TIM WEIGHT/For the Express Bald Eagle's Tanner Guenot gets his hand raised after winning a match at 133 pounds during Day One of the District 6 Class AA wrestling championships on Friday, Feb. 13, 2026, at Altoona. Guenot earned regional gold on Saturday, the second of his career.

ALTOONA – In the two weeks following the District 6 Class AA wrestling championships, one aspect of that tournament stood front and center in Bald Eagle junior Tanner Guenot’s mind. It wasn’t the success that led up to his third straight district final appearance; it was the thwarted three-peat that followed.

The disappointment that came with that one-point loss to Bishop McCort’s Austin Carfley haunted Guenot through the weeks leading up to regionals, pushing him to find an immediate solution for a potential rematch. That potential rematch came to be in the 133-pound final of Saturday’s Southwest Class AA Regional, and the two-time state medalist was more than ready.

After Carfley got on the board with a second-period escape, Guenot would secure the match’s only takedown less than a minute later, not allowing the Crusher to impact the scoreboard again until it was all said and done. That 4-2 decision clinched the Eagle his second straight regional title, propelling him forward into his third trip to Hershey.

“I talked to my coaches a lot, and we were hitting constant reps at practice every single day, trying to do things differently for a different outcome, and it worked out,” said Guenot on his preparations leading up to a possible regional rematch. “I’ve been visualizing that all week, knew I could win and just believed in myself.”

“It’s really great. I worked really hard to get to the point where I’m at,” he added on securing a second title.

That district title loss also had an impact on his seeding, putting him at No. 4 and placing him in the direct path of top-seeded Lucas Barr (McGuffey). Two tech falls from both wrestlers later, and they were set to compete in the championship semifinals to kick off Saturday.

There, Guenot overcame an early 1-0 deficit, securing a second-period takedown and keeping to his offense in the third. That paid off, as takedown with 37 seconds to go gave him breathing room, and he held firm from there to win by 7-3 decision, setting up the ensuing rematch.

“I kind of knew I’d be on the harder side of the bracket and have to beat some pretty good guys to win it,” said Guenot. “I knew my semifinal and final were going to be tough matches. I just stayed confident in myself and knew I was going to win.”

His overall effort headlined a strong weekend for the team, as four Eagles finished with placements and three extended their seasons to states.

Senior Caden Judice finished as a runner-up at 145, Dawson Lomison clinched his second consecutive state bid with a fourth place showing at 152 and Gage Gardner closed out his career with a regional medal, taking eighth at 285. It was a collective effort that saw Bald Eagle take sixth out of 61 teams.

“It’s one of those things where you get out of it what you put into it,” said Bald Eagle head coach Ron Guenot when discussing the team’s success. “Those guys put a lot of time in over the offseason, just being consistent and taking extra workouts. They know what it takes to be successful and it shows.”

Judice faced a similar run to his one at districts, bulldozing his way to championship semifinals with a pair of bonus-point wins before meeting up with No. 8 Josef Garshnick (United).

In the District 6 semifinal rematch, the senior once again prevailed, scoring four points in the third to win in a thriller, 4-3. He’d then face No. 1 Bo Bassett (Bishop McCort) in a second straight postseason final, falling by tech fall to close things out with silver.

After suffering his first setback of the postseason, a 2-0 decision to No. 5 Luke Boyer (Elizabeth Forward) that featured late injury time for the Eagle, Lomison did just enough in his consolation semifinal against No. 25 Liam Jones (Burrell). A second-period escape granted him the 1-0 decision to move him into the third-place bout, which he defaulted out of to cap things off at fourth.

For Gardner, the eighth place showing obviously stings, as he fell one placement short of states and two wins short of 100 within his career. But despite the shortcoming, he accomplished a lot with the program, earning two district medals in three appearances and closing things out with a regional placement.

“He gave it everything he had this weekend, just came up a little bit short,” said Coach Guenot on Gardner. “I know it hurts. His goal was to get to Hershey and to come that close is hard but got to focus on the positives. He had a great career, and we’re just thankful for everything he did for us.”

Apart from Bald Eagle, Penns Valley also saw a lot of success over the weekend. Of its eight regional qualifiers, seven advanced to states, two which made finals and earned silver medals in Max Dinges (121) and Tripp Watson (139).

In route to his second regional final appearance as a sophomore, Dinges defeating multiple wrestlers ranked top ten in the state to get there, including a 14-5 major decision over No. 7 Dakota Santamaria (Tussey Mountain). His run at back-to-back titles ultimately fell short in a District 6 final rematch against Keegan Bassett (Bishop McCort), which saw him fall by 2-0 decision.

And after not placing in either of his first two regional appearances, Watson – a junior – shattered that trend in a big way. Two state-ranked wins on Friday carried into a 4-0 decision over Burgettstown’s Carter Katus in championship semis, before he fell to No. 7 Drake McClure (Bentworth) to finish as a regional runner-up.

Conner Myers (127), Erik Carlile (133) and Brayden Lisowski (172) each finished fourth, with Carlile securing his second state bid and Myers and Lisowski securing their firsts. And they’ll be joined by Evan Lisowski (114) and Robert Martin (215) at states, who each took sixth.

With ten combined athletes set to continue their seasons next week, plenty of excitement awaits. Class AA action of the PIAA Wrestling Championships kicks off at the Giant Center at 9 a.m. on Thursday.