HS Wrestling: PV’s Banks wins regional title; 3 girls head to states
Brenda Banks, Panther Valley
QUAKERTOWN — Brenda Banks is peaking when it matters most.
Panther Valley’s junior 235-pounder swept to her third straight Southeast Regional Girls’ Wrestling Championships title Sunday with yet another overwhelming performance.
Banks dominated her side of the bracket by decking West Philadelphia’s Kaliayah Mines in 20 seconds in the quarterfinals and Council Rock’s Makenzie O’Donnell in 1:26 in the semifinals. That set up another meeting against Souderton’s MacKenna Atkinson in a rematch of last season’s state final.
Once again, Banks got the better of Atkinson, shutting her out 7-0. Banks is now 5-0 all-time against Atkinson, a sophomore with a 27-3 record. Banks won four times last season: 10-1, by fall in 1:57, 7-1 in the regional final and 3-0 in the state final.
Banks, ranked the No. 1 235-pounder in the state by PA-Wrestling, improved her season record to 32-1 and her career mark to 69-2. Including districts, Banks is 6-0 with five first-period pins and the shutout of Atkinson during this postseason.
Two other Schuylkill League wrestlers will join Banks at states. Pine Grove senior Eve Kurtz (148) placed second, and Panther Valley junior Alisa Williams (170) finished fourth.
Kurtz, 30-5 and ranked fourth by PA-Wrestling, stormed into the finals with a pair of falls: in 4:34 over Council Rock’s Ivanka Chernyakhovsky and in 1:58 over Neshaminy’s Anetta Barry. There, second-ranked Jameson Strickland of Sun Valley topped Kurtz 10-1.
