The 2023 PIAA State Championships kick off on Thursday in the Giant Center. First off, for brackets, visit my bracket hub. Now, let’s look at the lower weights for AA and who we should look out for.

107 LBS

Favorite

(SE-1) Aaron Seidel (Northern Lebanon)

Top Contenders

(SW-1) Dominic Deputy (Chestnut Ridge)

(NW-1) Dalton Wenner (Cranberry)

(NE-1) Gage Swank (Muncy)

“Land Mines”

(SW-2) Cameron Baker (Burrell)

(NE-3) Aristotel Bobotas (Montoursville)

Top Potential Matchups

Quarterfinals – Cameron Baker (Burrell) vs Gage Swank (Muncy)

Quarterfinals – Aristotel Bobotas (Montoursville) vs Dalton Wenner (Cranberry)

Quarterfinals – Kole Davidheiser (Faith Christian) vs Dominic Deputy (Chesnut Ridge)

Finals – Aaron Seidel (Northern Lebanon) vs Dominic Deputy (Chestnut Ridge)

Aaron Seidel

The clear favorite in this weight is returning state champion, Aaron Seidel. Seidel has had an impressive season going 44-0 winning tournaments like King of the Mountain, Bethlehem Holiday Wrestling Classic, and district/regional championships. He also holds a win this year over his primary contender Dominic Deputy at King of the Mountain in the finals; 6-2.

The Field

Deputy is 37-3 on the year and is one of the many impressive freshmen in this field. His three losses were to top-level guys like Seidel, Davis Motyka (Wyoming Seminary), and Ayden Smith (Notre Dame-GP), with whom he split overtime wins. Wenner and Swank are great challengers if they make it to the Semi-Finals. However, Cameron Baker and Aristotel Bobotas could derail their Semi-Final bids. Baker had a great run to the finals at the Southwest AA Regional with wins over Jacob Sombronski (United) and Mason Beatty (Mount Union) before losing to Deputy in the finals. Bobotas will make the bottom half of that bracket even more interesting with his great talent.

114 LBS

Favorite

(SE-1) Ayden Smith (Notre Dame-GP)

Top Contenders

(SW-1) Landon Bainey (West Branch)

(SW-2) Nico Fanella (Indiana)

“Land Mines”

(SW-5) Parker Sentipal (Burgettstown)

(SE-2) Mason McLendon (Susquenita)

Top Potential Matchups

Round of 16 – Ayden Smith (Notre Dame-GP) vs Parker Sentipal (Burgettstown)

Quarterfinals – Nico Fanella (Indiana) vs Weston Pisarchick (Brockway)

Quarterfinals – Colton Wade (Sullivan County) vs Mason McLendon (Susquenita)

Finals – Ayden Smith (Notre Dame-GP  vs Landon Bainey (West Branch)

Ayden Smith

Ayden Smith is the favorite in this weight, coming into the state tournament with a 43-3 record. Smith has placed twice at the state tournament with a 4th and 3rd in the last two seasons. Smith has been to three major national tournaments this year and placed 3rd in the Walsh Jesuit Ironman and Powerade to go along with an Escape the Rock Championship win. Smith, however, is on the tough side of the bracket with a possibility of last year’s state 5th place finisher Parker Sentipal in the Round of 16 and a very good Nico Fanella in the Semi-Finals.

The Field

Landon Bainey has a more favorable path to the finals, but that does not mean he will get there. Bainey might face Mason McLendon who has made three trips to Hershey. McLendon has some quality wins along with Bainey, so that possible Semi-Final could be a good one. Parker Sentipal could make some noise in the consolation rounds despite the possibility of being knocked out early on. He might be one of those guys that navigates through the consolations to place at the state tournament.

121 LBS

Favorite

(NE-1) Brandt Harer (Montgomery)

Top Contenders

(SE-1) Gauge Botero (Faith Christian)

(NE-2) Branden Wentzel (Montoursville)

(SW-1) Lucas Fye (Bald Eagle Area)

“Land Mines”

(NE-3) Max Wirnsberger (Meadowbrook Christian)

(SE-2) Jackson Rush (West Perry)

Top Potential Matchups

Quarterfinals – Gauge Botero (Faith Christian) vs Branden Wentzel (Montoursville)

Quarterfinals – Brandt Harer (Montgomery) vs Jackson Rush (West Perry)

Finals – Branden Wentzel (Montoursville) vs Brandt Harer (Montgomery)

Brandt Harer

Let me introduce you to him if you have not heard of Brandt Harer. Coming in as one of the top freshmen in the state, Harer has defeated last year’s state runner-up Branden Wentzel four times this season, yeah, four. Harer is 42-1 on the season, with his lone loss coming to Tahir Parkins in the Cumberland Valley Kickoff Classic finals; 4-3. Harer has a total of 37 bonus point wins this year with only one regular decision in an 8-1 District 4 Championship win over Wentzel.

The Field

Despite Harer, this field is loaded, especially on the top side of the bracket. Former state champion and last year’s runner-up Branden Wentzel has an arduous task to make it back to the finals. Returning state 3rd, Gauge Botero most likely awaits Wentzel in the Quarterfinals. Botero only has two losses coming to Anthony Knox, a New Jersey standout. That will be one of the best Friday morning matchups.

127 LBS

Favorite

(SW-1) Chris Vargo (Bentworth)

Top Contenders

(NW-1) Cyrus Hurd (North East)

(SW-2) Cooper Hornack (Burrell)

“Land Mines”

(NE-2) David Kennedy (Montoursville)

(NE-3) Tyler Ulrich (Warrior Run)

Top Potential Matchups

Quarterfinals – Chris Vargo (Bentworth) vs David Kennedy (Montoursville)

Quarterfinals – Tyler Ulrich (Warrior Run) vs Arment Waltenbaugh (Faith Christian)

Quarterfinals – Cooper Hornack (Burrell) vs Matthew Smith (Midd-West)

Semi-Finals – Cooper Hornack (Burrell) vs Cyrus Hurd (North East)

Chris Vargo

Two-time state placer Chris Vargo is the favorite in this weight with a 39-2 record on the year and a 5th and 3rd place finish at previous year’s tournaments. His season is highlighted by an Ultimate Warrior Tournament Championship win over Coen Bainey and a win last weekend over top contender Cooper Hornack in the Southwest Regional finals.

The Field

Hornack and Vargo have split matches this year with Hornack winning at WPIALs and Vargo winning at Regionals. Hornack has placed twice at the state tournament with a 2nd and 4th place finish in previous years. Hornack and Vargo are on a possible collision course to the finals, with Hornack having a tougher path with Matthew Smith and Cyrus Hurd in the way. David Kennedy and Tyler Ulrich could bust the top half of the bracket wide-open, winning matches they would not be predicted to win.

133 LBS

Favorite

(NE-1) Jaden Pepe (Wyoming Area)

Top Contenders

(NE-2) Scott Johnson (Muncy)

(NW-1) JoJo Przybycien (Ft LeBoeuf)

“Land Mines”

(NE-3) Conner Heckman (Midd-West)

Top Potential Matchups

Quarterfinals – Conner Heckman (Midd-West) vs JoJo Przybycien (Ft LeBoeuf)

Semi-Finals – Jaden Pepe (Wyoming Area) vs Peter Chacon (Montour)

Semi-Finals – Scott Johnson (Muncy) vs JoJo Przybycien (Ft LeBoeuf)

Finals – Jaden Pepe (Wyoming Area) vs Scott Johnson (Muncy)

Jaden Pepe

Two-time state champion Jaden Pepe is the favorite to three-peat this year. Pepe is 39-1 on the year, with his lone loss coming to Florida prep standout Elijah Rivera. Despite the loss, Pepe has one of the best wins in this field, with an 8-4 win over returning state champion Scott Johnson in the Northeast Regional final. There is a high likelihood that we will see Pepe and Johnson in the finals Saturday afternoon.

The Field

Do not let Johnson’s 32-6 record fool you. He has been to the most demanding tournaments like Top Hat, Powerade, and Mid-Winter Mayhem. He has faced and lost twice to Dalton Perry (Central Mountain) and his teammate Luke Simcox, AAA state contenders. The guy who stands in the way of a Pepe vs Johnson final is JoJo Przybycien. Johnson has a win over Przybycien this year in the Mid-Winter Mayhem finals, 11-1. Despite that, Przybycien is a two-time state placer with a 6th and 4th. That possible Johnson vs Przybycien Semi-Final could be one of the better Friday night matches.

139 LBS

Favorite

(NE-1) Anthony Evanitsky (Wyoming Area)

Top Contenders

(SE-1) Chase Hontz (Faith Christian)

(SW-1) Joey Sentipal (Burgettstown)

“Land Mines”

(SE-2) Bryson Vaughn (Notre Dame-GP)

(NE-2) Reagan Milheim (Warrior Run)

Top Potential Matchups

Quarterfinals – Bryson Vaughn (Notre Dame-GP) vs Brady Collins (Clearfield)

Quarterfinals – Joey Sentipal (Burgettstown) vs Reagan Milheim (Warrior Run)

Semi-Finals – Joey Sentipal (Burgettstown) vs Chase Hontz (Faith Christian)

Anthony Evanitsky

Anthony Evanitsky comes in as the favorite at this weight. He is 37-4 on the year and is a returning state placer taking 3rd place in his freshman year. Evanitsky has had one of the better years in this field. His four losses are coming to state championship-caliber opponents in Conner Harer (Montgomery) and Matt Repos (Central Dauphin)—two losses to top prep-level guys.

The Field

The more challenging side of this bracket is the bottom half with Joey Sentipal and Chase Hontz. Sentipal has made the trip to Hershey all four years but has failed to place up to this point. Chase Hontz is among some of those talented young guys at Faith Christian. He comes in with some wins and losses against state-level guys this season, including splitting matches with Bryson Vaughn. Vaughn and Milheim have the ability to shake things up in this bracket and derail someone’s state title run. Milheim dropped a tiebreakers match to Evanitsky in the Northeast AA Semi-Finals and could shake things up as a freshman trying to prove himself.

145 LBS

Favorite

(SE-1) Vince Bouzakis (Notre Dame-GP)

Top Contenders

(NE-1) Kaden Milheim (Warrior Run)

(NE-3) Cade Wirnsberger (Meadowbrook Christian)

(SW-1) Trent Hoover (Penn Cambria)

“Land Mines”

(SW-2) Calan Bollman (Chestnut Ridge)

(NE-3) Cade Wirnsberger (Meadowbrook Christian)

Top Potential Matchups

Round of 16 – Gage Wentzel (Montoursville) vs Vince Bouzakis (Notre Dame-GP)

Quarterfinals – Cade Wirnsberger (Meadowbrook Christian) vs Trent Hoover (Penn Cambria)

Semi-Finals – Kaden Milheim (Warrior Run) vs Vince Bouzakis (Notre Dame-GP)

Vince Bouzakis

Vince Bouzakis is the favorite to win it at 145 LBS. This is the first year for Bouzakis at Notre Dame-GP despite being a Junior as he spent the last two years at Wyoming Seminary. His transition to Notre Dame-GP has been very smooth where he has gone 42-7 on the year. Six of his Seven losses on the year came to out-of-state/prep wrestlers at the Walsh Jesuit Ironman and Escape the Rock tournaments. His only loss to a PIAA opponent was to Mac Church (Waynesburg), 5-1. However, Bouzakis has shown dominance in his run through District 11 and the Southeast AA Regional.

The Field

One of the biggest challengers to Bouzakis is returning state placer Kaden Milheim who placed 3rd last year. Those two might hit in the Semi-Finals to create a marquee match on Friday night. The bottom half of this bracket can implode. The Max Stein vs Cade Wirnsberger, opening round match can be significant. Wirnsberger is one of the leading contenders out of the bottom half of the bracket. Wirnsberger is a two-time state placer placing 6th and 4th in previous years. He has a tricky path because he faces talented Sophomore and returning state placer Max Stein first off and then Trent Hoover in the next round.

Records and stats were collected at pa-wrestling.com