back in the day Erie had 5 schools East,Vincent.Academy,Tech and Prep Prep could recruit kids from anywhere in and out of Erie while the public schools could only have kids in there Area just so many blocks from the school so unfair now Erie only has 2 schools Prep and Erie High
PA HS Wrestling thread
- Thread starter El-Jefe
- Start date
I think DeLuise has been dealing with a head injury. In team duals it looked like he was having head issues but took injury time for groin issue.
Even the announcer on cable commented about it.
A lot of the best kids back then were going to the parochial schools (St. Andrew’s, St. George’s, OLP, etc.) and competing for Team Erie who then shipped them off to Prep. Nowadays, Team Erie (along with most of the other clubs in Erie) folded into the Rambler Wrestling Club who still funnel kids into Prep. Ragin’ Raisins used to feed Prep as well, but that’s slowed down dramatically since the new North East coach made nice with Jason Locke.
Erie High has the potential to get good quick if they get the right pieces in place. Jeremy Little is the HC there now and he’s got a lot of good connections. 1988 state champ Mel Crosby is running his own club for inner city kids, the Reapers, which has a few good kids coming up. I’ll be curious to see what Mel’s son Dorian does after he finishes at Gannon this year. Dorian is a highly accomplished wrestler, a helluva nice kid and very bright so he could easily take over/help his dad’s club or go help Hahsey at Prep or just go elsewhere.
Erie High has the potential to get good quick if they get the right pieces in place. Jeremy Little is the HC there now and he’s got a lot of good connections. 1988 state champ Mel Crosby is running his own club for inner city kids, the Reapers, which has a few good kids coming up. I’ll be curious to see what Mel’s son Dorian does after he finishes at Gannon this year. Dorian is a highly accomplished wrestler, a helluva nice kid and very bright so he could easily take over/help his dad’s club or go help Hahsey at Prep or just go elsewhere.
Nazareth wins District 11 team title. BECA finished 3rd.
The six for six I talked about happened! Just not enough on the back end for Becahi. Those six finalists will all score at states though, so I wouldn’t count them out yet.
Nazareth has it in March, huh? The more I watch Zuercher wrestle, the more I think we’ll see him in the state final. They were also lights out on the back side.
Bunch of high level finals last night - Wenrich-Emili, Albanese-Kai, Salamone-Dillard, Ballard-Dillard, Wagner-Campbell, Zuercher-Sumpolec all could be matches we see again over the next two weekends with a heck of a lot on the line.
Nazareth has it in March, huh? The more I watch Zuercher wrestle, the more I think we’ll see him in the state final. They were also lights out on the back side.
Bunch of high level finals last night - Wenrich-Emili, Albanese-Kai, Salamone-Dillard, Ballard-Dillard, Wagner-Campbell, Zuercher-Sumpolec all could be matches we see again over the next two weekends with a heck of a lot on the line.
back in the 60s I don't know of any wrestling clubs in Erie I use to go work out in a prep kids garage turned into a practice rom!
South Central AAA Regional has wrapped up
Championship Finals
Comments from @El-Jefe or others near the scene -- who are some of the strongest entries from this region in the state tournament?
Championship Finals
| 107 - | Sam Culp (Red Land) dec. Jason Foutz (Palmyra), 8-5 |
| 114 - | Thunder Beard (Central Dauphin) dec. Phil Montes (Cumberland Valley), 6-0 |
| 121 - | Elijah Hewitt (Northeastern) dec. Kavin Muyleart (Cedar Cliff), 8-5 |
| 127 - | Aiden Herndon (Cedar Cliff) dec. Jackson Orrell (Red Lion), 6-1 |
| 133 - | Jackson Rush (West Perry) won by tech. fall over Drew Scherer (Boiling Springs), 18-2 5:55 |
| 139 - | Myles Grossman (Gettysburg) dec. Logan Maurer (Cumberland Valley), 10-7 |
| 145 - | McKaden Speece (Wilson (West Lawn)) dec. Ian Longenberger (Boiling Springs), 4-1 |
| 152 - | Nathaniel Replogle (Central York) won by tech. fall over Wylan Damon (Red Lion), 20-3 4:36 |
| 160 - | Christian Burd (Hershey) won by tech. fall over Klint Miller (ELCO), 16-1 3:04 |
| 172 - | Tucker Seidel (West Perry) won by tech. fall over Brady Allessie (Donegal), 19-3 5:00 |
| 189 - | Tyler Morrison (West Perry) dec. Blaise Eidle (Wilson (West Lawn)), 7-0 |
| 215 - | Brodie Daugherty (Manheim Central) won by tech. fall over Anthony Ausherman (Waynesboro), 19-3 5:26 |
| 285 - | Guner Hiller (Cedar Cliff) dec. Kaleb Britting (Conrad Weiser), 2-0 |
Comments from @El-Jefe or others near the scene -- who are some of the strongest entries from this region in the state tournament?
Morrison has spent time ranked #1 in the state, though I think consensus is that 189 is wide open. He’s the only projected finalist if you use Jeff Upson’s state rankings.
Speece is ranked #5 in a loaded weight class statewide. Beard, Hewitt, Herndon, Muyleart, Rush, are all ranked in the 5-7 range.
Thunder Beard. Best name in the area. Replogle is a freshman/9th grader and is very talented and a name to watch in the future.
Wenrich, Albanese and Kai looked like clothes line prop poles. Those kids have to be cutting hard. I'm not certain what Pennsylvania does on weight certification but when you have adolescent teenagers it wouldn't be abnormal to have a kid grow 1-2 inches in 6 months. They looked like skeletons.
in PA you have to take a body fat pinch test at the beginning of the year, which sets your minimum weight for the year. If you make it at that time it is just playing the math game with descents and weight loss per week
The school’s trainer conducts the tests. Trainers fudge these all the time. If PIAA was serious they’d have a 3rd party physician with no skin in the game sign off on it. You’d see instant changes.
Dice is right, D3 AAA is way down. One way to look at this: West Perry (not exactly Nazareth or Beca) moved up from AA and got 3 champs -- 2 are committed to lower-division schools, and the 3rd is an uncommitted SR.
Herndon and Morrison are probably the best of the bunch. Herndon was state runner-up last year, lost 2-1 to Morrison. But he has 2 really bad losses this year -- lost to a 12-loss freshman, and got pinned by Central Mtn's Kunes who's decent but just lost at D6. 2x state champ Dillard is the clear favorite at Hershey, with Ballard and Sloboda also finalist threats. Herndon will probably get the 2 seed at states thanks to his S2 finish last year, but will have both Ballard and Sloboda on his side -- ugh. He's probably finishing 4th - 6th this year.
Morrison has looked really good this year, but against mostly bad competition -- he has a shot at the state finals though. Dice is right, this weight looks wide open. I would've called Snyder the favorite, but he just finished 3rd at D7s. Morrison, Zuercher, and Carr could also make the finals. Hoare is also at this weight. This may be a weight that is won at states because somebody has to.
Speece was S5 last year and is headed to Kolat after 2026. He's decent, but probably won't repeat 5th with Perry, Sement, Turi, Islamov, and Frinzi at the weight.
Otherwise, probably a bunch of 4 seeds. Too many of the D3 champs were last year regional champs who DNP at states. And a lot of uncommitted SRs.
While I'm at it, a reminder that PIAA this year reduced the # of AAA regionals from 5 to 4 -- see attached.
The biggest change is that WPIAL no longer gets its own regional -- now it's a "West Regional" to include every District fully west of the Susquehanna.
The biggest change is that WPIAL no longer gets its own regional -- now it's a "West Regional" to include every District fully west of the Susquehanna.
I've been arguing this for years. Some schools don't let female trainers view weigh ins and some coaches cheat those. Some look the other way on cheating the pee test. And even perfectly honest programs vary significantly based on trainer. We have 2. On consecutive days, our guys pinched way higher - double the percentage, based on the trainer who did it.
The other change that is needed is to give at least a 1 lb/week buffer before resetting a descent plan. If a kids weighs 133.0 on Saturday and 133.6 on Monday, don't increase the cert weight. Making kids monitor what they drink and when they take a leak to the tenth of a pound is pretty pointless.
D3 AAA is way down for certain, but the WP kids aren't really the best indicator of that - those guys are pretty legit and Morrison and Rush and both damn good. Morrison in particular chose UPJ partly because of proximity and his brother was there. but could have gone to a few D1 schools on solid offers.
Otherwise I agree. I might pick 121 runner-up Muyleart as the best shot at sneaking into the top 3. He's very talented but wildly inconsistent. One week he'll beat 3 national top 10s, and the next he'll lose a headscratcher and forfeit out.
Wenrich went 107 for Ironman, but has been up at 114 all year until District Duals. I wasn’t sure he was going to come back down. We’ll see how three weeks in a row of making it back to back (or back-to-back-to-back) days affects him. Last years kid like that from up here was Salamone, who I think got really hurt by the 107 cut by the time states rolled around.
Yeah, I was a little harsh toward the West Perry kids. Those 3 are good and should all medal, with Morrison being a finalist contender.
I guess my point was that, with the sheer number of schools and the amount of talent D3 AAA historically pumps out, in most years this West Perry team might get 1 regional champ.
They probably wouldn't get 3 regional champs in AA, with McDevitt and Berks Catholic and Faith Christian and Saucon Valley, etc.
And that's more of a statement about D3 AAA.
I just heard a good story from District 11 AA. Colin Ramsey from Pen Argyl won his 100th match when he won in Finals. His family back story is what makes it special. When he was younger he would go to Red Hawk wrestling club. His mother was struck by a car and died when leaving Red Hawk a few years ago. Puts things in perspective. They say the kid is a really good kid.
Yes, the on-going constant battle with the scales isn't needed. Most kids will vary +/- 2 lbs throughout the day, and its normal and healthy. The enforcement of the rule is in the wrong end of it.
My other issue with the weight certs is the 2 lb growth allowance. You should have to cert at the actual weight (133) to be eligible to wrestle in the weight class even with the 2lb allowance after Christmas. The intent of the growth allowance is thrown out of the window when you have kids certifying at 135 and dropping there once the 133+2 kicks in.
126 after playing football in the 150s, yuck! By the time my Sr year was over, I was a definite HEW case (until I got to PSU IMs)
Wes Phipps won D10 Section 2A Coach of the Year. Well deserved!
Coach if the Year District 11 was Jim Best, Emmaus. His program is improving but I heard he's losing his 2 best kids coming up to Faith.
Speaking of Coaches, Who would be nominated for GOAT Wrestling Coach in PA High School.
Dave Crowell has to be considered. Made 3 teams powerhouses, Easton, Wilson and Nazareth. Has to have a win total that is near the top of anyone in State .
Speaking of Coaches, Who would be nominated for GOAT Wrestling Coach in PA High School.
Dave Crowell has to be considered. Made 3 teams powerhouses, Easton, Wilson and Nazareth. Has to have a win total that is near the top of anyone in State .
Emmaus has done a better job holding onto kids than you’d think (the Albanese brothers and Teagan Caciolo took some work to keep secular) but they won’t win them all. Crandall has always been a club kid, I don’t think at any point he’s ever considered going to public school.
There is a reasonable argument that Dave Crowell is the greatest high school coach of all time. He’s won team state championships in five different decades! The longevity is unmatched. He’s changed with the sport. He’s done it at three programs - big schools and small schools. He took over a powerhouse and made it better at Easton in the late ‘70s, he took eight years off, then built a 2A public school with weird geography into a top 20 program in the country, then he took a rebuild job after a bad coaching hire at Nazareth and shot it into the stratosphere. Lotta clubs in his bag. Add in the 600 dual wins (again, taking eight years off in the middle of his career right after winning two state titles in three years) and the 27 state champs and it’s quite the career. Plus, he’s accomplished the rare feat of winning that much, and everybody still likes him because he’s a good guy.
that guy Zach on locked on talks a lot of trash saying Barr couldn't make 184 heavy's lose weight a lot easier than light weights they can lose 8 10 12 lbs in one practice light weights not so much!But Barr will stay at 97
You would also have to equate the average time spent under that would effect how many takedown opportunities would be lost on the down time.
Congrats to Seidel -- the first 200-win wrestler in PA history.
Nazareth won Regionals. BECA was 2nd.
Tahir Parkins for Nazareth is dominating his opponents. Not sure if it's been noted but he's going to Rutgers .
Faith Christian had 7 winners and 3 Silvers in AA. Bishop Mcdevitt was 2nd . Saucon Valley was the only public school in the top 6 in team points.
Tahir Parkins for Nazareth is dominating his opponents. Not sure if it's been noted but he's going to Rutgers .
Faith Christian had 7 winners and 3 Silvers in AA. Bishop Mcdevitt was 2nd . Saucon Valley was the only public school in the top 6 in team points.
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Several big names not competing at states this year:
Returning state champs:
- 2x S1 Kollin Rath, Bethlehem Catholic SR (Missouri commit). He's training at the USOTC this year. Likely would've been at AAA 160 for a champ-on-champ finalsvs. Collin Gaj.
- Landon Sidun, Norwin SO. Was 30-0, won Beast of the East, Powerade, and Doc Buchanan. Was the clear favorite at AAA 121 and on track to be a 4x PA state champ. But he broke his hand in a February dual (and pinned his opponent with 1 hand).
- Vaughn Spencer, Pine RIchland SR (Lehigh commit). Had knee surgery in the fall. Would've been the favorite at AAA 189.
Returning state finalists:
- Cameron Milheim, Warrior Run SR (American). Suffered a hip injury in December. He would've been a likely finalist if not champ at AA 152. Last year Milheim lost in OT to Melvin Miller.
- Curtis Nelson, Ridley SR (Lock Haven). Nelson missed the entire year with a leg injury. He would've been a contender at AAA 121.
- Cole Campbell, Palisades SR. Campbell made the state finals as a FR for Beca in 2022, then was injured in 2023, ruled ineligible in 2024 for transferring, and is injured again this year.
Others of note:
- Lincoln Sledzianowski, Bishop McCort JR, AA 121 S3. Transferred back home to Florida.
- Dylan Pitzer, Derry JR, AA 285 S4 (Pitt). Ruled ineligible afor this year due to his transfer from Mt. Pleasant.
Returning state champs:
- 2x S1 Kollin Rath, Bethlehem Catholic SR (Missouri commit). He's training at the USOTC this year. Likely would've been at AAA 160 for a champ-on-champ finalsvs. Collin Gaj.
- Landon Sidun, Norwin SO. Was 30-0, won Beast of the East, Powerade, and Doc Buchanan. Was the clear favorite at AAA 121 and on track to be a 4x PA state champ. But he broke his hand in a February dual (and pinned his opponent with 1 hand).
- Vaughn Spencer, Pine RIchland SR (Lehigh commit). Had knee surgery in the fall. Would've been the favorite at AAA 189.
Returning state finalists:
- Cameron Milheim, Warrior Run SR (American). Suffered a hip injury in December. He would've been a likely finalist if not champ at AA 152. Last year Milheim lost in OT to Melvin Miller.
- Curtis Nelson, Ridley SR (Lock Haven). Nelson missed the entire year with a leg injury. He would've been a contender at AAA 121.
- Cole Campbell, Palisades SR. Campbell made the state finals as a FR for Beca in 2022, then was injured in 2023, ruled ineligible in 2024 for transferring, and is injured again this year.
Others of note:
- Lincoln Sledzianowski, Bishop McCort JR, AA 121 S3. Transferred back home to Florida.
- Dylan Pitzer, Derry JR, AA 285 S4 (Pitt). Ruled ineligible afor this year due to his transfer from Mt. Pleasant.
Since the mods split up my posts about PA states into multiple threads, here are the other brackets:
AA: https://live.pa-wrestling.com/2024-2025/piaa-class-aa
AAA: https://live.pa-wrestling.com/2024-2025/piaa-class-aaa
I've finished AA, need a break before looking at AAA.
In the meantime ...
Predictions that are 100% guaranteed to be wrong, or your money back!
As always: One post per weight. I will predict each weight as far down as I feel like it. I will not drill into consi brackets, so if my 3rd and 4th guys meet in the consi quarters, oh well. And I’ll probably lose focus before finishing all 26 brackets.
AA 107 seeds:
1 – Braiden Lotier, Bishop McDevitt SO, SE-1, 45-4, SQ
2 – Chase Karenbauer, Grove City FR, NW-1, 44-0
3 – Nathan Schuman, Honesdale FR, NE-1, 44-4
4 – Keegan Bassett, Bishop McCort FR, SW-1, 42-5
Others (top): none, yet everyone -- it's 107!
Others (bottom): Dakota Santamaria, Tussey Mountain JR, SW-2, 38-2, S8
Karenbauer is the favorite, and would’ve been the top seed except he’s a freshman and therefore got no “prestige points” for last year’s PIAA placement.
Prediction:
1 – Karenbauer
2 – Bassett
3 – Lotier
AA: https://live.pa-wrestling.com/2024-2025/piaa-class-aa
AAA: https://live.pa-wrestling.com/2024-2025/piaa-class-aaa
I've finished AA, need a break before looking at AAA.
In the meantime ...
Predictions that are 100% guaranteed to be wrong, or your money back!
As always: One post per weight. I will predict each weight as far down as I feel like it. I will not drill into consi brackets, so if my 3rd and 4th guys meet in the consi quarters, oh well. And I’ll probably lose focus before finishing all 26 brackets.
AA 107 seeds:
1 – Braiden Lotier, Bishop McDevitt SO, SE-1, 45-4, SQ
2 – Chase Karenbauer, Grove City FR, NW-1, 44-0
3 – Nathan Schuman, Honesdale FR, NE-1, 44-4
4 – Keegan Bassett, Bishop McCort FR, SW-1, 42-5
Others (top): none, yet everyone -- it's 107!
Others (bottom): Dakota Santamaria, Tussey Mountain JR, SW-2, 38-2, S8
Karenbauer is the favorite, and would’ve been the top seed except he’s a freshman and therefore got no “prestige points” for last year’s PIAA placement.
Prediction:
1 – Karenbauer
2 – Bassett
3 – Lotier
AA 114 seeds:
1 – Bryce Pequignon, North Penn Liberty SO, NE-1, 36-5, SQ
2 – Freddy Bachmann, Faith Christian FR, SE-1, 39-0
3 – Max Dinges, Penns Valley FR, SW-1, 42-3
4 – Ian Stearns, Grove City FR, NW-1, 36-6
Others (top):
- Sam Wolford, Northern Lebanon JR, SE-2, 50-4, S4
- Eli Herring, Bishop McCort FR, SW-2, 39-8
- Easton Mull, Chestnut Ridge SR, SW-3, 42-7, S4
Others (bottom):
- Thomas Boyce, Conwell-Egan SO, SE-4, 36-7, S3
- CJ Caines, Hanover FR, NE-2, 44-3
Again, the 2-seed should’ve been the 1 except freshman. Bachmann is the best in this weight, but needed rideouts to beat Wolford at regionals. Caines got a lot of attention this year, even being ranked nationally (by Flo), but lost at regionals to Pequignon.
Predictions.
1 – Bachmann
2 – Wolford
3 – Herring
4 – Dinges
5 – Mull
1 – Bryce Pequignon, North Penn Liberty SO, NE-1, 36-5, SQ
2 – Freddy Bachmann, Faith Christian FR, SE-1, 39-0
3 – Max Dinges, Penns Valley FR, SW-1, 42-3
4 – Ian Stearns, Grove City FR, NW-1, 36-6
Others (top):
- Sam Wolford, Northern Lebanon JR, SE-2, 50-4, S4
- Eli Herring, Bishop McCort FR, SW-2, 39-8
- Easton Mull, Chestnut Ridge SR, SW-3, 42-7, S4
Others (bottom):
- Thomas Boyce, Conwell-Egan SO, SE-4, 36-7, S3
- CJ Caines, Hanover FR, NE-2, 44-3
Again, the 2-seed should’ve been the 1 except freshman. Bachmann is the best in this weight, but needed rideouts to beat Wolford at regionals. Caines got a lot of attention this year, even being ranked nationally (by Flo), but lost at regionals to Pequignon.
Predictions.
1 – Bachmann
2 – Wolford
3 – Herring
4 – Dinges
5 – Mull
