Breaking down all the brackets
The area’s Class 2A wrestlers discovered the rocky road to Hershey during last week’s Southeast Regional.
Their 3A brethren will discover the bumpiness Saturday at the East Super Regional at Quakertown High School. After advancing 35 of its 40 wrestlers from the Northeast Regional, District 11 will get a stern test from District 1.
Meanwhile, the group of 21 locals from 2A will take on the stellar group from District 4 in Saturday’s super regional at Pottsville’s Martz Hall.
Top four advance from each super regional to the PIAA Wrestling Championships on March 12-13, at Hershey’s Giant Center.
Here is a breakdown of the brackets and predictions for each weight class:
East 3A Super Regional
106: Northampton’s Carson Wagner, the state’s top-ranked wrestler, gets Haverford’s Cole McFarland in the quarters. Stroudsburg’s Josh Jasionowicz faces Council Rock North’s Tony Burke in the other quarter in the bottom half of the bracket. Spring-Ford’s Cole Smith, who beat Burke 8-6 for last week’s Southeast Regional title, is in the top half.
Wagner’s best attribute is his motor. If he wants to win another title, he’ll need to stay on the attack. Jasionowicz can get there too with six strong minutes every time out.
Prediction: 1. Carson Wagner, Northampton; 2. Cole Smith, Spring-Ford; 3. Tony Burke, Council Rock North; 4. Josh Jasionowicz, Stroudsburg.
113: This is a brutal bracket where one mistake or a relaxed few seconds is going to leave a really good wrestler home for states. Quakertown unbeaten freshman Mason Ziegler faces Northampton freshman Austin Noe in the quarters. Ziegler beat
Pennridge freshman Sam Kuhns by a point for last weeks’ Southeast Regional title. The top three from the Northeast — Delaware Valley Zach Jacaruso, Nazareth’s Charlie Bunting and Bethlehem Catholic’s Cael McIntyre — are separated by the thinnest of margins.
Bunting gets Spring-Ford’s Dominic Ortlip in the quarters, with the winner getting the Ziegler/Noe victor. McIntyre faces Kuhns in another quarterfinal, with the winner likely getting Jacaruso.
Prediction: 1. Charlie Bunting, Nazareth; 2. Cael McIntyre, Bethlehem Catholic; 3. Zach Jacaruso, Delaware Valley; 4. Mason Ziegler, Quakertown.
120: Another wild, unpredictable bracket with seven ranked wrestlers. Downingtown East’s Keanu Manuel beat Boyertown’s Jay Maldonado in last week’s Southeast Regional final. Liberty’s Javien DeLeon gets Maldonado in the quarters. The winner likely gets Bethlehem Catholic’s Dante Frinzi, the only returning state medalist and the highest ranked of this bunch, in the semis. Manuel gets Wallenpaupack freshman Gunnar Myers in the quarters. Oxford’s Cannon Hershey gets West Scranton’s Austin Fashouer, who beat Nazareth’s Jake Doone and DeLeon to reach last week’s Northeast Regional final.
Prediction: 1. Dante Frinzi, Bethlehem Catholic; 2. Keanu Manuel, Downingtown East; 3. Jay Maldonado, Boyertown; 4. Javien DeLeon, Liberty.
126: This is a two-horse race until someone does something about it. Bethlehem Catholic’s Tyler Kasak is the clear favorite. Downingtown West’s Dominic Findora should be his finals partner. Other contenders include Quakertown’s Zach Borzio and Pottsville’s Parrish McFarland who face each other in the quarters. The winner gets Findora. Northampton’s Patrick Snoke gets Interboro’s Nate Shippey, who lost 5-2 to Findora in last week’s Southeast Regional final, in the quarters. The winner gets Kasak in the semis.
Prediction: 1. Tyler Kasak, Bethlehem Catholic; 2. Dominic Findora, Downingtown West; 3. Zach Borzio, Quakertown; 4. Parrish McFarland, Pottsville.
132: Coatesville unbeaten Nathan Lucier and Bethlehem Catholic’s Matt Mayer are the two regional champions. Both have state hardware in their history. Lucier is ranked second in the state; Mayer is fifth. Mayer could get Perkiomen Valley’s Kelly Kakos in the semis. Kakos was the only one to hang around for six minutes with Lucier last weekend. Emmaus’ Nick Velde gets the first shot at Kakos.
Prediction: 1. Nathan Lucier, Coatesville; 2. Matt Mayer, Bethlehem Catholic; 3. Kelly Kakos, Perkiomen Valley; 4. Dominic Wheatley, Nazareth.
138: Council Rock North’s Kyle Hauserman is the favorite here. Northampton’s C.J. Fritz would face him if the Konkrete Kid can get by Kennett’s Trent Kochersperger in the quarters. Bethlehem Catholic’s Andrew Harmon gets three-time state qualifier Dom DeFalco of Quakertown in the quarters. DeFalco lost to Kochersperger and Boyertown’s Chance Babb last week. Freedom’s Connor Bevan has Babb in the quarters with the winner getting Harmon or DeFalco.
Prediction: 1. Kyle Hauserman, Council Rock North; 2. Andrew Harmon, Bethlehem Catholic; 3. Trent Kochersperger, Kennett; 4. Chance Babb, Boyertown.
145: This will be a tough bracket to get a local into the final because of last week’s results. Bensalem’s Connor Eck beat returning state medalist Sam McMonagle of West Chester Henderson for the Southeast Regional title. That puts McMonagle in a quarterfinal with Bethlehem Catholic’s Trey Miletics, with the winner likely getting Northampton’s Dagen Condomitti in the semis. If Condomitti is going to get through this bracket, he’s likely going to have to win at least one low-scoring match. Whitehall’s Xavier Arner gets North Penn’s William Morrow in the quarters. Morrow lost 3-0 to McMonagle in last week’s semis.
Prediction: 1. Sam McMonagle, West Chester Henderson; 2. Connor Eck, Bensalem; 3. Dagen Condomitti, Northampton; 4. William Morrow, North Penn.
152: Bethlehem Catholic’s Evan Gleason and Neshaminy’s Zac Martin are returning state medalists and last week’s regional champions. Gleason has SpringFord’s Zach Needles in the quarters. Emmaus’ Kordell Waiters faces Interboro’s Dom D’Agostino in the bottom quarter. D’Agostino lost 8-4 to Martin in last week’s Southeast Regional final. Nazareth’s Noah Okamoto gets Strath Haven’s Chase Barlow, who lost 9-7 to D’Agostino in last week’s semis, in Saturday’s quarters.
Prediction: 1. Evan Gleason, Bethlehem Catholic; 2. Zac Martin, Neshaminy; 3. Chase Barlow, Strath Haven; 4. Dom D’Agostino, Interboro.
160: Northampton’s Jagger Condomitti has not broken much of a sweat so far in 2021, but he’ll have to Saturday to be a super regional champion. Council Rock South’s Matt Colajezzi, a returning state qualifier has Nazareth’s Ryan Fairchild in the quarters, with the winner likely getting Condomitti in the semis. Spring-Ford unbeaten and 2020 seventh-place finisher Jack McGill is in the other half of the bracket. Bethlehem Catholic’s Landon Muth must beat Central Bucks East’s Mason Stein before a likely date with McGill.
Prediction: 1. Jagger Condomitti, Northampton; 2 Jack McGill, SpringFord; 3. Matt Colajezzi, Council Rock South; 4. Landon Muth, Bethlehem Catholic.
172: It will be difficult for Easton’s Dom Falcone and Nazareth’s Sonny Sasso to get a third finals meeting in as many weeks. Sasso gets Downingtown East’s Matt Romanelli in the quarters. Romanelli was upset in the Southeast Regional quarterfinals before winning three in a row for third place. The winner likely gets Southeast champ Jack Lledo of Lower Merion in the semis. East Stroudsburg North’s Wayne McIntyre faces Kennett’s Darrale Barrett in the quarters. Barrett pushed Lledo in the regional final. Easton’s Dom Falcone will get that winner should he beat West Chester Rustin’s Marek Seaman in the quarters.
Prediction: 1. Dom Falcone, Easton; 2. Matt Romanelli, Downingtown East; 3. Sonny Sasso, Nazareth; 4. Jack Lledo, Lower Merion.
189: Barring a bad few hours, the top three here should be Spring-Ford’s Joey Milano, Nazareth’s Drew Clearie and Eastons’ Isaiah Reinert. The question is: What order? Last year, Milano beat Clearie twice, then Clearie handled Milano in the state’s third-place match. Milano tech. falled Reinert, who finished seventh. In 2020 and ‘21, Clearie beat Reinert in the District 11 finals. Reinert then beat Clearie in the regional finals. Reinert has an easier path to the final. He faces Council Rock North’s Blake Silbert in the quarters. Milano pinned Silbert in the first period last week. Reinert would see either Hazleton Area’s Bryce Molinaro, who he beat 9-2 last week, or Garnet Valley’s Sam DiTrolio, who got tech. falled by Milano in last week’s final, in Saturday’s semis. Milano gets Bethlehem Catholic’s Anthony DeRosa in the quarters. Clearie gets West Chester Henderson’s Koh Bauman. Those winners get each other in the semis.
Prediction: 1. Joey Milano, SpringFord; 2. Isaiah Reinert, Easton; 3. Drew Clearie, Nazareth; 4. Bryce Molinaro, Hazleton Area.
215: It will be tough for Nazareth’s Chase Levey to get a top-four finish in this strong bracket. He gets Central Bucks East’s Quinn Collins in the quarterfinals. A win likely gets him Northeast Regional champion Jason Henderson of Delaware Valley in the semis. State No. 1 Ryan Catka of Sun Valley is in the other half of the bracket. He was third in the state last year at 195.
Prediction: 1. Ryan Catka, Sun Valley; 2. Jason Henderson, Delaware Valley; 3. Carl DiGiorgio, Central Bucks West; 4. Quinn Collins, Central Bucks East.
285: Can Nazareth’s Sean Kinney keep up this incredible start to his career? He gets Radnor’s Daetrel Jerome in the quarters. Easton’s Matt Cruise faces Council Rock North’s Max Harer in the other lower quarter. Harer was ranked the highest of everyone here before Upper Darby’s Julien Laventure beat him 12-6 in last week’s Southeast Regional final. Laventure takes on Stroudsburg’s Sebastian Khamis in the quarters. Quakertown’s Freddie Retter gets Cam Butka of West Scranton in the other quarter. A lot of possibilities here. It is important to get as high of a finish as possible because the state’s top four are in the West, including No. 1 Nate Schon of Selinsgrove.
Prediction: 1. Julien Laventure, Upper Darby; 2. Sean Kinney, Nazareth; 3. Max Harer, Council Rock North; 4. Matt Cruise, Easton.
East 2A Super Regional
106: Montoursville sophomore Brandon Wentzel is a returning state champion and the favorite here. The state’s top-ranked wrestler according to PA Power Wrestling handled No. 9 Brock Weiss of Jersey Shore in last week’s Northeast Regional final after having a tough semifinal against No. 12 Chase Burke of Benton. Notre Dame-GP’s Ayden Smith could see Weiss in the semis. Wentzel, Burke and Susquenita’s Mason McLendon, who lost 2-1 to Smith in the Southeast final, are in the other half of the bracket.
Prediction: 1. Brandon Wentzel, Montoursville; 2. Ayden Smith, Notre Dame-GP; 3. Chase Burke, Benton; 4. Brock Weiss, Jersey Shore.
113: This is a loaded bracket for Notre Dame-GP’s Adam Schweitzer to maneuver through. He faces South Williamsport’s Robert Gardner, a returning state qualifier ranked fourth in the state. The junior Crusader then would likely get state No. 2 Gavin Bradley of Athens who was seventh last year at states. State No. 3 Jaden Pepe of Wyoming Area, who was third in the state last year, and Brandywine Heights’ Dillon Reinert who beat Schweitzer in last week’s Southeast Regional final, are in the other half of the bracket.
Prediction: 1. Gavin Bradley, Athens; 2. Jaden Pepe, Wyoming Area; 3. Dillon Reinert, Brandywine Heights; 4. Adam Schweitzer, Notre Dame-GP.
120: Notre Dame-GP senior Brett Ungar is the one to beat. He dominated last week’s Southeast Regional, manhandling Hamburg’s Parker Davidson and Lancaster Catholic’s Eric Howe in the semis and final, respectively. Southern Columbia’s Mason Barvitskie, an unbeaten freshman, is the Northeast champion. He grinded out three decisions to win the gold medal.
Prediction: 1. Brett Ungar, Notre Dame-GP; 2. Mason Barvitski, Southern Columbia; 3. Ethan Kolb, Benton; 4. Eric Howe, Lancaster Catholic.
126: Notre Dame-GP’s Evan Maag is going to have to navigate one landmine after another, beginning with quarterfinal foe Gable Strickland of Benton. Strickland was ranked second and unbeaten until Muncy’s Scott Johnson beat him 9-6 in last week’s Northeast final. Camp Hill’s Christian Doi, who beat Maag in last week’s Southeast quarterfinalas, also is in the top half of the bracket. Johnson, Mifflinburg’s Gabe Gramly, who was eighth in the state last year, and West Perry’s Nolen Ziegler are in the other half.
Prediction: 1. Gable Strickland, Benton; 2. Scott Johnson, Muncy; 3. Evan Maag, Notre Dame-GP; 4. Gabe Gramly, Mifflinburg.
132: Notre Dame-GP’s Brandan Chletsos is ranked second in the state after finishing third last year at 120. He has Meadowbrook Christian sophomore Cade Wirnsberger looming in the semis. Wirnsberger had three 1-point matches in last week’s Northeast Regional. He lost to Lewisburg’s Kaiden Wagner, ranked eight in the state, in the final. Wagner and Muncy’s Bryce Vollman are in the other half of the bracket. Salisbury’s John Samy gets Vollman in the quarterfinals.
Prediction: 1. Brandan Chletsos, Notre Dame-GP; 2. Bryce Vollman, Muncy; 3. Cade Wirnsberger, Meadowbrook Christian; 4. Kaiden Wagner, Lewisburg.
138: Montgomery stud freshman Connor Harer is the favorite here after he dismantled the Northeast Regional by a composite 56-11 score in three matches. His lone loss this year was by a point to Sullivan County’s Nathan Higler, ranked seventh in the state at 145. Central Catholic’s David Kreidler must get through Southern Columbia senior Ian Yoder in the quarters before a date with Harer. Faith Christian’s Eric Alderfer and Josh Bauman are in the other half of the bracket. Alderfer beat Bauman and Kreidler by a combined three points to win last week’s Southeast Regional.
Prediction: 1. Connor Harer, Montgomery; 2. Josh Bauman, Notre Dame-GP; 3. Eric Alderfer, Faith Christian; 4. David Kreidler, Central Catholic.
145: Two unbeatens — Biglerville’s Levi Haines and Sullivan County’s Higley — are on a collision course. Haines was runner-up to Ryan Crookham in last year’s 126 state final. Higley was fourth at 145, having lost by a point in the semis and in sudden victory for third. Brandywine Heights’ Noah Frack, fifth last year at 126, and Southern Columbia’s Patrick Edmonson stand in their way. Edmonson lost 3-2 to Higley in last week’s Northeast Regional final. No locals here.
Prediction: 1. Levi Haines, Biglerville; 2. Nathan Higley, Sullivan County; 3. Patrick Edmonson, Southern Columbia; 4. Andrew Christie, Bishop McDevitt.
152: This will be a tough bracket for Notre Dame-GP’s Joe LaPenna and Palisades’ Mason Smeland to get out of. LaPenna gets Montoursville’s Isaac Cory in the quarters. Cory won last week’s Northeast Regional with a 7-2 win over Montgomery’s Devon Deem. Boiling Springs’ Michael Duggan and Wyoming Area’s Cooper Price face off in the other quarterfinal in that half of the bracket. Duggan beat LaPenna in last week’s regional semifinal. Smeland gets Hamburg unbeaten Dalton Gimbor, ranked second in the state, in the quarters.
Prediction: 1. Dalton Gimbor, Hamburg; 2. Michael Duggan, Boiling Springs; 3. Isaac Cory, Montoursville; 4. Cooper Price, Wyoming Area.
160: Notre Dame-GP’s Holden Garcia will have to beat Benton’s Nolan Lear and Midd-West’s Avery Bassett to win super regional gold. Lear and Bassett are ranked in the top three this year after securing top-five state medals in 2020. Bassett beat Lear in an ultimate tie-breaker for last week’s Northeast Regional title. Garcia faces Trinity freshman Tucker Paytner in the quarters before Lear likely in the semis. Saucon Valley’s Liam Scrivanich gets Bassett in the quarters in the bottom half of the bracket.
Prediction: 1. Avery Bassett, MiddWest; 2. Holden Garcia, Notre Dame-GP; 3. Nolan Lear, Benton; 4. Bailey Gimbor, Hamburg.
172: Southern Columbia’s Gavin Garcia, third in the state last year at 160, is ranked first this year at this weight. Saucon Valley’s Jake Jones could get him in the semis. In the other half of the bracket, Palisades’ Ben Haubert gets Hamburg’s Brant Mason in the quarters before a possible semifinal with Muncy’s Ethan Gush, who is ranked eighth.
Prediction: 1. Gavin Garcia, Southern Columbia; 2. Ben Haubert, Palisades; 3. Jake Jones, Saucon Valley; 4. Ethan Gush, Muncy.
189: Saucon Valley’s Ty Csencsits will have earned a state medal if he gets out of this bracket. He first gets Southern Columbia sophomore Wesley Barnes, who was fourth last year at 152. A semifinal likely would bring Halifax’ Bryce Enders, who majored Csencsits in last week’s regional semifinal. Montoursville’s Cael Crebs, ranked first in the state after a third-place finish last year at 170, is in the other half of the bracket. So is Line Mountain’s Jacob Feese, who gets Tri-Valley’s Jacob Scheib in the quarters. Feese beat Enders 7-3 earlier this season.
Prediction: 1. Cael Crebs, Montoursville; 2. Wesley Barnes, Southern Columbia; 3. Jacob Feese, Line Mountain; 4. Bryce Enders, Halifax.
215: Another loaded bracket with six guys ranked in the top 10, led by No. 2 Dylan Bennett of Montoursville. He was second in the state last year at 182. Bermudian Springs’ Savauri Shelton, who had a rough regional last week, gets Bennett in the first round. Shelton was ranked third. Faith Christian’s Leo Muzika also is in that half of the bracket. He gets Mount Carmel’s Damon Backes in the quarters. Backes is ranked seventh. Saucon Valley’s Dante Mahaffey gets Benton’s Zach Poust in the quarters. Poust is ranked sixth. Tamaqua’s Nate Wickersham, ranked ninth after finishing eighth last year at 182, should get the Mahaffey/Poust winner in the semis.
Prediction: 1. Dylan Bennett, Montoursville; 2. Nate Wickersham, Tamaqua; 3. Savauri Shelton, Bermudian Springs; 4. Dante Mahaffey, Saucon Valley.
285: Pen Argyl’s Aiden Compton gets Mifflinburg sophomore Emmanuel Ulrich in the quarters after suffering his first two losses in last week’s regional. But this is a winnable bracket if Compton has a stellar few hours. Bishop McDevitt unbeaten Riley Robell, last week’s Southeast Regional champ, is in the opposite bracket. Bermudian Springs’ Hogan Swenski is in Compton’s half. Swenski beat him 5-1 in last week’s semis.
Prediction: Riley Robell, Bishop McDevitt; 2. Emmanuel Ulrich, Mifflinburg; 3. Hogan Swenski, Bermudian Springs; 4. Aiden Compton, Pen Argyl.