2026 PIAA postseason

[El_Jefe]

AA 145:

Top half:
1 – Brandt Harer, NE-1 (2x S1, Rutger)
4 – Rudy Gentile, NW-1
Matthew Santoro, SE-2 (S8)
Josef Garshnick, SW-3 (S5 in 2024)
Caden Judice, SW-2 (S4, Lock Haven)
Colin Walther, SE-2 (S7)

Bottom half:
2 – Bo Bassett, SW-1 (2x S1, VT)
3 – Greyson Music, SE-1 (S2-S3, Stanford)
Greyson Meyer, NW-2

Garshnick and Judice actually cut from 152 for the postseason – what were they thinking?

This weight has a clear top 3, and then everybody else. And then tiers within the top 3.

Bassett and Harer faced once before, several years ago. It was a high-scoring match; Harer hung around for a while until Bassett pulled away for a MD win. Expect a very different strategy from Harer this time. Bassett is heavily favored, but a Harer win would not be a Lee-DeSanto level upset.

1 – Bassett
2 – Harer
3 – Music
4 – Judice
5 – Santoro

 

[El_Jefe]

AA 152:

Top half:
1 – Hudson Hohman, NW-1 (S2, Bucknell)
Jackson Butler, SW-3 (Maryland)
Lucas Boyer, SW-2 (S6)

Bottom half:
2 – Joe Bachmann, SE-1 (2x S1, Iowa)
3 – Jonah Erdely, SW-1 (Seton Hill)

This should be another 1 vs 2 match. Butler vs Hohman semi could be interesting; Butler is wildly inconsistent – he last year he beat Dalton Perry but couldn’t break the starting lineup; this year he beat Jack Campbell and Trey Wagner and lost 2-0 to Kai Vielma, but got blown out by Music and Harer.

1 – Bachmann
2 – Hohman
3 – Butler
4 – Erdely

 

[El_Jefe]

AA 160:

Top half:
1 – Melvin Miller, SW-1 (defending S1, VT) -- #2 nationally

Bottom half:
2 – Reagan Milheim, NE-1 (S2-S1-S2, American)
3 – Jordan Thompson, NW-1 (S5, Edinboro)
Shane Wagner, SE-3 (Little Rock)
Nicky Negron, SE-2 (S7

This should be a rematch of last year’s 160 final, which Miller won 11-2. Milheim vs Wagner will be an interesting semi.

1 – Miller
2 – Milheim
3 – Wagner
4 – Thompson
5 – Negron

 

[El_Jefe]

AA 172:

Top half:
1 – Gage Wentzel, NE-1 (S2, West Virginia)

Bottom half:
2 – Nick Singer, SE-1 (defending S1, Ohio State)
Max Wirnsberger, NE-2 (S5, Arizona State)
Mason Horwat, SW-2 (S4, Pitt)

Break out the antipasti for Round 1: Rocco Allegretto vs Vinnie Fugazzotto!

This year's final should be a rematch of last year’s, which Singer won 12-3.

Note, S4 Jayden O’Farrill would’ve been at this weight, except for a torn labrum at Super 32. A Singer-O’Farrill semi would’ve been worth the price of admission.

1 – Singer
2 – Wentzel
3 – Wirnsberger
4 – Horwat

 

[PUR158]

For something a little lighter …

Best names: Sadly there are no entertaining names this year. Worse, a lot of kids whose parents can’t spell … there’s a Jacksin and a Jaccob among others. A shame for the kids.

Cael/Kael count (3):
Kael Kimmy (AA 114)
Cael Muller (AAA 114)
Cael Yanek (AAA 133)

It's a down year for the Cael count. But no Gables, so there's that.

Wrestling was not invented until 2011 so the earliest Cael's are only 15. The next few years you will see a spike in Wrestling Dad's baby name influence.

 

[El_Jefe]

AA 189:

Top half:
1 – Adam Waters, SE-1 (3x S1, Ohio State)
Brady Brown, SW-2 (S5, Purdue)

Bottom half:
2 – Kyle Scott, SW-1 (S4, Pitt)
3 – Hayden Harvey, NE-1
Luke Fugazzotto, SE-2 (S7, 2024-S2, George Mason)
CJ Pensiero, SW-4 (Penn)

Scott has a lot of his head coach Quentin Wright in him. But Waters teched him last year, and has won all 3 state finals by bonus.

1 – Waters
2 – Scott
3 – Brown
4 – Fugazzotto
5 – Pensiero
6 - Harvey

 

[El_Jefe]

AA 215:

Top half:
1 – Aiden Bliss, NW-1 (S3)
4 – Cael Weidemoyer, SE-1 (2023-S3, 2024-S2, Lehigh)

Bottom half:
2 – Landon Erdman, SW-1
3 – Landon Tucker, NE-1

The real finals will be wrestled in the top semi. Weidemoyer was S3 and S2 his first 2 years, but got the 4 seed because he missed last year with a knee injury. Bliss got hosed by PIAA.

Bliss is somehow uncommitted and would be a nice pickup for somebody (though PSU probably has no room at the HWT inn).

In the other half, Tucker beat Erdman 2x this year.

1 – Weidemoyer
2 – Tucker
3 – Bliss
4 – Erdman

 

[El_Jefe]

AA 285:

Top half:
1 – Mark Effendian, SE-1 (S2, Princeton)
Caleb Rodriguez, SW-2 (S3, Pitt)
Casey Wilson, SW-3 (S6, Edinboro)

Bottom half:
2 – Colin Whyte, SW-1 (S4, Kent State)

Effendian and Whyte have been the 2 best AA heavies this year. Effendian looks like a different guy this year, after losing last year's final to the undersized but more athletic Rowan Holmes. Whyte is capable of keeping this match interesting.

1 – Effendian
2 – Whyte
3 – Rodriguez
4 – Wilson

 

[PUR158]

AA 172:

Top half:
1 – Gage Wentzel, NE-1 (S2, West Virginia)

Bottom half:
2 – Nick Singer, SE-1 (defending S1, Ohio State)
Max Wirnsberger, NE-2 (S5, Arizona State)
Mason Horwat, SW-2 (S4, Pitt)

Break out the antipasti for Round 1: Rocco Allegretto vs Vinnie Fugazzotto!

This year's final should be a rematch of last year’s, which Singer won 12-3.

Note, S4 Jayden O’Farrill would’ve been at this weight, except for a torn labrum at Super 32. A Singer-O’Farrill semi would’ve been worth the price of admission.

1 – Singer
2 – Wentzel
3 – Wirnsberger
4 – Horwat

Cash Morell NW 1 is going to Clarion, on the bottom half.

 

[El_Jefe]

Top half:
1 – Jacob Carr, SE-1
4 – Luis Moya, NE-1

Bottom half:
2 – Sean Morley, SC-1
3 – Lee Dreshman, SW-1
Ryan Milheim, NE-3

Carr and Dreshman appear to be the best of their halves, and relatively evenly matched. But it’s 106, so really anybody’s guess.

1 – Carr
2 – Dreshman
3 – Morley
4 - Milheim
5 – Moya

 

[El_Jefe]

AAA 114:

Top half:
1 – Brayden Wenrich, NE-1 (S2)
Lucas McFarland, SE-2

Bottom half:
2 – Thunder Beard, SC-1 (S4, Utah Valley)
3 – Dom Powell, SE-1 (S5, Virginia)
Andrew Alexander, W-2 (Bloomsburg)
Cael Muller, NE-3

Two likely finalists, then 2 more guys who seem likely for 3-4.

S3 Nicholas McGarrity (Stanford commit) injury defaulted out of sectionals and DNQ for West regionals.

Side note, McFarland wrestled for Malvern Prep last year. Not complaining, but shocked that PIAA is allowing him to compete in this postseason.

1 – Wenrich
2 – Beard
3 – McFarland
4 – Powell
5 - Muller

 

[El_Jefe]

AAA 121:

Top half:
1 – Mateo Gallegos, W-1 (S2)

Bottom half:
2 – Dominick Morrison, SE-1 (S5, 2024-S1, Penn)
3 – Nico Emili, NE-1 (S7)
Landon Sidun, W-2 (2024-S1, Penn State) – #1 nationally
Nico Kapusta, W-3

Gallegos has one of the easiest draws at 2026 states. Sidun will get Emili in the quarters, then the Kapusta-Morrison winner in the semis.

1 – Sidun
2 – Gallegos
3 – Morrison
4 – Emili
5 – Kapusta

 

[El_Jefe]

AAA 127:

Top half:
1 – Chase Williams, SE-1 (S1)
4 – Kavin Muyleart, SC-1 (S2)
Nicholas Salamone, NE-2 (S1, Virginia)
Dominick Canali, W-2 (S5)

Bottom half:
2 – Santino Sloboda, W-1 (S3, Pitt)
3 – Emilio Albanese, NE-1 (S3, Lehigh)
Max Tancini, SE-2 (S5, George Mason)
Frank Leanza, SC-2
Matthew Coffin, SE-3

Two monster matchups in the quarters: Williams vs Salamone and Tancini vs Albanese. This weight could go in a lot of different directions.

1 – Muyleart
2 – Albanese
3 – Williams
4 – Salamone
5 - Tancini
6 – Sloboda

 

[El_Jefe]

AAA 133:

Top half:
1 – Keanu Dillard, NE-1 (3x S1, Lehigh)

Bottom half:
2 – Drew Scherer, SC-1 (S7)
3 – Brayden Sigle, SE-1
Willmont Kai, NE-2 (S1, Nebraska)
Braiden Weaver, W-2 (S3, Penn State)
Mason Whitney, NE-3 (S8)

Weaver opens with Whitney, then gets Scherer in the quarters and Kai in the semis.

Anything other than a Dillard-Kai rematch of the NE Regional finals would be a big upset.

1 – Dillard
2 – Kai
3 – Weaver

 

[El_Jefe]

AAA 139:

Top half:
1 – Blake Boyer, SE-1 (S5, American)
4 – Dalton Wenner, W-1 (S7, Clarion)
Reef Dillard, NE-2 (Lehigh)

Bottom half:
2 – Aiden Herndon, SC-1 (S4, Army)
3 – Trey Wagner, NE-1 (S5, 2024-S1, Air Force)
Patrick Woloshyn, SE-2 (S4, Drexel)

Dillard is a huge wild card. He could go 1-2 or win the whole thing. He’s 23-13 but has taken his Jaggers postseason pills.

1 – Wagner
2 – Dillard
3 – Herndon
4 – Woloshyn
5 – Boyer
6 - Wenner

 

[wrestlingfan22]

AAA 114:

Top half:
1 – Brayden Wenrich, NE-1 (S2)
Lucas McFarland, SE-2

Bottom half:
2 – Thunder Beard, SC-1 (S4, Utah Valley)
3 – Dom Powell, SE-1 (S5, Virginia)
Andrew Alexander, W-2 (Bloomsburg)
Cael Muller, NE-3

Two likely finalists, then 2 more guys who seem likely for 3-4.

S3 Nicholas McGarrity (Stanford commit) injury defaulted out of sectionals and DNQ for West regionals.

Side note, McFarland wrestled for Malvern Prep last year. Not complaining, but shocked that PIAA is allowing him to compete in this postseason.

1 – Wenrich
2 – Beard
3 – McFarland
4 – Powell
5 - Muller

The PIAA rule is anyone who comes between freshman and sophmore year is automatically eligible. Anyone who comes after that is automatically ineligible. There are other examples like Vince Bouzakis who did the same thing

 

[El_Jefe]

AAA 145:

Top half:
1 – Kai Vielma, W-1 (S3, Stanford)
4 – Daniel Dennis, SE-1 – no, not THAT Daniel Dennis

Bottom half:
2 – Myles Grossman, SC-1 (S6)
3 – Jack Campbell, NE-1 (S6)
Aiden Kunes, W-2 (Air Force)

Clear favorite on the top half, open bottom half.

1 – Vielma
2 – Campbell
3 – Kunes
4 – Grossman

 

[El_Jefe]

AAA 152:

Top half:
1 – Luke Knox, SE-1 (S3, George Mason)
4 – Ian Longenberger, SC-1 (S8, Kutztown)
Cade Campbell, NE-2 (S5, Navy)

Bottom half:
2 – Gabriel Ballard, NE-1 (S2, Lehigh)
3 – James Whitbred, W-1 (S6, Penn State)
Luke Hitchcock, SC-2 (Kutztown)
Brody Musser, SC-3 (F&M)

Top 3 guys are separated from the field.

1 – Ballard
2 – Campbell
3 – Whitbred
4 – Knox
5 – Longenberger

 

[El_Jefe]

AAA 160:

Top half:
1 – Jon Smith, SE-1 (S4, Navy)

Bottom half:
2 – Gavin Ciampoli, W-1 (S7)
3 – Nathaniel Replogle, SC-1

Somebody’s gotta win.

1 – Smith
2 - Ciampoli
3 – Replogle

 

[1Maddog]

AAA 114:

Top half:
1 – Brayden Wenrich, NE-1 (S2)
Lucas McFarland, SE-2

Bottom half:
2 – Thunder Beard, SC-1 (S4, Utah Valley)
3 – Dom Powell, SE-1 (S5, Virginia)
Andrew Alexander, W-2 (Bloomsburg)
Cael Muller, NE-3

Two likely finalists, then 2 more guys who seem likely for 3-4.

S3 Nicholas McGarrity (Stanford commit) injury defaulted out of sectionals and DNQ for West regionals.

Side note, McFarland wrestled for Malvern Prep last year. Not complaining, but shocked that PIAA is allowing him to compete in this postseason.

1 – Wenrich
2 – Beard
3 – McFarland
4 – Powell
5 - Muller

How did Thunder Beard not make your All-Name team!

 

[El_Jefe]

AAA 172:

Top half:
1 – McKaden Speece, SC-1 (S4, Navy)
4 – Teag Sanderson, W-1

Bottom half:
2 – Chris Dennis, SE-1 (S4, Utah Valley)
3 – Brock Frable, NE-1
Christian Burd, SC-2
Zachary LaBryer, W-2
Chase Amspacher, SC-3

Speece vs Dennis is pretty close. That could be a very good final. Speece teched Teag at King of the Mountain.

1 – Speece
2 – Dennis
3 – Sanderson
4 – Frable
5 – Burd

 

[El_Jefe]

How did Thunder Beard not make your All-Name team!

Because he's a senior and 4x SQ ... by now it's just a name. (And is Thunder really his name anyway?)

 

[El_Jefe]

AAA 189:

Top half:
1 – Mario Hutcherson, W-1 (S6)
Michael Spielman, SE-2 (S8, Hahvahd)
Terrell McFarland, NE-3
Brayden Zuercher, NE-2 (S4, Cornell)

Bottom half:
2 – Dom Sumpolec, NE-1 (S5, George Mason)
3 – Franco Latorre, SE-1
Hunter Snyder, W-2 (S3, Pitt)
Caden Scherer, SC-3

Solid weight. Hutcherson will get the Spielman-McFarland winner in the quarters, then Zuercher in the semis. Most likely the other semi will be Sumpolec vs Snyder.

1 – Hutcherson
2 – Sumpolec
3 – Zuercher
4 – Snyder
5 – Latorre
6 - Spielman

 

[El_Jefe]

AAA 215:

Top half:
1 – Elijah Brown, W-1 (defending S1, Penn State)
4 – Cole Staker, SC-1
Decker Bechtold, SE-2 (S6)
Brody Spindler, NE-2 (Shippensburg football)

Bottom half:
2 – Paxton Hunt, SE-1 (F&M football)
3 – Connor Smalley, NE-1 (Clarion)
Kendahl Hoare, W-2 (S6)
Cooper Roscosky, W-3 (S2, Buffalo)

Brown will have a couple speed bumps in Spindler and then Bechtold. Bottom half will likely be a Hoare-Roscosky rematch.

1 – Brown
2 – Roscosky
3 – Hoare
4 – Bechtold
5 - Hunt

 

[El_Jefe]

AAA 285:

Top half:
1 – Dean Bechtold, SE-1 (defending S1, Lehigh)
4 – Nolan Reinert, SC-1
Jack Peters, NE-3 (Davidson)
Daniel Schiffert, NE-2 (Liberty football)

Bottom half:
2 – Brody Rebuck, NE-1 (S8, Lock Haven)
3 – Braydn McConneha, W-1 (Appalachian State)
Kevin Oswalt, SC-2

Rebuck and Reinert are both undefeated. Rebuck majored Schiffert in the regional finals. Reinert wrestled 215 until the postseason.

And none of it matters. Bechtold is gonna pin/tech the field, like he did last year only probably faster. So far this year, nobody this year has survived the first period, and only 5 opponents have lasted 1 minute.

1 – Bechtold
2 – Rebuck
3 – Reinert
4 – McConneha
5 – Schiffert
6 - Peters

 

[El_Jefe]

The PIAA rule is anyone who comes between freshman and sophmore year is automatically eligible. Anyone who comes after that is automatically ineligible. There are other examples like Vince Bouzakis who did the same thing

I'm cynical enough to not expect PIAA to follow its own rules, especially when it benefits a student-athlete with no downside.

 

[Headlock]

AAA 114:

Top half:
1 – Brayden Wenrich, NE-1 (S2)
Lucas McFarland, SE-2

Bottom half:
2 – Thunder Beard, SC-1 (S4, Utah Valley)
3 – Dom Powell, SE-1 (S5, Virginia)
Andrew Alexander, W-2 (Bloomsburg)
Cael Muller, NE-3

Two likely finalists, then 2 more guys who seem likely for 3-4.

S3 Nicholas McGarrity (Stanford commit) injury defaulted out of sectionals and DNQ for West regionals.

Side note, McFarland wrestled for Malvern Prep last year. Not complaining, but shocked that PIAA is allowing him to compete in this postseason.

1 – Wenrich
2 – Beard
3 – McFarland
4 – Powell
5 - Muller

PIAA adopted new philosophy....Changing your mind proves you have one!

 

[wrestlingfan22]

AAA 152:

Top half:
1 – Luke Knox, SE-1 (S3, George Mason)
4 – Ian Longenberger, SC-1 (S8, Kutztown)
Cade Campbell, NE-2 (S5, Navy)

Bottom half:
2 – Gabriel Ballard, NE-1 (S2, Lehigh)
3 – James Whitbred, W-1 (S6, Penn State)
Luke Hitchcock, SC-2 (Kutztown)
Brody Musser, SC-3 (F&M)

Top 3 guys are separated from the field.

1 – Ballard
2 – Campbell
3 – Whitbred
4 – Knox
5 – Longenberger

I think Knox is in that top tier and I would favor him to make finals (beat Campbell at States last year)

 

[jstross]

AAA 121:

Top half:
1 – Mateo Gallegos, W-1 (S2)

Bottom half:
2 – Dominick Morrison, SE-1 (S5, 2024-S1, Penn)
3 – Nico Emili, NE-1 (S7)
Landon Sidun, W-2 (2024-S1, Penn State) – #1 nationally
Nico Kapusta, W-3

Gallegos has one of the easiest draws at 2026 states. Sidun will get Emili in the quarters, then the Kapusta-Morrison winner in the semis.

1 – Sidun
2 – Gallegos
3 – Morrison
4 – Emili
5 – Kapusta

Surprised Sidun lost. Who are Gallegos' 2 losses to?

 

[El_Jefe]

Surprised Sidun lost. Who are Gallegos' 2 losses to?

Jo Jo Burke (NJ) and Dominick Morrison, both 4-1 SV.

Gallegos has had some low-scoring matches against top wrestlers: 1-0 twice over Rothermel, 1-0 and 4-0 over Scriven.

 

[jstross]

Jo Jo Burke (NJ) and Dominick Morrison, both 4-1 SV.

Gallegos has had some low-scoring matches against top wrestlers: 1-0 twice over Rothermel, 1-0 and 4-0 over Scriven.

I don't follow NJ as closely as I used to but Burke is no slouch. Jo Jo Burke just won his district with TFs all the way through. One site has him #2 lb for lb in NJ. Can't vouch for the site.

 

[1995PSUGrad]

No private school has any business competing against public schools. The PIAA is a toothless tiger.

No private school has any business competing against public schools. The PIAA is a toothless tiger.

It's not just the PIAA. The NCHSAA allows the same thing. A few years ago Wake County, the largest district in the state, announced that football would only play out-of-conference games against other Wake County schools. People went ballistic and there was such an uproar at the state level that the decision got reversed. At the state level, all of those private schools compete against the public schools. It makes no sense to me, and it seems terribly unfair.

 

[Tom McAndrew]

Zinkin beats Sanchez 5-2. Sanchez was about a second from getting the tying TD and potential backs as time expired. Zinkin ends his high school career as a 3-time California state champion and 4-time finalist.

I do think discussion about Sanchez should not be in a thread about PIAA postseason. However, I'm not quite sure where it should be, or I'd move it the appropriate thread.

So, not knowing where to move the Sanchez posts, I'll make this reply, but going forward, let's leave this thread for PIAA postseason posts.

 

[MacwoodFleetPSU]

We would root for Sam Herring if he were competing this year.

I would root for Sam once he's wearing the penn state singlet or a USA singlet or at a freestyle tournament etc. I won't root for McCort. I wouldn't root for Jesus Christ if he wrestled on McCort.

 

[MacwoodFleetPSU]

AA 215:

Top half:
1 – Aiden Bliss, NW-1 (S3)
4 – Cael Weidemoyer, SE-1 (2023-S3, 2024-S2, Lehigh)

Bottom half:
2 – Landon Erdman, SW-1
3 – Landon Tucker, NE-1

The real finals will be wrestled in the top semi. Weidemoyer was S3 and S2 his first 2 years, but got the 4 seed because he missed last year with a knee injury. Bliss got hosed by PIAA.

Bliss is somehow uncommitted and would be a nice pickup for somebody (though PSU probably has no room at the HWT inn).

In the other half, Tucker beat Erdman 2x this year.

1 – Weidemoyer
2 – Tucker
3 – Bliss
4 – Erdman

Tucker picked up a relatively serious knee injury at district duals. wrestling through it but something to note

 

[MacwoodFleetPSU]

The PIAA rule is anyone who comes between freshman and sophmore year is automatically eligible. Anyone who comes after that is automatically ineligible. There are other examples like Vince Bouzakis who did the same thing

The rule is more complicated than that. transfers still can't be athletically motivated

 

[Nitlion1986]

The rule is more complicated than that. transfers still can't be athletically motivated

In the PIAA's subjective opinion.

 

[clucas11]

Umm ... Mario Hutcherson last year.

Sean Kinney and Thomas Haines already forgotten.

I think Waters as well would be in that group.

 

[royboy]

Many thanks to @El_Jefe for the info and handicaping

Love following the PIAA Tournament -- it's a good way to re-connect with PA -- the town names, the popularity of wrestling, the stories