This year the PIAA State Championships have a unique look. Both the AA and AAA Championships will be contested on a single day with just an eight-man field. All action will be live on FloWrestling with AA being contested on Friday, March 12th, and AAA on Saturday, March 13th. Sessions will be split with 106-138 being contested in sessions I and III at 8am and 4pm. 145-285 will be contested in sessions II and IV at 12pm and 7:30pm. The schedules for AA and AAA are identical so Friday and Saturday follow the same timeline. 

In this four part series we will look at the fields at each weight. The lightweight and heavyweight separation will preview the weight classes that will be contested in the same sessions.

AA Heavyweight

Friday, March 12th

Session II 12pm

Session IV 7:30pm

145

First Appearance in Hershey:

NONE

Returning Qualifiers:

NONE

Returning Medalists:

E1 Levi Haines, 11th, Biglerville, 27-0 (2nd 126lbs)

W4 Carter Gill, 11th, Hickory, 27-7 (6th 132lbs)

E3 Patrick Edmonson, 12th, Southern Columbia, 21-3 (6th 113lbs 2018)

W2 Kenny Duschek, 12th, Blackhawk, 24-3 (3rd 138lbs)

E2 Nathan Higley, 12th, Sullivan County, 25-1 (4th 145lbs)

W3 Cooper Warshel, 12th, Richland, 19-2 (8th 145lbs)

E4 Noah Frack, 12th, Brandywine Heights, 24-4 (5th 126lbs)

W1 Kaeden Berger, 12th, Reynolds, 27-1 (5th 132lbs)

Top Bracket:

Every single wrestler in the bracket has earned a medal in their high school career prior to this season. Haines leads the way with back-to-back runner-up finishes. Even with the strong credentials he continues to impress with his development. He made the Super32 finals this fall and is undefeated during the season. Duschek appears to be the likely semifinal opponent for Haines. He finished third a year ago while at Freedom. His school’s co-op dissolved when the private school closed and is looking to build on his past success at Blackhawk. 

Bottom Bracket:

Higley is one of the few wrestlers with head-to-head results with wrestlers in the field outside of the super-region results from a week ago. He defeated Warshel at last year’s PIAA Championships, but lost to Berger back in 2019. Berger has shown steady improvement throughout his career and could be considered the slight favorite from this half. 

Prediction:

Levi Haines, 11th, Biglerville over Kaeden Berger, 12th, Reynolds

2020 Results:

1st Gage Mcclenahan (Bald Eagle Area) DEC Gavin D'amato (Tunkhannock), 1-0

3rd Avery Bassett (Midd-West) DEC Nathan Higley (Sullivan County), 3-1 SV

5th Alex Chess (Mercer) FOR Erik Gibson (Forest Hills), 0-0

7th Jackson Spires (General McLane) DEC Cooper Warshel (Richland), 5-0

152

First Appearance in Hershey:

E1 Devon Deem, 11th, Montgomery, 34-2

W2 Connor Yoder, 9th, North Star, 19-8

E4 Alan Alexander, 11th, Pope John Paul II, 15-4

Returning Qualifiers:

W4 Jack RImpa, 12th, Fort LeBoeuf, 19-4

E2 Michael Duggan, 10th, Boiling Springs, 23-3

W3 Luke Moore, 11th, Chestnut Ridge, 22-5

W1 Grant Mackay, 10th, Laurel, 37-3

Returning Medalists:

E3 Dalton Gimbor, 12th, Hamburg, 23-1 (8th 126lbs 2019)

Top Bracket:

Seven of eight wrestlers in the field have earned their first medal by qualifying for the state championships. It’s hard to not see an East Super-Region rematch in the semifinal between Deem and Gimbor. Deem rallied in that match with a third period escape, takedown, and rideout to take a 4-3 decision.  

Bottom Bracket:

Mackay was a AAA qualifier a year ago for North Allegheny. He’s at Laurel this season and looks to be a strong favorite. Two of his three losses this season are to Erik Gibson of Bishop McCort. Gibson was ruled ineligible for the postseason after competing at Forest Hills his first two seasons. In the top quarter Duggan and Moore have experience in the Giant Center. 

Prediction:

Grant Mackay, 10th, Laurel over Dalton Gimbor, 12th, Hamburg

2020 Results:

1st Caleb Dowling (St. Joseph's Catholic) DEC A.j. Corrado (Burrell), 3-2

3rd Malachi Duvall (Penns Valley) DEC Wesley Barnes (Southern Columbia), 4-0

5th Ryan Weyandt (Forest Hills) MD Shane Kemper (Burgettstown), 16-4

7th Owen Jefferson (Seneca) FOR Tyler Martin Goldsboro, PA (Bishop McDevitt-Harrisburg)

160

First Appearance in Hershey:

W3 Oleg Melnyk, 12th, Carlynton, 27-5

Returning Qualifiers:

E1 Holden Garcia, 10th, Notre Dame-Green Pond, 14-0

W2 Cole Castillo, 12th, Johnsonburg, 17-1

E2 Bailey Gimber, 12th, Hamburg, 21-2

Returning Medalists:

W4 Ryan Weyandt, 12th, Forest Hills, 26-5 (5th 152lbs)

E3 Avery Bassett, 12th, Midd-West, 35-2 (3rd 145lbs)

E4 Nolan Lear, 11th, Benton, 28-4 (5th 160lbs)

W1 AJ Corrado, 12th, Burrell, 31-0 (2nd 152lbs)

Top Bracket:

In the East last week Garcia won a fantastic bracket with wins over Lear and Gimbor. Gimbor reverse a loss from last year when he took out Bassett. This week I think fans will get to see the Garcia vs Bassett match to almost finish off the round robin. Bassett was third a year ago and has the best wins in the field, but has some consistency issues. I like him this week though.

Bottom Bracket:

Lear and Corrado is a great quarterfinal as they finished 4th and 2nd last season. Corrado couldn’t quite get over the hump against Caleb Dowling last year. I think he won’t be denied this season. Bailey Gimbor earned his first medal after three trips to Hershey ended in disappointment. The win over Bassett last week shows he can compete with the best in the weight.

Prediction:

AJ Corrado, 12th, Burrell over Avery Bassett, 12th, Midd-West

2020 Results:

1st Andrew Cerniglia (Notre Dame GP) DEC Thayne Lawrence (Frazier), 11-8

3rd Gavin Garcia Catawissa, PA (Southern Columbia) DEC Gage Musser (Commodore Perry), 3-1

5th Nolan Lear (Benton) DEC Keegan Rothrock Bellefonte, PA (St. Joseph's Catholic), 6-5

7th Isaac Cory (Montoursville) DEC Hunter Weitoish (Philipsburg-Osceola), 4-1

172

First Appearance in Hershey:

W4 Timmy Church, 12th, Fort LeBoeuf, 16-8

W1 Rune Lawrence, 9th, Frazier, 27-1

Returning Qualifiers:

E3 Jacob Jones, 10th, Saucon Valley, 16-5

E2 Benjamin Haubert, 12th, Palisades, 21-1

W3 Ethan Barr, 12th, McGuffey, 20-7

E4 Ethan Gush, 12th, Muncy, 20-6 (2019)

Returning Medalists:

E1 Gavin Garcia, 11th, Southern Columbia, 24-1 (3rd 160lbs)

W2 Malachi Duvall, 12th, Penns Valley, 14-2 (3rd 152lbs)

Top Bracket:

Garcia has a single loss on the season to Trey Kibe who is the favorite on the AAA side. In his career he has followed in his older brother’s, Gaige Garcia, footsteps. This isn’t just figurative language. Gaige went 5th,3rd,1st,1st in his high school career. Gavin has been 4th and 3rd. The anticipated semifinal is a match with Duvall. Duvall has been on the stand twice, just like Garcia. The past two weekends Duvall and Lawrence have delivered on wildly entertaining bouts with Lawrence coming out on top of both. I expect this semifinal to live up to those bouts.

Bottom Bracket:

Each wrestler on this half of the bracket has experience in Hershey, except for the the wrestler I view as the favorite. Lawrence is a freshman, but he doesn’t wrestle like one. A brutal top game with a strong half is way beyond Lawrence’s age. Haubert has only one defeat on the season and is the anticipated semifinal matchup for Lawrence. 

A weird side-note here is that Garcia, Haubert, and Lawrence all have older brothers that won PIAA State Championship. Garcia wrestled both the elder Haubert and Lawrence with mixed results. He defeated Nathan Haubert at the 2019 championships and fell to Thayne Lawrence in last year’s quarterfinal, 4-2.

Prediction:

Gavin Garcia, 11th, Southern Columbia over Rune Lawrence, 9th, Frazier

2020 Results:

1st Tyler Stoltzfus (St. Joseph's Catholic) DEC Matthew Arciuolo Bethlehem, PA (Saucon Valley), 1-0

3rd Cael Crebs (Montoursville) F Trent Schultheis (Freedom Area), 3:37

5th Cade Linn (Southern Columbia) DEC Timmy Ward (Canton), 3-0

7th Cole Toy (Reynolds) DEC Teddy Race (Kane), 3-0

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189

First Appearance in Hershey:

None

Returning Qualifiers:

W4 Ian Eckenrode, 12th, Cambria Heights 18-3

E3 Bryce Enders, 11th, Halifax 26-4

W3 Cole Karpinski, 11th, Greenville 27-2

E4 Ty Csencsits, 11th, Saucon Valley 18-3

Returning Medalists:

Cael Crebs, 12th, Montoursville, 31-1 (3rd 170lbs)

Trent Schultheis, 12th, Freedom Area, 32-5 (4th 170lbs)

E2 Wesley Barnes, 10th, Southern Columbia, 21-3 (4th 152lbs)

W1 Ethan Finch, 12th, Sheffield, 30-0 (6th 182lbs)

Top Bracket:

Crebs and Schultheis are returning medalists in this half. In fact, Crebs pinned Schultheis for 3rd place last season. I like that rematch to happen with a spot in the finals on the line. 

Bottom Bracket:

Finch had a nice Super32 tournament finishing 4th and put the national scene on notice. He dropped a bout to Dane Csencsits at last year’s PIAA Championships. This year he draws younger brother, Ty Csencsits first round. Barnes is another returning medalist that has just three losses on the season. Those all came to Crebs over the last three weeks. This will be a high quality semifinal.

Prediction:

Cael Krebs, 12th, Montoursville, 31-1 over Ethan Finch, 12th, Sheffield

2020 Results:

182 LBS

1st Austin Walley (Ellwood City) DEC Dylan Bennett (Montoursville), 6-5

3rd Dane Csencsits (Saucon Valley) DEC Andrew Sharer (Penns Valley), 12-9

5th Ricky Feroce (Burrell) DEC Ethan Finch (Sheffield), 4-1

7th Patrick Cutchember (Quaker Valley) F Nate Wickersham (Tamaqua), 2:20

195 LBS

1st Gaige Garcia (Southern Columbia) DEC Braydon Herbster (Reynolds), 7-0

3rd Danny Lawrence (Mahanoy) DEC Ethan Rode (Newport), 4-3

5th Marshall Vantassel (Union City) MD Parker Moore (Philipsburg-Osceola), 11-2

7th Eric Johnson (Brockway) F Garrett Boone (McGuffey), 0:44

215

First Appearance in Hershey:

W4 Eli Reese, 12th, Knoch, 15-5

E2 Dante Mahaffey, 11th, Saucon Valley, 15-2

W3 Hayden Linkerhof, 11th, Corry Area, 18-2

Returning Qualifiers:

E4 Savauri Shelton, 12th, Bermudian Springs, 23-4

Returning Medalists:

E1 Dylan Bennett, 12th, Montoursville, 29-1 (2nd 182lbs)

W2 Parker Moore, 12th, Philipsburg-Osceola, 12-7 (6th 195lbs)

E2 Nate Wickersham, 12th, Tamaqua, 22-2 (8th 182lbs)

W1 Dayton Pitzer, 11th, Mount Pleasant, 39-2 (1st 182lbs 2019)

Top Bracket:

Bennett is a strong favorite on this half of the bracket. Moore is a returning medalist, but has had some wildly inconsistent results. Anything outside of Bennett making a return trip to the finals would stun me.

Bottom Bracket:

Pitzer was off the radar last year while he was injured. His two losses this season are to national #1 Nick Feldman of Malvern Prep. He controlled the Powerade semifinal over Bennett and comes in as the favorite to get back to the top of the podium. 

Prediction:

Dayton Pitzer, 11th, Mount Pleasant over Dylan Bennett, 12th, Montoursville

2020 Results:

220 LBS

1st Cameron Wood (Montoursville) DEC Kolby Flank (Wilson Area), 4-3

3rd Duane Knisely (Chestnut Ridge) DEC Nathan Taylor (Brookville), 3-0

5th Jake Ryan (Mount Union) F Cael Black (Eisenhower), 0:25

7th Cory Johnston (Glendale) DEC Joey King (Maplewood), 3-2

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285

First Appearance in Hershey:

E2 Hogan Swenski, 12th, Bermudian Springs, 22-3

E4 Caleb Burkhart, 12th, Hughsville, 27-7

Returning Qualifiers:

E1 Riley Robell, 10th, Bishop McDevitt, 28-0

E3 Emmnuel Ulrich, 10th, Mifflinburg, 31-2

W2 Marvin Beatty, 12th, Marion Center, 31-2

W3 Jordan Schell, 12th, Girard, 17-2

Returning Medalists:

W4 Jalen Stephens, 12th, Meyersdale, 9-3 (4th 285lbs)

W1 Nathan Taylor, 12th, Brookville, 26-1 (4th 220lbs)

Top Bracket:

The top quarter is very intriguing as Robell is undefeated and Stephens has medaled twice in the top four. Stephens almost missed the postseason with some health issues. Will he find his old form this weekend, or will Robell stay undefeated? 

Bottom Bracket:

Taylor has a single loss on the season to Isaiah Vance of Hempfield Area. Vance is one of the favorites on the AAA side. Taylor finished 4th at 220lbs last season. Schell has wrestled Taylor close this season, 1-0. He has experience in the Giant Center and showed he has heart. Schell was pinned in the opening round of the West Super-Region before he ran off three wins to take third place. 

Prediction:

Nathan Taylor, 12th, Brookville over Riley Robell, 10th, Bishop McDevitt

2020 Results:

1st Colby Whitehill (Brookville) F Emmanuel Lawal (Church Farm School), 1:03

3rd Lear Quinton (Southern Columbia) DEC Jalen Stephens (Meyersdale), 3-1 SV

5th Riley Kemper (Burgettstown) DEC Bronson Strouse (Tamaqua), 3-2

7th Nickolas Warnke (Saucon Valley) F Keagan Braund (Athens), 3:55