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EspañolThe Schuylkill League will be well represented this week at the Giant Center in Hershey for the PIAA Individual Wrestling Championships.
Over the weekend at Warwick High School in the Southeast Regional Class AA Wrestling Championships, nine local wrestlers qualified for states, while one additional wrestler qualified at the Northeast Regional Class 3A Wrestling Championships in Bethlehem.
The top finisher of the regionals was North Schuylkill senior Cadyn McGraw. The 215-pounder finished second at the Southeast Regionals. This will be his first trip to the state tournament after finishing sixth at regionals last year.
On his way to finishing second, McGraw defeated Pine Grove junior Zachary Kurtz in the semifinals. Kurtz ultimately placed fourth to qualify for his first state tournament appearance as well.
Mahanoy Area junior Rory Dixon finished third at 152 pounds to qualify for his second straight appearance. Dixon did not place last year.
Also finishing third in regionals at the Class 3A level was Pottsville’s Terrell McFarland. The senior 189-pounder will make his first appearance at the state tournament since 2023. He finished fifth at regionals in 2024 and did not place last year. The Crimson Tide standout has only lost two matches all season.
Tri-Valley’s Owen Wolfgang qualified for his first state tournament appearance after finishing fourth in the 107-pound weight class. His previous best finish at regionals was sixth last year. Mahanoy Area freshman Arturo Reyes also qualified with a fourth-place finish at 121 pounds.
North Schuylkill’s Gaige Mentusky finished fifth at 107 pounds and will join Wolfgang in Hershey. The senior Spartan wrestler will be making his first career trip to the states. His previous best postseason finish was fifth in districts.
Additionally, three other wrestlers finished fifth in their weight classes and qualified. Making the trip to Hershey will be Tamaqua freshman Rylan Reitz at 114 pounds, Tri-Valley Hunter junior Updegrave at 172 pounds, and Mahanoy Area senior Kyler Quick at 215 pounds. This will be both Reitz and Updegrave’s first trip to the state tournament, while Quick will make his third straight appearance. He’ll look to place this year after not placing each of the last two seasons.
The PIAA Individual Wrestling Championships are set to begin on Thursday, March 5, and will run through Saturday, March 7.
Fans interested in attending next week’s state championships can buy tickets online through the PIAA website and Ticketmaster. Tickets for the preliminaries and first round matchups, as well as the quarterfinals, are $12 per session. The third, fourth, and fifth place matches, as well as the semifinals and finals, are $14 each. There are also purchasing options to buy for all five sessions across March 5-7 for $56 each, plus a $2 fee per ticket.