PIAA Wrestling: PV’s Banks pins way into state finals
Panther Valley's Brenda Banks has her hand raised in victory after winning her 235-pound quarterfinal at the PIAA Wrestling Championships at the Giant Center in Hershey. (Photo by Bob Lipsky)
HERSHEY — The more technique Brenda Banks adds, the more dangerous she gets.
Banks, the two-time state champion from Panther Valley, displayed that prowess during Friday’s girls’ competition at the PIAA Wrestling Championships at the Giant Center in Hershey.
The impact: Utterly devastating.
Before the semifinals, head coach Kris Nalesnik urged Banks to be aggressive instead of waiting a bit to see what her opponent wants to do.
The result: A blast double-leg tackle off the opening whistle and a stunning 10-second pin of Big Spring’s Esther Reed.
That victory put Banks (35-1) back in Saturday’s state finals. The junior will go for her third state gold when she takes on Southmoreland junior Zoey Murphy (21-1), who pinned Bethlehem Liberty’s Addyson Munro in 3:56 in the other semifinal.
Banks loves to learn new technique and perfect more and more moves. At states, she’s converted outside single-leg shots, power half turns, a cradle — and now — the blast double heard around the arena. So far, Banks has three first-period pins in 2 minutes, 48 seconds — total.
Her opponents don’t know what’s coming and can’t stop it.
“That’s the whole point,” Banks said after the semifinals, “to be able to have such a large variety of things I can do. Being able to finish in a bunch of different ways makes me feel accomplished that I’ve come so far and learned so much.”
Earlier, in the quarterfinals, in a match that lasted all of 60 seconds, Banks flattened Athens’ Leah Nason for her second pin in as many matches at states. During that time, Banks featured a single-leg shot rare among the heavyweights just 27 seconds in for the first takedown of the match. Pressuring Nason flat, Banks cranked a crossface cradle and stacked Nason for the finish.
“My coach told me to play it safe, don’t give up any points, just go in there smart, get a quick pin so we can get out of here,” Banks said after the quarterfinals.
In other quarterfinals, Pine Grove’s Eve Kurtz (148) and Panther Valley’s Alisa Williams (170) lost to fall into the consolations.
Kurtz, a senior, did most of the shooting, but Trinity’s Elaina Ashby did most of the scoring. She countered twice for a pair of takedowns, then pinned Kurtz at the 5:58 mark.
Williams, a junior, couldn’t get her offense going, either, in a 5-0 loss to Central Mountain’s Kendall Wagner.
In the afternoon consolations, Kurtz got back to being Kurtz — sharp, technical, aggressive — and built a 5-0 lead before driving a deep half-nelson and turning Hughesville’s Alexis Kurzawa for the fall in 2:47. Kurzawa appeared to be near the first takedown, but Kurtz hit a slick standing switch to take the initial takedown for herself. Kurzawa chose top for the second period, and Kurtz kept good position before finding the opening for a reversal.
With the win, Kurtz clinched at least an eighth-place medal. She was eighth a year ago.
Around 10 p.m., Kurtz took the mat again to cap a day that began with skin check and weigh-ins at 10:30 a.m. Continuing to wrestle intelligently and crisply, Kurtz converted takedowns at the end of the first and second periods to earn a 6-0 decision over Big Spring’s Lillian Raudebaugh.
Kurtz (33-6) will continue in the consolations Saturday morning when she takes on Tulpehocken’s Katalyna Borreli (27-6). Now, Kurtz can finish no lower than sixth.
“Happy. I’m me again. I’m back to wrestling like me again,” Kurtz said with a big smile after she clinched her medal. “I’m excited to go further and keep this going and really enjoy the rest of this tournament.”
