One of the biggest problems I have seen with wrestling in Pennsylvania is the declining number of wrestlers at all levels. This has caused team dual meets to last as little as 30 real-time minutes and an average of three to four forfeits per dual meet. This is a massive problem and leaves wrestling in a vulnerable spot at the high school level.

Just think about this quickly. A school will send their team 45 minutes away to compete in a dual meet that night. This means that the school district will have to pay for transportation for both the Junior High and High School teams. Also, with numbers down as much as they are now, schools are not sending entire teams unless you are a top program like Notre Dame GP, Southern Columbia, and Reynolds, to name a few. So your Junior High team gives up three forfeits, and the other team gives up 2; there are 5 or 6 pins and maybe two that go the full distance. Then you get the same result from your High School team, most likely. At some point, as an administrator, it is not worth spending the money to send your teams for a single, dual meet, especially when you can only fill a little over half of the roster.

With that being said, there needs to be a feasible solution that makes sense for the school and provides all the wrestlers on the team with the opportunity to compete.

My solution would be weekly Regional Open tournaments that schools can pick and choose from as little as six tournaments a year to attend with the opportunity to host a tournament.

These regions can be broken up the same way that regions are broken up in the state. So for PA, we have NE, SE, SW, NW, and SC. The SC region is only used in AAA, so those schools will split up into the SE and SW region for the regular season and then return to the SC region when postseason wrestling starts.

Each region can hold two weekly tournaments for schools to choose from. This will help keep the brackets relatively lower and might prevent schools from going multiple days because of the NFHS rule that only allows wrestlers to compete in 6 matches per day (Rule 1-4-3 Exception).

The season can be broken down into eight to nine weeks, resulting in 16-18 tournaments per region in both the Junior High and High School levels. Tournaments could be held on Friday or Saturday to make it easier for schools to plan transport and other costs for hosting or sending their team to the tournaments.

This would also help out with referees. The numbers of new referees are falling well behind the numbers of officials leaving, and with scheduling issues and weather, it could get harder to get enough officials for all of these dual meets. With weekly tournaments, officials will be able to clear their schedules, and it will provide for more officials at these events.

This will ultimately eliminate the Team State Championship. I know, some might not like that, but if you know PA wrestling, the Team Dual Championships have come down to who can put a full roster out on the mat, and it has led to the same five or six schools in both AA and AAA being at the top. The NCAA decides the team champion with team scores at the individual championships; why not do it at the state level?

The next concern could be, will it take away from the established tournaments like Powerade or Super 32? The answer is no. These are all open tournaments, similar to many of the beginning of the season tournaments we see in college. So a school can send as many wrestlers to a tournament as they want. For example, the school could be planning on sending their school to a tournament, but some of the wrestlers on that team want to go to, for example, Walsh Jesuit Ironman that falls on the same weekend. Those wrestlers can still attend Ironman and compete as they always have, the rest of their team will go to the regional tournament, so everyone will still wrestle.

The next concern might be, how will this help improve participation numbers for your school? Well, quite frankly, it will not help boost numbers directly. Look, the opportunity is out there for kids who want to wrestle, to wrestle. It is up to the kids to want to go out and participate. The hope of the open tournaments is that it will give everyone on the team the opportunity to compete that weekend. It will help keep all the wrestlers engaged in the sport and might, indirectly, help boost numbers if kids catch on; they will be able to wrestle each weekend.

Look, wrestling is a great sport and provides many kids with great opportunities. However, there is a massive problem in the sport that needs to be addressed. Declining numbers from athletes and costs are a driving factor in wrestling being one of your school’s top sports on the chopping block. As much as some do not want to hear that, it is true. This is a realistic solution for the sport at the high school level. The importance of team duals has been diminishing over the years, and the numbers I do not think will ever come back. The best way for these kids to compete and encourage more wrestlers to compete is to provide them with the opportunity to face the best that the region offers each weekend. Recruiting exposure will be easier for kids at smaller schools because they will face tough competition each week and help wrestlers prepare for the postseason, which will get more challenging because of the familiarity with some of these wrestlers, and wrestlers facing tough competition all year will make every wrestler better.

2021 Super 32 – PA Wrestlers to Watch (152-285)

Here I will be highlighting 152-285 lbs and who to look out for in one of the nations best high school tournaments. All records that are provided for the wrestlers I highlight were used from pa-wrestling.com. They do a great job of tracking PA wrestlers and provide stats, results, and up to date information on PIAA wrestling.

152 LBS

Erik Gibson (Bishop McCort)

Kaiden Wagner (Lewisburg)

Michael Duggan (Boiling Springs)

Erik Gibson (Bishop McCort), who comes out of District 6 AA and is headed into his Senior season. The Cornell commit is a 2-time state placer including a 3rd and a 6th place finish 2 years ago. Gibson has a career record of 90-11 through 3 seasons.

Kaiden Wagner (Lewisburg), out of District 4 AA is headed into his Senior season. Wagner earned his first State medal last season, finishing with a 5th Place finish at 132 lbs. Wagner has a career record of 90-22.

Michael Duggan (Boiling Springs), who comes out of District 3 AA and is heading into his Junior Year. Duggan earned his first State medal last season with a 3rd Place finish. Duggan is working on a career record of 65-17.

160 LBS

Carter Gill (Hickory)

Jared Keslar (Connellsville)

Levi Haines (Biglerville)

Carter Gill (Hickory), who comes out of District 10 AA is headed into his Senior season. Gill has earned himself 2 medals at the state tournament getting a 6th and a 7th. Gill comes into this season with a 99-29 career record.

Jared Keslar (Connellsville), coming out of District 7 AAA and is going into his Senior season. Keslar is a 2-time state placer grabbing himself 2 4th place finishes in back to back seasons. Keslar heads into his Senior year with a 91-24 career record.

Levi Haines (Biglerville), who comes out of District 3 AA is heading into his Senior season. Along with Haines international success as a Cadet World Team member, Haines is a 3-time PIAA finalist with 1 state championship coming last season. Haines, the Penn State commit, is heading into this season with a 100-5 record.

170 LBS

Rocco Welsh (Waynesburg) Ohio State commit

Rune Lawerence (Frazier)

Nolan Lear (Benton)

Rocco Welsh (Waynesburg), who comes out of District 7 AAA, is heading into his Junior season. Welsh, who recently committed to Ohio State, is a 2-time state finalist including 2 runner-up performances. Welsh is working on a 70-16 career record.

Rune Lawerence (Frazier), who comes out of District 7 AA and is heading into his Sophomore year. Lawerence went 1 for 1 at PIAA’s winning a state championship at 172 last season. Lawerence has a career record of 30-1.

Nolan Lear (Benton), coming out of District 4 AA is heading into his Senior season. Lear is a 2-time state medalist earning himself a 5th and a 3rd at last year’s State tournament. Lear is working on a 102-16 career record.

182 LBS

Brian Finnerty (Thomas Jefferson)

Brian Finnerty (Thomas Jefferson), who represents District 7 AAA is heading into his Senior season. Finnerty has not placed at the state tournament but was in last seasons West AAA Super-Regional. Finnerty has a career record of 77-28.

195 LBS

Quinn Collins (Central Bucks East)

Quinn Collins (Central Bucks East), who is coming out of District 1 AAA and is heading into his Senior season. Collins placed at last year’s State tournament, placing 6th at 215. Collins has a career record of 87-32.

220 LBS

Hayden Linkerhof (Corry)

Hayden Linkerhof (Corry), who comes out of District 10 AA is headed into his Senior season. Linkerhof made his first PIAA State tournament appearance last season and earned 7th at 215 lbs. Linkerhof has a 92-20 career record.

285 LBS

Matthew Cruise (Easton)

Matthew Cruise (Easton), coming out of District 11 AAA, and is heading into his Senior year. Cruise has 2 State tournament appearances and earned his first medal last season with getting 5th at 285 lbs. Cruise is working on a 57-34 record through 3 seasons.

2021 Super 32 – PA Wrestlers to Watch (106-145)

Here I will be highlighting 106-145 lbs and who to look out for in one of the nations best high school tournaments. All records that are provided for the wrestlers I highlight were used from pa-wrestling.com. They do a great job of tracking PA wrestlers and provide stats, results, and up to date information on PIAA wrestling.

106 LBS

Bo Bassett (Bishop McCort)

Luke Sirianni (Abington Heights)

I’m going to start with Luke Sirianni (Abington Heights) since he was in the fold at 106 lbs last year. Sirianni comes out of District 2 AAA, and showed a ton of promise in the postseason as a Sophomore and now he’s a Junior. Sirianni placed 6th at PIAA’s last season. So far he has a career record of 49-20 and has a good chance to join the 100 wins club by the end of his Senior year.

Bo Bassett (Bishop McCort) who is coming out of District 6 AA, and is somebody that has legitimate 1st place hopes in this tournament. Don’t believe me? Well check out the results from Cadet Worlds earlier in the Summer where he dominated World competition in every match. Bassett has become a name that people in the US, that are familiar with wrestling, will know so there will be all types of eyes on him. Bassett participated in the Middle School division of Super 32 last year and took first at 95 lbs.

113 LBS

Carson Wagner (Northampton)

Vincent Kilkeary (Greater Latrobe)

Sam Herring (Bishop McCort)

Landon Bainey (West Branch)

Tyler Chappell (Seneca Valley)

Carson Wagner (Northampton), coming out of District 11 AAA, is a 2-time PIAA medalist and is an incoming Junior for Northampton. Wagner last year won both his district and his region at 106 lbs over Sirriani last season. Wagner posts a 52-19 career record and looks to improve on a 6th and 5th finish at States.

Vincent Kilkeary (Greater Latrobe), who is coming out of District 7 AAA and is a 2-time PIAA medalist as he heads into his Junior year. Kilkeary is a PIAA state champion as a Freshman and got 3rd last year after losing to Zach Jacaruso (Delaware Valley) in the Semi-Finals last year. Kilkeary post a career 56-10 record including a 26-3 record last season. Kilkeary returns to this year’s Super 32 tournament as a returning champion from 106 lbs.

Sam Herring (Bishop McCort) is another interesting wrestler coming out of District 6 AA. Herring’s most recent performance was in Fargo at the 16U National’s where he placed 2nd. Herring is a rising Middle School wrestler and is looking to dominate the high school field.

Landon Bainey (West Branch), who comes out of District 6 AA is headed into his Sophmore year as a returning state medalist. Bainey last season earned 6th at PIAA’s and before that he won his District and place 2nd at Regionals and Super Regionals. Bainey posts a career record at 23-6 and is bumping up from 106 lbs.

Tyler Chappell (Seneca Valley), who comes out of District 7 AAA is going to be a Junior this season and is a returning state medalist. Chappell improved last year from his Freshman year as he won his District, Regional, and Super Regional along with placing 3rd last year at PIAA’s. Chappell posts a 63-16 record headed into his Junior year.

120 LBS

Jaden Pepe (Wyoming Area)

Brock Weiss (Jersey Shore)

Mason Leiphart (Dover)

Jaden Pepe (Wyoming Area), coming out of District 2 AA is a incoming Junior coming off of a great 2021 campaign. Pepe is a 2-time state medalist including a 3rd and a State Championship last season. Pepe posts an impressive 69-4 record and is on track this year to possibly reach 100 wins and this tournament can cut into that.

Brock Weiss (Jersey Shore) is representing District 4 AA and is an incoming Sophomore. Weiss did not place last year but fell just short of competing at States, losing in the Super-Regionals. Weiss was 31-6 as a freshman and mostly wrestled 106 lbs for Jersey Shore but appeared in a couple matches at 113.

Mason Leiphart (Dover) out of District 3 AAA is headed into his Senior season. The Franklin & Marshall commit won his first State medal last year as he placed 3rd at 120. Leiphart has a career record of 93-11 and is, barring an injuries or other issues, going to join the 100 wins club.

126 LBS

Vince Bouzakis (Wyoming Seminary)

Dante Frinzi (Bethlehem Catholic)

Vince Bouzakis (Wyoming Seminary) is an incoming Freshman for Wyoming Seminary. Bouzakis recently competed at 16U Nationals in Fargo where he placed 6th at 126 lbs.

Dante Frinzi (Bethlehem Catholic), who comes out of District 11 AAA is heading into his Senior season. Frinzi us a 2-time state medalist placing 5th and 4th in last years state tournament. Frinzi has a 79-28 career record at Bethlehem Catholic.

132 LBS

Mac Church (Waynesburg)

Ethan Kolb (Benton)

Nic Bouzakis (Wyoming Seminary)

Mac Church (Waynesburg), coming out of District 7 AAA who is headed into his Junior year and has recently committed to Virginia Tech. Church has performed very well in National tournaments and has had some great PA success. Church is a 2-time medalist, taking 3rd and winning a state title last season. Church has a career record of 78-8 and has made the jump from 120 to 132.

Ethan Kolb (Benton), coming out of District 4 AA is going into his Junior season. Kolb is coming off of 2 consecutive 7th Place finishes at the state tournament. Kolb is coming into this year with a 52-17 career record.

Nic Bouzakis (Wyoming Seminary) is headed into his Senior year this season for Wyoming Seminary. The Ohio State commit has had great national success including a 3rd Place finish at Junior Nationals in Fargo, 2-time Super 32 Champion, and a 2020 National Prep Champion.

138 LBS

Tyler Kasak (Bethlehem Catholic)

Matthew Repos (Central Dauphin)

Dominic Findora (Downingtown West)

Tyler Kasak (Bethlehem Catholic), who comes out of District 11 AAA is headed into his Junior season. Kasak is a 2-time state medalist earning a 5th and winning the state championship last year at 126 lbs. Kasak has a 35-2 career record, including a 16-0 performance last year.

Matthew Repos (Central Dauphin) out of District 3 AAA is coming into his Junior season. Repos is a 2-time state medalist including a 4th place and a 7th Place finish last season. Repos in his 2 years has a 70-12 record and is up from 132 last season.

Dominic Findora (Downingtown West) out of District 1 AAA is heading into his Senior season. Findora earned his first medal last season with his 4th place finish at 126 lbs. Findora posts an 88-25 career record and should join the 100 wins club this year.

145 LBS

Jude Swisher (Bellefonte)

Pierson Manville (State College)

Conner Harer (Montgomery)

Jackson Arrington (Forest Hills)

Jude Swisher (Bellefonte), who comes out of District 6 AAA is headed into his Senior season. The Penn commit is a 2-time PIAA medalist which includes a 4th place finish and a 3rd Place finish at last year’s State tournament. Swisher has a career record of 96-17 through 3 seasons.

Pierson Manville (State College also comes out of District 6 AAA. Manville did not place in last years PIAA postseason but had great success at 16U Nationals, earning a 2nd place finish in Freestyle and a 1st place finish in Greco-Roman. Manville does have a career record of 18-3 heading into his Sophomore year.

Conner Harer (Montgomery) represents District 4 AA and is heading into his Sophomore season. Harer picked up a medal at his first State tournament appearance as he earned a 3rd Place finish last year. Harer bounced between 138, 145, and 152 last year and with a 37-4 record as a Freshman it shows his talent.

Jackson Arrington (Forrest Hills) who represents District 6 AA and is heading into his Senior season. The NC State commit is a 3-time state medalist including a 3rd Place finish and 2 state titles, one on 2019 and another last season. Through 3 season Arrington has a 107-6 career record.

2021 Super 32: PA Wrestling List

This is a list of all the wrestlers and schools that will be participating at this year’s Super 32 wrestling tournament coming up on October 23-24. This list will show both PIAA schools and the Prep Schools in Pennsylvania.

The entries list came from super32.com

106 LBS

Bo Bassett (Bishop McCort)

Tyler Kapusta (Franklin Regional)

Dean Houser (Daniel Boone)

Tahir Parkins (Nazareth)

Shane McFillin (Bethlehem Catholic)

Davis Motyka (Wyoming Seminary)

Nico Fanella (Indiana Area)

Cole Campbell (Bethlehem Catholic)

Liam Flanagan (Central Dauphin)

Nathan Desmond (Bethlehem Catholic)

Louie Gill (Hickory)

Luke Sirianni (Abington Heights)

Erne Sement (Council Rock North)

Noco Fanella (Indiana Area)

113 LBS

Carson Wagner (Northampton Area)

Vincent Kilkeary (Greater Latrobe)

Sam Herring (Bishop McCort)

Landon Bainey (West Branch)

Tyler Chappell (Seneca Valley)

Christian Fretwell (Wyoming Seminary)

Andrij Szczesniuk (Bishop Shanahan)

Benjamin Fanelli (Easton)

Arontay Herningcamp (Gateway)

Ky Szewczyk (Waynesburg)

Jason Torres (Malvern Prep)

Jax Forrest (Bishop McCort)

Gauge Botero (Faith Christian Academy)

120 LBS

Hunter Sloan (The Hill School)

Logan Richey (Quaker Valley)

Hayden Cunningham (State High)

Kade Davidheiser (The Hill School)

Troy Hohman (Penn Trafford)

Brock Weiss (Jersey Shore)

Mason Zeigler (Quakertown Community)

Luke Passarelli (Norwin)

Ethan Lebin (Hempfield Area)

Maddox Shaw (Thomas Jefferson)

Mason Leiphart (Dover)

Mason Kernan (Bethel Park)

Robert Pavlek (The Hill School)

Steven Harris (Conwell Egan)

Dalton Perry (Central Mountain)

Jaden Pepe (Wyoming Area)

Jake Bennett (Ft LeBoeuf)

Coen Bainey (Bald Eagle Area)

126 LBS

Blake Reihner (Quest)

Kollin Rath (Bethlehem Catholic)

Joseph Simon (Waynesburg)

Aidan Oshea (Bellefonte)

Given Suica (Burgettstown)

Dylan Granahan (Benton)

Ryan Klingensmith (Kiski Area)

Nikolaus O’Neill (Malvern Prep)

Anthony Ferraro (Pine-Richland)

Maxwell Stein (Faith Christian)

Charlie Robson (Conwell Egan)

Vince Bouzakis (Wyoming Seminary)

Gunnar Myers (Wallenpaupack)

Christopher Vargo (Charleroi Area/Bentworth)

Dante Frinzi (Bethlehem Catholic)

132 LBS

Ethan Kolb (Benton)

Mac Church (Waynesburg)

Nick Jones (West Allegheny)

Joey Asterino (The Hill School)

Spencer Barnhart (Malvern Prep)

Trevor Husick (Tussey Mountain)

Colton Stoneking (Waynesburg)

Nic Bouzakis (Wyoming Seminary)

138 LBS

Tyler Kasak (Bethlehem Catholic)

Collin Gaj (Quakertown)

Jordan Butler (Harbor Creek)

Bryson Bench (Bethel Park)

Braden Bower (Williamsport)

Luke Simcox (Central Mountain)

Matthew Repos (Central Dauphin)

Dominic Findora (Downingtown West)

Dalton Redden (Gettysburg)

Luke Sipes (Altoona Area)

Ambrose Boni III (Central Valley)

Jordan Butler (Bishop McCort)

Max Parnis (West Chester East)

Connor Saylor (Hickory)

145 LBS

Landon Muth (Bethlehem Catholic)

Daniel Husain (Garnet Valley)

Carter Davis (Central York)

Tyler Soule (Canon McMillan)

Jude Swisher (Bellefonte)

Griffin Gonzalez (Lebanon)

Pierson Manville (State College)

Andrew Harmon (Bethlehem Catholic)

Jaxon Townsend (Gettysburg Area)

Magnus Frable (Wyoming Seminary)

Cameron Milheim (Warrior Run)

Daniel Husain (Garnet Valley)

Conner Harer (Montgomery)

Dylan Evans (Chartiers Valley)

Jackson Arrington (Forest Hills)

Eric Alderfer (Faith Christian Academy)

Shane Kibler (Steller Trained)

Charlie Scanlan (Bethlehem Catholic)

Lonzy Vielma (Connellsville)

152 LBS

Gavin Priest (Central Mountain)

Alan Alexander (Pope John Paul II)

Erik Gibson (Bishop McCort)

Bodie Morgan (Trinity)

Shawn Taylor (West Allegheny)

Kaiden Wagner (Lewisburg)

Mark Gray (Kiski Area)

Gavin Priest (Central Mountain)

Michael Duggan (Boiling Springs)

Kelin Laffey (Pine-Richland)

160 LBS

Carter Gill (Hickory)

Jacob Cherry (Gettysburg Area)

Jared Keslar (Connellsville)

Sam Beckett (Souderton)

Dominic Federici (Wyoming Seminary)

James DeLuise (Bethlehem Catholic)

Tommy Cohenour (Southern Huntingdon)

Levi Haines (Biglerville)

170 LBS

Aaron DeLuca (Montour)

Rocco Welsh (Waynesburg)

Domenic DAgostino (Interboro)

Calvin Leachman (Quakertown)

Dillon Bechtold (Owen J Roberts)

Rune Lawerence (Frazier)

Nolan Lear (Benton)

Kevin Olavarria (Manheim Township)

182 LBS

Jagger Gray (Trinity)

Tucker Hogan (Daniel Boone)

Brian Finnerty (Thomas Jefferson)

Jonathan Harwood (Haverford)

195 LBS

Johnny Miller (Exeter Township)

Quinn Collins (Central Bucks East)

Aiden Hight (Chambersburg)

220 LBS

Nicholas Pavlechko (State College)

Eli Makel (Waynesburg)

Hayden Linkerhof (Corry)

285 LBS

Matthew Cruise (Easton Area)

Gavin Thompson (Brockway)

Zachary Evans (Chambersburg)

2021-2022 PIAA Key Dates

Preliminary Schedule

First Practice – November 19th

First Scrimmage Date – November 26th (2 allowed scrimmages)

Start of Regular Season – December 10th (Max length of Regular Season is 12 weeks and allowed 22 Regular Season Contests)

PIAA Team Wrestling (District Deadline) – February 5th

PIAA Team Wrestling (Preliminaries) – February 7th

PIAA Team Wrestling Championships – February 10, 11, 12 at the Giant Center

PIAA Individual Wrestling (District Deadline) – February 26th

PIAA Individual Wrestling (Regional Deadline) – March 5th

2022 PIAA Individual Championships – March 10, 11, 12 at Giant Center

These dates are provide on the PIAA Website were you can read more key dates for other PIAA sports.