That was the case for Bald Eagle senior Caden Judice on Thursday, who began his final stint at the PIAA Class AA Wrestling Championships with a top ten matchup. In pursuit of his third straight state quarterfinal appearance, he’d have to go through No. 6 Colin Warther (Conwell-Egan) to get there.

In a battle between projected PIAA medalists, Judice shook off his early-tournament nerves at the most optimal moment. With the match tied deep in the third period, the two-time PIAA medalist used an overstep from Warther to secure a takedown just before the final buzzer sounded, winning 4-1 to advance to state quarters at 145.

“I get nervous before every match. It’s nothing different no matter who my opponent is. That didn’t affect me at all,” said Judice when discussing his mindset heading into the matchup. “My goal is to be as high on that podium as possible and to do that, you’re going to have to beat ranked guys.”

His effort was one of three headliners within a strong Day One for the area in Class AA. Three area wrestlers – Judice, Bald Eagle’s Tanner Guenot and Penns Valley’s Max Dinges – advanced to state quarters while five others kept their tournament runs alive in consolations heading into Day 2.

Evan Lisowski of Penns Valley wins his match against Chase Smith of Hanover Area during the PIAA State Wrestling Championships at the Giant Center in Hershey. DAVE KENNEDY/For The Express

Prior to Judice’s takedown, it seemed like momentum was starting to turn the other way. A stall point midway through the third period erased his 1-0 lead and a single-legged shot from Walther landed soon after, which would’ve been a takedown had Judice not gotten out of bounds.

However, he’d weather the storm before haltering overtime talks in their tracks. A double-legged half shot from Walther put the returning state medalist in a bad spot, and Judice used that to his advantage, wrapping around Walther, securing one leg and then the next and driving him into the mat to win it in regulation.

“I was just thinking score because the ref was kind of on my butt,” laughed Judice when discussing the sequence. “Just really pushed the pace and waited for him to make the mistake, and it happened right then.”

“I love those close battles, that’s why I wrestle. It was a good win but just trying not to stay in the past and look forward to my next match,” he added.

For Guenot, his PIAA opener was about as controlled as his previous.

Erik Carlile of Penns Valley is taken down by Jacksin Smith of Halifax during the PIAA State Wrestling Championships at the Giant Center in Hershey. DAVE KENNEDY/For The Express

Against No. 18 Austin Bernash (Chestnut Ridge), he landed a takedown in all three periods, including a quick, aggressive reversal to start the second. The last came fresh off recovery time, a takedown which secured the Bald Eagle junior a 10-1 major decision to open his tournament.

Dinges put together a similar opening bout at 121.

Behind a dominant first period, the Penns Valley sophomore advanced to his second straight PIAA quarterfinal with a 14-2 major decision over No. 21 Liam Seeley (Montgomery). Through that first period, he racked up three takedowns before tapering off in the second and riding out the third to ensure the victory.

“I’m pretty pleased with that,” said Dinges when discussing his performance. “I was able to ride on top, which I’ve been struggling with. Got a turn, so I feel like I had that dialed in. Also had an opening takedown to a leg that I don’t normally get to.”

Outside of quarterfinalists, Bald Eagle junior Dawson Lomison makes it three Eagles set to compete again on Friday while four Rams – Evan Lisowski (114), Conner Myers (127), Erik Carlile (133) and Brayden Lisowski (172) – also advanced to second-round consolations.

Tanner Guenot of Bald Eagle Area takes down Austin Bernash of Chestnut Ridge during the PIAA State Wrestling Championships at the Giant Center in Hershey. DAVE KENNEDY/For The Express

After suffering a tough opening loss to No. 10 Easton Comp Bishop McDevitt) in sudden victory, Lomison looked off a late deficit to keep his tournament run alive.

He trailed No. 9 Rory Dixon (Mahanoy Area) from the first moments of the second period to the final moments of the third. There, the two-time state qualifier was able to immediately get Dixon off balanced, driving him straight back – and eventually down – out of a neutral reset to secure the match-sealing takedown, 5-4.

For Penns Valley, Myers bounced back from a loss in preliminaries while Evan Lisowski, Carlile and Brayden Lisowski each started 1-0 before falling into the championship first round.

A last second takedown granted Evan Lisowski his first career PIAA victory, as he defeated No. 13 Chase Smith (Hanover Area) by 6-4 decision before falling to No. 1 Chase Karenbauer (Grove City). At 127, Myers saw a late lead slip his grasp in his opener before bouncing back with a pin against No. 13 Carden Wagner (Montgomery).

Carlile – a returning state qualifier – handled business in preliminaries before falling just short of an upset over No. 2 Bradley Wagner (Mifflinburg), 8-5. And Brayden Lisowski dominated his open bout on his way to a second-period pin before falling in the same fashion against top-seed Gage Wentzel (Montoursville).

Two Penns Valley wrestlers – Tripp Watson (139) and Robert Martin (215) – closed out their debut PIAA runs 0-2, with Martin officially capping off his high school career. Despite the shortcomings, the pair has plenty to be proud of in getting to this point, with Watson having a shot at returning in 2027.