EASTON — Eve Kurtz climbed to the top of the podium.

In her final trip to the District 11 Girls’ Wrestling Championships, the Pine Grove senior wrestled her best when it mattered most Sunday at Easton Area Middle School. After a fall and a major decision to reach the finals, Kurtz, second at districts a year ago, flattened Bethlehem Freedom’s Alexis Horvath in 5:01 to capture the 148-pound title.

With a 3-0 day, Kurtz improved to 28-4 this season.

Soon after, Panther Valley’s Brenda Banks did what she does best on a wrestling mat — dominate — in clinching another 235-pound district championship. The junior had falls of 10 seconds and 28 seconds en route to the finals. Banks then decked Bethlehem Liberty’s Addyson Munro in 1:07. At the end of the night, Banks was voted the tournament’s Outstanding Wrestler.

Banks, a two-time defending state champion, blitzed through districts last year too, with pins in 12 seconds, 59 seconds and 54 seconds, also over Munro in the finals. Her 3-0 day raised her season record to 29-1.

Elsewhere, Pine Grove’s Geanna Lemke (142) took second, while teammates Audrey Graeff (190) placed third, and Samantha Eisenhauer (136) finished fourth.

For Panther Valley, Alisa Williams (170) placed third, and Kyla McQuillen (136) took sixth.

The top three placewinners in each weight class advance to the Southeast Regional Girls’ Wrestling Championships, set for Feb. 23 at Quakertown Area High School. The District 11 qualifiers will join the top five from District 1 in an eight-girl bracket. The top four at regionals will qualify for the PIAA Wrestling Championships on March 6-8 at the Giant Center in Hershey.

Lemke (28-6) had two pins and then an 8-4 decision over Parkland’s Angelina Spachman in the semifinals. Catasauqua’s Aeriel Stallworth stopped Lemke by fall in 26 seconds in the finals.

Graeff, who entered districts with a 13-13 record, went 5-1 to place third and qualify for regionals. She walked a tightrope all day, needing four straight consolation victories to extend her season. Among those consolation wins was an 11-10 decision ovfer Nazareth’s Aubrey Davidson. In the bronze-medal bout, Graeff rallied from a 4-0 deficit before pinning Pocono Mountain East’s Olivia Brisbois in 1:41.

Eisenhauer had a 3-2 tournament, falling just short of regionals with a 4-2 loss to Bethlehem Liberty’s Luisyana Ortiz in the bout for third place.

For the Panthers, Williams (30-6) won her first match by pin, then got pinned in the next round. Williams rebounded with two falls in the wrestlebacks, including a fall in 2:23 over Bethlehem Freedom’s Anaya Velez in the bronze-medal bout.

Pine Grove finished seventh in the 28-team field with 100 points. Easton crowned four champs and won the team title with 189.5. Parkland (179.5) placed second, with Pocono Mountain East (127), Bethlehem Liberty (126) and Palisades (111) completing the top five. Nazareth (107.5) finished sixth just ahead of Pine Grove. Panther Valley (73) earned 11th place.

Tri-Valley junior Maggie Hoffman-Long, representing Upper Dauphin in a co-op, placed fourth at the District 3 Section I Tournament at Susquenita High School. Wrestling at 136 pounds, Hoffman-Long notched two pins to reach the semifinals, then got pinned. She rebounded by pinning Central York’s Sophia Provens in 2:55, then fell to Boiling Springs’ Amanda Delevan by fall in 4:36 in the bronze-medal bout.

Hoffman-Long helped Upper Dauphin place third among 25 teams with 143 points. Gettysburg won the team title with 196 points, with Hempfield in the runner-up spot with 146.5.

By placing among the top four, Hoffman-Long (19-11) qualified for the District 3/Southcentral Regional Girls’ Wrestling Championships on March 1 at Penn Manor High School.