Ten area wrestlers competing in Class AA, eyeing podium spots
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Heading into Day One of the PIAA Wrestling Championships, there's plenty of area action to keep an eye on when it comes to Class AA.
Within the division, ten area wrestlers - three from Bald Eagle and seven from Penns Valley - will take the mats looking to further their legacy on the sport's biggest stage in the state. Preliminaries and first-round matches are set to begin at 9 a.m., kicking off the event as a whole.
For Bald Eagle, senior Caden Judice and junior Tanner Guenot return looking to garner their third PIAA medal in three appearances, and junior Dawson Lomison looks to build on his debut as a sophomore, where he finished 1-2.
At 133, Guenot - ranked No. 4 in the state - harbors one of the bracket's top four seeds, having just earned his second Southwest Regional last Saturday. He'll face the winner of No. 18 Austin Bernash (Chestnut Ridge) and Justin Scanlon (Honesdale) in the first round in pursuit of building off his previous fifth and eighth place showings.
Of the other three top seeds within the bracket, the most imposing is Trinity senior William Detar, who has three top three finishes at states and reached a final as a sophomore. The other two are two-time PIAA medalist Bradley Wagner (Mifflinburg) and one-time medalist Brady Slicker (Hickory).
At 145, Judice - ranked No. 4 in the state - enters a particularly tough bracket with a particularly tough first-round matchup against No. 6 Colin Walther (Conwell-Egan), who took seventh at states at 139 last season. A win there would pit him against Northwest Regional champ Rudy Gentile (Greenville), a two-time PIAA qualifier well within his best campaign.
The other top seeds within that bracket are a tad more imposing, featuring PA wins leader and two-time PIAA champ Brandt Harer (Montgomery), two-time PIAA champ Bo Bassett (Bishop McCort) and two-time top three finisher Greyson Music (Bishop McDevitt), who reached a state final as a freshman.
At 152, Lomison - ranked No. 6 in the state - begins his run in preliminaries, facing an immediate challenge in No. 10 Easton Comp (Bishop McDevitt) – a returning PIAA medalist. A win there would pit him against bracket favorite Joe Bachmann (Faith Christian) – a two-time PIAA champion with just five losses in three seasons.
The other top seeds within the bracket include three-time PIAA medalist and returning state finalist Hudson Hohman (Grove City), one-loss, two-time PIAA qualifier Jonah Erdely (Frazier) and two-time PIAA qualifier Dalton Schadel (Line Mountain).
For Penns Valley, a program-record seven wrestlers will take the mats on Thursday in hopes of continuing to build on a historic campaign for the Rams.
Max Dinges (121) and Erik Carlile (133) return looking to build off their debuts, with Dinges taking 114 bronze as a freshman. And Evan Lisowski (114), Conner Myers (127), Tripp Watson (139), Brayden Lisowski (172) and Robert Martin (215) will look to give their all in their PIAA debuts, the latter two which are seniors.
At 114, Evan Lisowski - ranked No. 15 in the state - faces No. 13 Chase Smith (Hanover Area) in preliminaries to open his PIAA debut. A win there would pit Lisowski against No. 1 Chase Karenbauer (Grove City), a returning PIAA bronze medalist with just one loss in two seasons.
Other top seeds within the bracket include defending PIAA champ Braiden Lotier (Bishop McDevitt), 44-win freshman Patrick Bulger and two-time PIAA qualifier Zander Wilson (Williamson).
At 121, Dinges - ranked No. 4 in the state - faces a particularly deep class in pursuit of his second top three finish at states and opens his run with a first-round matchup against No. 21 Liam Seeley (Montgomery). A win there, barring an upset, would likely pit the Penns Valley sophomore against returning PIAA fourth place finisher Elijah Schriven (Hickory), who has dropped just two bouts in his last two postseasons.
Other tops seeds within the bracket include two-time PIAA medalist and returning finalist Sam Wolford (Northern Lebanon), two-time PIAA medalist Brock Rothermel (Line Mountain) and one-time PIAA fourth place finisher Keegan Bassett (Bishop McCort). The latter has defeated Dinges twice through postseason, most recently winning 2-0 in Saturday's Southwest Regional final.
At 127, Myers - ranked No. 14 in the state - kicks off his state debut in preliminaries with a matchup against No. 9 Jax Fuhrman (Delone Catholic). The Penns Valley senior has an experience advantage, with Fuhrman being a freshman, but that doesn't make the opener any easier.
A win there would be Myers against Northeast Regional champ C.J. Caines (Hanover Area), who's 43-0 on the season and coming off a sixth-place finish in his PIAA debut. Other top seeds include 79-1 returning state champ Freddy Bachmann (Faith Christian), returning state champ and three-time PIAA medalist Dom Deputy (Chestnut Ridge) and two-time PIAA medalist Logan Stewart (Reynolds).
At 133, Carlile - who went 1-2 at states as a sophomore last season - opens his second stint at the event with a preliminary matchup against No. 27 Jacksin Smith (Halifax). A win there would pit him against two-time PIAA medalist Bradley Wagner (Mifflinburg), with the other top seeds being mentioned when previewing Guenot's quadrant.
At 139, Watson - ranked No. 15 in the state - kicks off his PIAA debut with a first-round matchup against No. 13 Tanner Hamilton (Grove City). A win there, barring an upset, would pit him against No. 7 Chase Boozer (Muncy) in quarters, who has just three losses as a freshman.
Other top seeds within the bracket include two-time PIAA finalist Camden Baum (Bishop McDevitt), one-time PIAA medalist Drake McClure (Bentworth) and two-time PIAA qualifier Kamdyn Borrero (Erie Cathedral Prep).
At 172, Brayden Lisowski - ranked No. 12 in the state - begins his PIAA debut in preliminaries with a matchup against No. 21 Hunter Updegrave (Tri-Valley), a fellow first-time qualifier. A win there would pit Lisowski against top-seeded Gage Wentzel (Montoursville) – a three-time PIAA medalist and returning state finalist who pinned Lisowski at Powerade.
Other top seeds include defending PIAA champion Nick Singer (Faith Christian), 140-win, two-time PIAA qualifier Cash Morrell (Cochranton) and Southwest Regional champ Emory Gunby (Bishop McCort), who has pinned Lisowski twice this season. Also featured in the bracket is two-time PIAA medalist Max Wirnsberger (Warrior Run).
At 215, Martin faces a difficult preliminary matchup against No. 6 Omar Arrington (Cathedral Prep) – a fellow first-time qualifier. A win there would pit the Ram against No. 1 Cael Weidemoyer (Faith Christian), who has finished top three at states twice.
Other top seeds include defending PIAA bronze medalist Aiden Bliss (Port Allegany), one-loss, two-time state qualifier Landon Tucker (Mifflinburg) and three-loss, two-time state qualifier Landon Erdman (Huntingdon), the latter which has pinned Martin twice this season.
On Thursday, the PIAA Class AA Wrestling Championships officially kick off at 9 a.m. with preliminaries and first-round matches, with first-round consolations set for 12:30 p.m. Stay tuned for what's to come.