PIAA Wrestling: Road to Hershey
The long and winding road that is the high school wrestling season has reached its destination: the Giant Center in Hershey.
At 9 a.m. Thursday, seven area athletes will take to the Resilite mats for the three-day PIAA Wrestling Championships. Class AA boys’, combined girls’ and Class 3A boys’ brackets are set, as 728 wrestlers will gather for a competition that will stage 1,378 matches — 494 in Class AA boys, 390 in girls and 494 in Class 3A boys — on six mats laid atop dozens of plywood squares that cover the ice below that the Hershey Bears call home.
Thirty-nine wrestlers will leave with gold medals.
Through the regular season — dual meets and tournaments alike — wrestlers point to February and March to be at their best. Starting with sectionals, continuing with districts and then regionals, only the best of the best continue on to states.
Here’s a look at each of the local wrestlers and their road to the state tournament:
Brenda Banks
Panther Valley
Jr., 235 pounds
Season record: 32-1
Career record: 69-2
Road to Hershey: District 11 1st, Southeast Regional 1st
Rory Dixon
Mahanoy Area
Soph., 160 pounds
Season record: 31-9
Career record: 59-16
Road to Hershey: District 11 3rd, Southeast Regional 4th
Eve Kurtz
Pine Grove
Sr., 148 pounds
Season record: 30-5
Career record: 76-29
Road to Hershey: District 11 1st, Southeast Regional 2nd
Kyler Quick
Mahanoy Area
Jr., 189 pounds
Season record: 34-13
Career record: 94-42
Road to Hershey: District 11 2nd, Southeast Regional 5th
Bradley Renninger
Blue Mountain
Sr., 189 pounds
Season record: 42-10
Career record: 121-55
Road to Hershey: District 11 5th, Northeast Regional 4th
Alisa Williams
Panther Valley
Jr., 170 pounds
Season record: 32-8
Career record: 46-21
Road to Hershey: District 11 3rd, Southeast Regional 4th
