Nazareth Claims PIAA Class AAA Wrestling Title as Champions Emerge Across 12 Different Schools

The AAA side of the PIAA state Tournament didn’t see the same team domination as the AA, where two teams won eight of the titles. Instead, the winning was spread around to twelve teams with just Northampton having two atop the podium.

Nazareth’s Depth Powers Team Championship

Nazareth powered to the team title with their depth as they had zero finalists amongst their five state placers. Defending champions came through and the 16th member of the four-time champion club came at 133 pounds with Bethlehem Catholic’s No. 4 Keanu Dillard.

Dillard Joins Elite Four-Time Champion Club

Dillard’s ending did not endear him to the fans, but he did what was necessary to join the elite club, he had not been hit for stalling early and used that to his advantage down the stretch. Dillard had two recent encounters with No. 16 Wilmont Kai (Whitehall), a defending champ himself, winning 1-0 and 4-2. The state final match replicated the previous 1-0 result.

Norwin’s Landon Sidun is top ranked in the country and can join the club of four next year after securing his third crown over No. 30 Tommy Gretz (Connellsville). Sidun was tripped up in the region finals by DuBois’ No. 12 Mateo Gallegos and was not going to let anything sidetrack him here as he rolled to a merciless 17-0 tech of Gretz.

Brown and Bechtold Finish Careers as Two-Time Champions

No. 3 Elijah Brown (Belle Vernon) and No. 5 Dean Bechtold (Owen J. Roberts) are now two-timers and that’s where their counts will stop as they are graduating seniors.

Brown kicked Dean’s brother, Decker (No. 18 nationally) to the 215-pound consolation bracket on a 4-1 semifinal result. On the other side, No. 17 Paxton Hunt (Garnet Valley) posted a 7-3 upset of No. 15 Kendahl Hoare (DuBois). Hunt gave it his best effort but was not able to add the greatest upset to his resume and Brown’s second period escape accounted for all the scoring of the 1-0 decision.

Bechtold’s title came much quicker and easier than Brown’s as he was off the mat in less than 30 seconds after initiating a fall with a cross face that appeared to morph into a half (the referee was is in the way on Flo’s video), but nonetheless, the pin came in 29 seconds over No. 21 Bradyn McConneha (North Allegany) at 285.

Northampton Wrestlers Turn Silver Into Gold

Both of Northampton’s champions left the state tournament with silver in hand in 2025, but No. 6 Brayden Wenrich (114 pounds) and No. 15 Gabriel Ballard (152) rolled with gold to end this campaign.

Wenrich squared off with No. 22 Gabe Benyo (Hazelton Area), a wrestler he defeated 9-1 at last week’s region, and had to navigate a different path in the state final as he couldn’t post the points he expected to and settled on a 1-0 win. Ballard cruised to an 18-4 major decision against No. 34 Michael Ruane (Franklin Regional). Ballard, a junior, was third as a freshman. Wenrich is a sophomore.

Muyleart and Underdogs Deliver Breakthrough Titles

Cedar Cliff’s No. 15 Kavin Muyleart also improved upon a second-place finish from a year ago with his overtime tiebreaker win over No. 26 Emilio Albanese (Emmaus). Muyleart did not place at states as a freshman.

Unexpected Champions Shake Up the Brackets

By our rankings and knowledge, there were just two guys that delivered unexpected endings to their final foes, No. 32 Mario Hutcherson (Kiski Area) and the unranked Dalton Wenner (Cranberry).

Hutcherson, a sophomore who was sixth last year, fell to his rival, No. 10 Dominic Sumpolec (Notre Dame-Green Pond), 4-3, at PowerAde. Hutcherson was determined to create a story unique from before and jumped on the board with what would be the winning points in the first period after getting in on a shot and finishing it with 30 seconds left. Sumpolec added an escape point and Hutcherson got one more on a caution to make the 189-pound final score, 4-1.

Wenner was an even greater underdog at 139 pounds considering No. 34 Aiden Herndon (Cedar Cliff) had beaten him twice this season at PowerAde and the Mid-Winter Mayhem. Herndon is a three-time placer, and the junior now has two silvers after Wenner came out ahead in the tiebreakers, 3-1.

Former Bronze Medalists Reach the Top of the Podium

Two guys who were bronze medalists in 2025 now have gold hanging around their necks – No. 6 Kai Vielma (Connellsville) and No. 15 Mckaden Speece (Wilson).

Vielma’s ascension came on the strength of a 4-0 shutout of Aiden Kunes (Central Mountain) in the 145-pound final. Speece, a senior three-time placer, went into overtime with No. 20 Chris Dennis (Central Bucks West) before gaining an overtime takedown for the 4-1 win.

Carr and Ciampoli Close Out the Championship Finals

At 107 pounds, No. 23 Jacob Carr of Sun Valley handled his business with No. 29 Lee Dreshman (Canon-McMillan) on a 3-0 decision. Dreshman blew past No. 24 Shaefer Hoffman (Downingtown West), 6-1, in the quarters. In the 160-pound final, No. 25 Gavin Ciampoli (Altoona) handled West Scranton’s Tommy Schechterly for the second time this season, 9-3. The first came at the Mid-Winter Mayhem, 5-2.

Nazareth had two guys bring home bronze medals, No. 15 Brayden Zuercher (189 pounds) and Jack Campbell (145). Caleb Kosko was fourth at 133 pounds, Elijah Simak placed fifth at 172, and No. 37 Cade Campbell landed in seventh at 152 pounds.

Notre Dame-Green Pond was second with 68 points and Northampton was third with 65.5 despite their two champs. Bethlehem Catholic, winners of the last three AAA tournament titles were fourth with 58.5 points. This was Nazareth’s first championship since 2022.

Team Scores (Top 10)

1-Nazareth 84

2-Notre Dame-Green Pond 68

3-Northampton 65.5

4-Bethlehem Catholic 58.5

5-Connellsville 57

6-Canon-McMillan 56.5

7-Owen J. Roberts 50.5

8-Council Rock South 48

8-Wilson 48

10-Cedar Cliff 46.5

Individual Results

107-Pounds

1st Jacob Carr (Sun Valley) DEC Lee Dreshman (Canon-McMillan), 3-0

3rd Shaefer Hoffman (Downingtown West) DEC Maximus Quarry (Notre Dame - GP), 2-1 UTB

5th Michael Johnson (West Allegheny) MD Quinn Bagnell (Council Rock South), 12-1

7th Bryce Thomas (Moon Area) DEC Elijah Foltz (Palmyra), 4-3

114-Pounds

1st Brayden Wenrich (Northampton Area) DEC Gabe Benyo (Hazleton Area), 1-0

3rd John Segata (Council Rock South) DEC Dylan Barrett (Penn-Trafford), 6-1

5th Cael Muller (Notre Dame - GP) FOR Braden Todora (Parkland), 0-0

7th Zach Rehak (Thomas Jefferson) F Beau Fennick (Franklin Regional), 0:47

121-Pounds

1st Landon Sidun (Norwin) TF Tommy Gretz (Connellsville), 17-0 3:52

3rd Dominick Morrison (Hatboro-Horsham) DEC Mateo Gallegos (DuBois), 8-3

5th Abramm Schaffer (Wilson) DEC Jake Benyo (Hazleton Area), 7-4

7th Nico Emili (Bethlehem Catholic) DEC Teagan Caciolo (Emmaus), 2-1 TB2

127-Pounds

1st Kavin Muyleart (Cedar Cliff) DEC Emilio Albanese (Emmaus), 5-2 TB2

3rd Santino Sloboda (Butler Area) DEC Frank Leanza (Manheim Township), 8-1

5th Chase Williams (Central Bucks East) DEC Nicholas Salamone (Easton Area), 4-1

7th Max Tancini (Perkiomen Valley) DEC Andre Cerrato (Bethlehem Catholic), 7-3

133-Pounds

1st Keanu Dillard (Bethlehem Catholic) DEC Wilmont Kai (Whitehall), 1-0

3rd Mason Whitney (Abington Heights) DEC Caleb Kosko (Nazareth Area), 4-3

5th Braiden Weaver (Altoona) DEC Drew Scherer (Boiling Springs), 4-0

7th Brayden Sigle (Downingtown West) MD Sean Murray (Upper Perkiomen), 12-3

139-Pounds

1st Dalton Wenner (Cranberry) DEC Aiden Herndon (Cedar Cliff), 3-1 TB2

3rd Patrick Woloshyn (Council Rock South) DEC Collier Hartman (Canon-McMillan), 8-4

5th Reef Dillard (Bethlehem Catholic) DEC Blake Boyer (Kennett), 1-0

7th Trey Wagner (Northampton Area) DEC Isaiah Jackson (Gettysburg), 5-3

145-Pounds

1st Kai Vielma (Connellsville) DEC Aiden Kunes (Central Mountain), 4-0

3rd Jack Campbell (Nazareth Area) MD Myles Grossman (Gettysburg), 11-1

5th Daniel Dennis (Central Bucks West) DEC Nathan Klingensmith (Norwin), 4-1

7th Jackson Lininger (Northern) DEC Ethan Krazer (Easton Area), 4-1

152-Pounds

1st Gabriel Ballard (Northampton Area) MD Michael Ruane (Franklin Regional), 18-4

3rd Ian Longenberger (Boiling Springs) DEC Luke Knox (Perkiomen Valley), 6-4

5th James Whitbred (State College) DEC Zack Jaffe (Kennett), 4-1

7th Cade Campbell (Nazareth Area) MD Kevin Mallon (Central Bucks West), 10-1

160-Pounds

1st Gavin Ciampoli (Altoona) DEC Tommy Schechterly (West Scranton), 9-3

3rd Jon Smith (Oxford Area) DEC Jonny O'brien (North Penn), 5-4

5th Nathaniel Replogle (Central York) DEC Cole Gibbons (Mt. Lebanon), 8-2

7th Klint Miller (ELCO) DEC Jack White (Norwin), 8-6

172-Pounds

1st Mckaden Speece (Wilson) DEC Chris Dennis (Central Bucks West), 4-1 SV

3rd Teag Sanderson (State College) DEC Brock Frable (Southern Lehigh), 11-5

5th Elijah Simak (Nazareth Area) DEC Christian Burd (Hershey), 7-3

7th A.j. Corp (West Chester Rustin) DEC Blake Hostetter (Oxford Area), 7-2

189-Pounds

1st Mario Hutcherson (Kiski Area) DEC Dominic Sumpolec (Notre Dame - GP), 4-1

3rd Brayden Zuercher (Nazareth Area) MD Michael Spielman (Strath Haven), 11-2

5th Franco Latorre (Interboro) FOR Hunter Snyder (Greater Latrobe), 0-0

7th Noah Templin (Manheim Central) DEC David Clayton (Quakertown), 7-5

215-Pounds

1st Elijah Brown (Belle Vernon) DEC Paxton Hunt (Garnet Valley), 1-0

3rd Decker Bechtold (Owen J. Roberts) DEC Kendahl Hoare (DuBois), 4-2

5th Brayden Collins (Canon-McMillan) DEC Sawyer Ermigiotti (Pennridge), 1-0

7th Connor Smalley (Notre Dame - GP) MD Cole Staker (Eastern York), 14-2

285-Pounds

1st Dean Bechtold (Owen J. Roberts) F Bradyn Mcconneha (North Allegheny), 0:29

3rd Brody Rebuck (Shikellamy) DEC Nolan Reinert (Gettysburg), 4-3

5th Daniel Schiffert (Freedom) FOR Kurtis Crossman (Easton Area), 0-0

7th Cam Danna (West Allegheny) DEC Robert Rose (Hatboro-Horsham), 5-3