High School Wrestling: Panthers’ Banks captures Queen of the Hill gold
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Brenda Banks, Panther Valley
HONESDALE — With three rapid-fire pins, Panther Valley’s Brenda Banks stormed to the 235-pound championship Saturday at the Queen of the Hill Tournament at Honesdale High School.
Banks (5-0) went 3-0 on the day, posting pins of 29 and 28 seconds en route to the finals. There, Banks notched her third pin, flattening Honesdale’s Jaidyn Mikulak in 46 seconds.
A junior, Banks is a two-time state champion, winning a PIAA-sanctioned gold last season.
Alisa Williams (170) placed fourth and Kyla McQuillen (142) finished fifth for the Panthers.
Panther Valley finished 15th in the 22-team field. Easton won the team title with 219.5 points. Hughesville placed second with 186.5.
Bears go 4-2 at duals
TAMAQUA — Rory Dixon (160) had a 5-0 day to lead Mahanoy Area to a successful outing at the Tamaqua Blue Raider Duals.
Dixon (9-1) helped the Golden Bears defeat Tamaqua (46-18), Columbia-Montour Vo-Tech (59-12), Berwick (50-20) and Williams Valley (46-25). Mahanoy Area (6-2) fell to Abington Heights (52-18) and Jim Thorpe (35-33).
Nolan Timko (114) and Jah Bushati (152) went 5-1 at the duals, while Gordon Slater (139), Kyler Quick (189) and Kyle Pollack (215) finished 4-2.
Meanwhile, Williams Valley (0-8) dropped all of its duals, falling to Berks Catholic (65-6), Berwick (30-26), Tamaqua (33-27), Jim Thorpe (53-19), Mahanoy Area (46-25) and Hanover Area (33-30).
Camron Green (285) sparked the Vikings, going 6-0 with four falls. Green improved to 11-1 on the season. Colin Crisswell (160) went 5-1, upping his season mark to 10-2.
Magnus Monger (107), Xzavion Tennis (133) and Skylor Green (172) posted 4-2 records for Williams Valley.
Host Tamaqua (1-6) defeated Williams Valley (33-27) but fell to Emmaus (58-15), Mahanoy Area (46-18), Lehighton (47-25), Jim Thorpe (60-15) and Berwick (37-36).
Aiden Schlier (127) and Evan Temarantz (133) had 5-1 records for the Blue Raiders; Brody Schlier (139), Bradley Whalen (172) and Jacob Hehn (189) went 4-2.
Spartans 7th at Carlisle Classic
CARLISLE — With seven placewinners, North Schuylkill wrestled to a seventh-place finish at the 21-team Carlisle Classic.
Central Bucks West won the team title at the Class 3A-dominated event with 162.5 points. Garnet Valley (158) finished second, with Carlisle (153), Palmerton (147.5) and Big Spring (145) rounding out the top five. Newport (131) finished sixth, followed by North Schuylkill (122.5).
Gaige Mentusky (107), Easton Edwards (121) and Jaden Meyer (172) led the Spartans with fourth-place finishes. Nate Sterner (145) and Cadyn McGraw (215) took sixth; Stanley Padakowski (127) and Ben Carr (160) placed eighth.
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