CM, Bellefonte each have pair of wrestlers in Class AAA field
RALPH WILSON/for The Express Central Mountain's Aiden Kunes wrestles Bald Eagle's Dawson Lomison at 145 for first place in the final rounds on the King of the Mountain high school boys wrestling tournament at Central Mountain this year. Kunes (Class AAA) and Lomison (Class AA) are both in the state wrestling championships, which begins this morning in Hershey.
RALPH WILSON/For The Express Central Mountain’s Patrick Tarantelli reacts after wrestling Halifax’s Jacksin Smith in the 133-pound third-place match during the Tom Best Memorial Top Hat tournament at Williamsport on Saturday.
RALPH WILSON/for The Express Central Mountain's Aiden Kunes wrestles Bald Eagle's Dawson Lomison at 145 for first place in the final rounds on the King of the Mountain high school boys wrestling tournament at Central Mountain this year. Kunes (Class AAA) and Lomison (Class AA) are both in the state wrestling championships, which begins this morning in Hershey.
RALPH WILSON/For The Express Central Mountain’s Patrick Tarantelli reacts after wrestling Halifax’s Jacksin Smith in the 133-pound third-place match during the Tom Best Memorial Top Hat tournament at Williamsport on Saturday.
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With just three days left in the 2025-26 wrestling season, we're officially at the final stop. Five area wrestlers are set to compete at the PIAA Class AAA Wrestling Championships starting on Thursday, two which kick off their runs in preliminaries at 4:30 p.m.
Each wrestler - Jersey Shore's Louden Spotts, Central Mountain's Aiden Kunes and Patrick Tarantella and Bellefonte's Ezra Swisher and Jackson Long - face their own array of official and potential challenges. Spotts, Tarantella and Long will be competing at the event for the first time while Kunes and Swisher each look to build on past runs.
At 133, Tarantella - ranked No. 10 in the state - kicks off his PIAA debut with a preliminary matchup against No. 20 Charlie Griffin (Wilson West Lawn), with Griffin is also making his Giant Center debut as a junior. They previously matched up at King of the Mountain in December, where Tarantella came away with a 7-1 decision to take seventh.
A win in that preliminary match would pit Tarantella against Southeast Regional champ Brayden Sigle (Downingtown West) in the first round, a two-time PIAA qualifier ranked two slots ahead of him at No. 8.
The other top seed on Tarantella's side of the bracket is South Central Regional champ Drew Schrerer - a one-time PIAA medalist. And the top seed in the bracket was drawn by three-time PIAA champ Keanu Dillard (Bethlehem Catholic), the clear bracket favorite.
At 145, Kunes - ranked No. 3 in the state - is searching for his first state medal after falling in the 127-pound blood round as a sophomore and going 0-2 as a freshman. Dodging preliminaries with a regional silver, he faces No. 9 Dominic Ramos (Souderton) in the first round to kick off his run, a two-time state qualifier coming off a Southeast Regional bronze.
A win there would likely place the Wildcats in a highly anticipated quarterfinal match against No. 2 Jack Campbell (Nazareth), a three-time regional champ and two-time PIAA medalist that recently passed Kunes in the state rankings. No. 1 Kai Vielma (Connellsville) draws the top seed after defeating Kunes in the West Regional final, with a rematch only possible in a final.
At 152, two area wrestlers - Spotts and Swisher - reside on the same side of the bracket. They also happen to have particularly difficult first round draws, making a potential semifinal matchup a difficult grind for both.
In his state tournament debut, Spotts is set to face off against No. 7 Michael Ruane (Franklin Regional) in the first round - a fellow first-time qualifier coming off a hard-earned West Regional silver. A win there would likely pit the Shore sophomore against No. 2 Luke Knox (Perkiomen Valley) in quarters, a returning PIAA bronze medalist coming off his first Southeast Regional championship.
Swisher - ranked No. 8 in the state - enters his third state tournament looking to build off an eighth place showing in his junior stint.
He faces No. 3 Cade Campbell (Nazareth) to kick off his run, a two-time state qualifier coming off a fifth place showing as a junior. And with a win, he would face No. 5 Ian Longenberger (Boiling Springs) in quarters, a returning state medalist and first-time South Central regional champ with just one loss on the season.
At 189, Long - ranked No. 16 in the state - opens his PIAA debut in preliminaries, facing off against No. 19 Tamir Griffin (Lower Merion). A win there would pit Long against No. 9 Noah Templin (Manheim Central), a fellow first-time qualifier amidst a career year coming off his first South Central Regional title. The other top seed on Long's side is No. 1 Mario Hutcherson (Kiski Area), a one-time PIAA medalist.
On Thursday, preliminary and first round matches for Class AAA competition are set to begin at 4:30 p.m., with first-round consolations to follow at 8 p.m. to round out Day One. Stay tuned for what's to come.