, clinching their second consecutive state bid.
TIM WEIGHT/For the Express Penns Valley's Robert Martin wrestles Bishop McCort's Marquez Gordon at 215 during the District 6 Class AA Dual championship on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026, at Penns Valley. The Rams finished as district runners-up, clinching their second consecutive state bid.
TIM WEIGHT/For the Express Penns Valley's Erik Carlile wrestles Bishop McCort's Austin Carfley at 133 during the District 6 Class AA Dual championship on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026, at Penns Valley. The Rams finished as district runners-up, clinching their second consecutive state bid.
TIM WEIGHT/For the Express Penns Valley fans hold up signs celebrating Erik Carlile for surpassing 100 career wins during the District 6 Class AA Dual championship on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026, at Penns Valley. The Rams finished as district runners-up, clinching their second consecutive state bid.
TIM WEIGHT/For the Express Penns Valley's Max Dinges wrestles Bishop McCort's Jamison Forrest at 127 during the District 6 Class AA Dual championship on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026, at Penns Valley. The Rams finished as district runners-up, clinching their second consecutive state bid.
TIM WEIGHT/For the Express Penns Valley's Shane Rimmey wrestles Bishop McCort's Emory Gunby at 189 during the District 6 Class AA Dual championship on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026, at Penns Valley. The Rams finished as district runners-up, clinching their second consecutive state bid.
TIM WEIGHT/For the Express Penns Valley's Max Dinges reacts after posting a major decision during the District 6 Class AA Dual championship on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026, at Penns Valley. The Rams finished as district runners-up, clinching their second consecutive state bid.
TIM WEIGHT/For the Express Penns Valley's Cayden Myers wrestles Bishop McCort's Ethan Cotchen at 107 during the District 6 Class AA Dual championship on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026, at Penns Valley. The Rams finished as district runners-up, clinching their second consecutive state bid.
TIM WEIGHT/For the Express Penns Valley's Tripp Watson wrestles Bishop McCort's Owen McMullen at 139 during the District 6 Class AA Dual championship on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026, at Penns Valley. The Rams finished as district runners-up, clinching their second consecutive state bid.
TIM WEIGHT/For the Express Penns Valley's Robert Martin wrestles Bishop McCort's Marquez Gordon at 215 during the District 6 Class AA Dual championship on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026, at Penns Valley. The Rams finished as district runners-up, clinching their second consecutive state bid.
TIM WEIGHT/For the Express Penns Valley's Erik Carlile wrestles Bishop McCort's Austin Carfley at 133 during the District 6 Class AA Dual championship on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026, at Penns Valley. The Rams finished as district runners-up, clinching their second consecutive state bid.
TIM WEIGHT/For the Express Penns Valley fans hold up signs celebrating Erik Carlile for surpassing 100 career wins during the District 6 Class AA Dual championship on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026, at Penns Valley. The Rams finished as district runners-up, clinching their second consecutive state bid.
TIM WEIGHT/For the Express Penns Valley's Max Dinges wrestles Bishop McCort's Jamison Forrest at 127 during the District 6 Class AA Dual championship on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026, at Penns Valley. The Rams finished as district runners-up, clinching their second consecutive state bid.
TIM WEIGHT/For the Express Penns Valley's Shane Rimmey wrestles Bishop McCort's Emory Gunby at 189 during the District 6 Class AA Dual championship on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026, at Penns Valley. The Rams finished as district runners-up, clinching their second consecutive state bid.
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SPRING MILLS - Penns Valley's exemplary dual season continued on Saturday, and it's still alive for at least a few more days.
On Saturday evening, the Rams played host to the 2026 rendition of the District 6 Class AA semifinals, going on to face all three opposing teams in attendance by the time the night was over. Through those matches, they went 2-1, closing the night with a 36-30 win over Huntingdon in the true second-place bout to clinch a bid to PIAA Duals.
The bid marked the program's second in a row. Penns Valley’s other two outcomes featured a 35-26 win over Philipsburg-Osceola in the semifinals and a 55-13 loss to No. 2 Bishop McCort in the championship.
"Coming into today, it seemed like we had a lot against us in some ways, but these guys are just resilient, and they just battle," said Penns Valley wrestling head coach Joel Brinker on the outing. "I'm very proud of everybody. Credit to what they've put into the season and for them to be moving on to the next step in back-to-back years."
It's never easy to beat the same team twice in a season, but that's exactly what the Rams did on two separate occasions on Saturday. Though Philipsburg-Osceola and Huntingdon each gave them a good run for their money, they were able to weather the storm each time.
Two-thirds of the way through its semifinal matchup against the Mountaineers, Penns Valley trailed 21-12 and had just given up a 9-0 run. But its most reliable wrestlers - Max Dinges and Erik Carlile - stepped up to give the team an 11-0 run of its own behind a pin and tech fall. Then, Tripp Watson would pull off arguably the biggest win of the match.
Trailing 2-0 through two against No. 19 Averi Gable, Watson would land a single-legged shot out the gate before reeling Gable in and driving him into the mat for a takedown. He'd then take it a step further just a few short moments later, converting the move into a pin to put the Rams up 29-21.
"Tripp coming back like he did was a huge win," said Brinker on Watson. "Otherwise, we'd have lost it."
From there, Philipsburg-Osceola would narrow the gap back down to 29-26 before Sawyer Fetterolf sealed the deal with a quick pin at 160.
Much of Huntingdon's success came down the stretch. But as it narrowed the gap to six to close, it showed how important Penns Valley's early success was.
After falling behind 6-0 through the opening bout, the Rams would win seven of their next eight bouts. Cayden Myers (107), Evan Lisowski (121), Erik Carlile (139) and Tripp Watson (145) all racked up pins within the span, Conner Myers (127) posted a second-period tech fall, Max Dinges attributed a decisive major decision and Robert Martin scraped by with a 3-1 decision in tiebreakers.
The Bearcats would go on to post four straight bonus-point wins to close out the match, but Penns Valley's 36-12 lead at that point proved strong enough to hold.
Its championship match went about as anticipated, with Bishop McCort ranking No. 2 in the state and tenth nationally. But their were still highlights in the Rams' 55-13 loss.
Against No. 8 Austin Carfley at 133, Erik Carlile used a second-period reversal and third-period escape to edge out the state-ranked win by 3-2 decision. The win marked No. 100 of the junior's career, and what a stage to do it on. Outside of that, Max Dinges also defeated No. 15 Jamison Forrest by 12-2 major decision to round out the highlights from the final.
Penns Valley's dual postseason run continues next Tuesday, as it travels to face Derry in the first round of states. At the moment, the time of that match is to be determined.
DISTRICT 6 CLASS AA DUALS RESULTS
SEMIFINAL
Penns Valley 35, Philipsburg-Osceola 26
172: Seth Fetterolf (PV) pinned Brody Jasper (PO), 2:38. 189: Colton Chapman (PO) tech fall Christian Merrill (PV), 21-5 (5:31). 215: Even Eichenlaub (PO) dec. Shane Rimmey (PV), 7-6. 285: Robert Martin (PV) dec. Conner Eichenlaub (PO), 5-1. 107: Hayden Koptchak (PO) maj dec. Cayden Myers (PV), 14-2. 114: Evan Lisowski (PV) dec. Jacob Dugan (PO), 3-0. 121: Devin Long (PO) pinned Blake Brumbaugh (PV), :54. 127: Caleb Hummel (PO) dec. Connor Myers (PV), 7-4. 133: Max Dinges (PV) pinned Memphis Twoey (PO), 1:26. 139: Erik Carlile (PV) tech fall Ace Foster (PO), 19-3 (2:33). 145: Tripp Watson (PV) pinned Averi Gable (PO), 4:29. 152: Connor Guenot (PO) tech fall Isaac Harpster (PV), 18-3 (5:26). 160: Sawyer Fetterolf (PV) pinned Brett Hahn (PO), 1:19.
FINAL
Bishop McCort 55, Penns Valley 13
189: Emory Gunby (BM) won by tech. fall over Shane Rimmey (PV), 19-2 (2:31). 215: Marquez Gordon (BM) pinned Robert Martin (PV), 2:36. 285: Caleb Rodriguez (BM) pinned Luke Tannis (PV), 1:10. 107: Ethan Cotchen (BM) maj. dec. Cayden Myers (PV), 11-0. 114: Evan Lisowski (PV) won by forfeit. 121: Keegan Bassett (BM) won by tech. fall over Blake Brumbaugh (PV), 21-2 (1:08). 127: Max Dinges (PV) maj. dec. Jamison Forrest (BM), 12-2. 133: Erik Carlile (PV) dec. Austin Carfley (BM), 3-2. 139: Owen McMullen (BM) pinned Tripp Watson (BM), 3:53. 145: Bo Bassett (BM) won by tech. fall over Isaac Harpster (BM), 18-2 (0:49). 152: Jackson Butler (BM) pinned Sawyer Fetterolf (BM), 1:00. 160: Melvin Miller (BM) pinned Seth Fetterolf (BM), 0:47. 172: C.J. Pensiero (BM) won by forfeit.
TRUE SECOND-PLACE BOUT
Penns Valley 36, Huntingdon 30
215: Landon Erdman (H) pinned Christian Merrill (PV), 1:16. 285: Robert Martin (PV) dec. Noah Metz (H), 3-1 TB2. 107: Cayden Myers (PV) pinned Lukas Brown (H), :52. 114: Gaige Sholly (H) pinned Blake Brumbaugh (PV), 1:12. 121: Evan Lisowski (PV) pinned Ty Sheffield (H), :50. 127: Conner Myers (PV) tech fall Carter Weaver (H), 15-0 (3:04). 133: Max Dinges (PV) maj dec. Chris Gibson (H), 16-3. 139: Erik Carlile (PV) pinned Rylan Morningstar (H), 3:09. 145: Tripp Watson (PV) pinned Christian Taylor (H), 3:47. 152: Luke Myknt (H) dec. Sawyer Fetterolf (PV), 9-6. 160: Doug McKim (H) tech fall Seth Fetterolf (PV), 19-2 (3:31). 172: Grady Clark (H) won by forfeit. 189: Dom Peruso (H) maj dec. Shane Rimmey (PV), 10-1.