Local high school wrestlers take their first steps toward potential PIAA gold this morning, with Bradford and St. Marys traveling to Clearfield High School for the District 4/9 Class AAA Championships while the District 9 Class AA teams head southwest to Clarion University.
The top four finishers in each weight class advance to next weekend’s North West Regionals, with Class AA in Sharon and AAA in Altoona.
Bradford seniors Devon Poe (120 pounds, 21-9), Brett Thompson (138 pounds, 22-3), and Christopher Rodriguez (189 pounds, 16-11) each drew the third seed in their Class AAA brackets, with junior 160-pounder Lucas Laktash (29-3), a 2020 district champ, slotted fourth at 160. Poe and Thompson both finished third last year, but with Covid-related restrictions in place, only the top two wrestlers at each weight moved on to regionals.
Bradford freshman 113-pounder Angel Dominguez-Santiago (6-19), junior 172-pounder Cascius Rissmiller (10-13) and junior heavyweight Chase Gray (6-17) are each seeded sixth.
St. Marys garnered two top seeds, freshman Aiden Beimel (22-3) at 106 and junior Waylon Wehler (26-2) at 172, with 120-pound junior Cole Neil (14-11) slotted in second and 152-pound senior Lane Dellaquilla (21-3) in third.
Defending Class AAA team champion Williamsport has seven No. 1 seeds and a pair of seconds, making them a strong candidate for a repeat performance.
Sixty miles west in Clarion, the Class AA tournament returns to the recently renovated Tippin Gymnasium for the first time since 2015. Led by three-time district champion and Lehigh University recruit Owen Reinsel, Brookville will be a heavy favorite to extend its current two-year reign in the team race, nabbing the top seed in six of the 13 brackets in the individual tournament after a run to the consolation semifinals of the state dual-meet championship.
A trio of local middleweights also earned No. 1 seeds, with Kane sophomore Reece Bechakas (22-7) on the top line in the 145-pound bracket, Port Allegany senior Caleb Furgeson (23-4) at 152, and Johnsonburg junior Aiden Zimmerman (18-9) at 160. Zimmerman was a district champ and Northwest runner-up in 2020; Bechakas and Furgeson, who was recently cleared to return from injury, are in their first seasons as full-time starters.
Two other Kane wrestlers, senior Harley Morris (138 pounds) and junior Luke Ely (152), are seeded second. Three-time regional qualifier Morris (26-5) is back for one more shot at states, while Ely (22-7) took second at Sharon last year before ending his sophomore season at the super-regionals at IUP. Wolves junior Addison Plants (17-8) is seeded fourth at 172.
In addition to Furgeson’s top billing, four other Gator grapplers claimed top-four seedings as a rebuilding project turned into a reload for Port (13-8), which claimed another Allegheny Mountain League title despite bringing back just two wrestlers from its senior-laden 2021 D-9 contingent.
Gator junior Miska Young (24-7) is seeded second to defending champ Bryce Rafferty (Brookville) in the 215-pound bracket. After falling to Reinsel in last year’s 120-pound final, senior Chase Weimer (24-9), Port’s only returning regional qualifier, is the No. 3 seed at 126. Freshmen Ian O’Shea (106 pounds, 17-8) and Juuso Young (189 pounds, 18-9) are seeded fourth.
Johnsonburg juniors Rayce Milliard (145, 8-7) and Kaden Dennis (172, 18-8) each collected a No. 2 seed. Dennis is a two-time D-9 silver medalist, while Milliard placed third last year.
Coudersport’s trio of top-four seeds, each seeking a first trip to regionals, includes junior Wyatt Daisley (10-10, fourth at 120 pounds), sophomore Gavyn Ayers (22-5, fourth at 215), and junior Cooper Rossman (15-8, third at 285).
Both Class AA and Class AAA venues plan to begin their morning sessions at 9:30 a.m. The afternoon sessions, which include the D9 Wrestling Hall of Fame induction (Class AA only), the Parade of Champions, and medal-round matches, are slated for 3:45 p.m. at each site. Tickets for all sessions can either be purchased online (https://piaad9.hometownticketing.com/embed/all) or at the door.
Brookville radio station MegaRock (https://www.facebook.com/MegaRockFMFan) plans to livestream the Class AA action via its Facebook page.
