107
2025 champ: West Scranton’s Santino Aniska (now at 121)
Top seed: Pittston Area freshman David Krantz (33-7) captured a Wyoming Valley Conference title this season.
Others to watch: No. 2 Wilkes-Barre Area freshman James McKeown (27-6) wrestled at 114 in 30 of his 33 matches and beat Krantz by injury default in December. There are only five wrestlers in this bracket.
Projected final: McKeown over Krantz.
114
2025 champ: West Scranton’s Connor Lagier (not wrestling)
Top seed: Hazleton Area sophomore Gabe Benyo (33-3) is ranked fifth in the state and second in the Northeast Region, according to PA Power Wrestling, and has 26 straights wins.
Others to watch: No. 2 Abington Heights freshman Dakota Sandy (28-9) is ranked 17th in the state and sixth in the region. No. 3 Delaware Valley junior Zion Colon (34-8) is a regional honorable mention.
Projected final: Benyo over Sandy.
121
2025 champ: Wallenpaupack’s Gio Lomonaco (now at 133)
Top seed: Hazleton Area sophomore Jake Benyo (33-6) is ranked seventh in the state and second in the region. He also teched No. 4 Wallenpaupack junior Declan Brown (25-10) this season.
Others to watch: No. 2 West Scranton junior Santino Aniska (23-13) is ranked eighth in the region and captured a district title last season at 107.
Projected final: Benyo over Aniska.
127
2025 champ: Abington Heights’ Mason Whitney (now at 133)
Top seed: Abington Heights freshman Brady Full (28-6) is ranked 14th in the state and fourth in the region. He beat No. 2 Wallenpaupack senior Ayden Blaut (33-7) by major decision and decision this season, and pinned No. 5 Delaware Valley junior Andrew Elliott (16-17) this season.
Others to watch: Blaut, who is ranked 27th in the state and seventh in the region, pinned No. 3 Wilkes-Barre Area junior Carlo Salinas (27-9), teched Elliott and pinned No. 6 North Pocono sophomore Ryan Craven (11-17).
Projected final: Full over Blaut.
133
2025 champ: Hazleton Area’s Jude Salko (returns)
Top seed: Abington Heights junior Mason Whitney (40-5), a two-time state medalist, is ranked fourth in the state and fourth in the region. He pinned No. 4 Delaware Valley sophomore Brennan Snyder (14-20) twice, and teched No. 5 Pittston Area senior Jahiem Butler (26-13) this season. He also beat No. 2 Wallenpaupack senior Gio Lomonaco (35-7) by decision two years ago.
Others to watch: Lomonaco beat Salko (27-9), a sophomore and defending district champion, twice this season — by pin and by 3-1 decision. He also pinned Snyder, No. 6 Wilkes-Barre Area junior Cameron Grohowski (18-16) and No. 7 North Pocono sophomore Seth Wheeland (8-11).
Projected final: Whitney over Lomonaco.
139
2025 champ: Delaware Valley’s Brady Colville (graduated)
Top seed: Wallenpaupack senior Kyle Scartelli (22-7) is a regional honorable mention. He missed most of January with an injury.
Others to watch: No. 2 Scranton senior Drew Leonori (20-11) finished in sixth at regionals last season, one place short of qualifying for states. He wrestled his first eight matches at 139 this season before dropping down to 133. No. 3 Delaware Valley sophomore Drew Churchill (26-11) beat No. 4 Abington Heights junior Braghan Pallis (14-15) twice and No. 6 Hazleton Area junior Isaiah Martinez (16-12) once.
Projected final: Leonori over Scartelli.
145
2025 champ: West Scranton’s Michael Turi (now at Wyoming Seminary)
Top seed: Crestwood freshman Micah Engelman (36-3) is ranked 27th in the state and eighth in the region. He pinned No. 2 Pittston Area junior Chase Baron (24-13) once and No. 5 Wilkes-Barre Area junior Teagen Butler (20-15) twice.
Others to watch: No. 3 Abington Heights sophomore Chace Berry (18-9) majored Baron on Jan. 31.
Projected final: Engelman over Berry.
152
2025 champ: Wilkes-Barre Area’s Liam Evanko (now at 160)
Top seed: Pittston Area junior Ethan Aftewicz (38-7) is ranked 29th in the state and sixth in the region. He has a 5-1 decision over No. 3 Hazleton Area junior Logan Pop (28-7).
Others to watch: No. 2 Abington Heights freshman Lucas Drake (34-10) is ranked 28th in the state and fifth in the region, and he had some battles with Aftewicz this season — defeating him twice in the ultimate tiebreaker and losing to him by 4-1 decision. If Drake gets past Pop, this finals match should be one of the best of the weekend and a true tossup.
Projected final: Aftewicz over Drake.
160
2025 champ: Wilkes-Barre Area’s Gene Ardo (now at 172)
Top seed: West Scranton sophomore Tommy Schechterly (29-6) is ranked fourth in the state and first in the region. This season, he teched No. 2 Wilkes-Barre Area senior Liam Evanko (32-6), a district champion at 152 last season.
Others to watch: This is the deepest bracket in Class 3A, with four state-ranked wrestlers. No. 3 Wallenpaupack junior Tristan Braxton (23-1) is ranked 19th in the state and seventh in the region, Evanko is ranked 22nd in the state and eighth in the region and No. 4 Hazleton Area sophomore Tyler Youngcourt (29-10) is ranked 28th in the state and is a regional honorable mention. Evanko has a 4-2 win over Youngcourt this season.
Projected final: Schechterly over Braxton.
172
2025 champ: Abington Heights’ Brian Heard (graduated)
Top seed: Wilkes-Barre Area senior Gene Ardo (26-8) is a regional honorable mention and a 2025 district champ at 160. He has a 10-2 major over No. 3 Hazleton Area junior Jaxson Johnson (20-11) and a 2-1 win over No. 4 Crestwood senior Nathan Wisniewski (24-10).
Others to watch: No. 2 Wallenpaupack senior Gabe Caufield (35-6) is ranked 23rd in the state and sixth in the region. He also has a 7-5 decision over Ardo this season, and defeated Johnson and Wisniewski by wider margins than Ardo.
Projected final: Caufield over Ardo.
189
2025 champ: Hazleton Area’s Mason Marolo (returns)
Top seed: Marolo (25-4), a state qualifier last season, is 15th in the state and sixth in the region. The senior teched No. 2 Crestwood junior Mariusz Bibla (32-7) and No. 3 Delaware Valley senior JJ Segal (30-11) this season.
Others to watch: Bibla is ranked 24th in the state and eighth in the region. Segal is ranked 23rd in the state and seventh in the region. Segal pinned Bibla in the first period Jan. 28.
Projected final: Marolo over Segal.
215
2025 champ: Pittston Area’s Brody Spindler (returns)
Top seed: Spindler (37-2) is ranked 14th in the state and third in the region. The senior beat No. 2 Abington Heights senior Frank Scialpi (25-7), 4-1, and pinned No. 3 Wallenpaupack senior Tyler Gallo (28-10).
Others to watch: Scialpi is ranked 23rd in the state and seventh in the region, and pinned Gallo in the first period Jan. 14.
Projected final: Spindler over Scialpi.
285
2025 champ: Crestwood’s Kyle Draina (graduated)
Top seed: Pittston Area senior Noah Gruber (38-6) is ranked 18th in the state and seventh in the region. He pinned No. 2 Wilkes-Barre Area junior Altamir Terry (15-14) twice, No. 3 Scranton senior Austin Gottstein (18-14) once and No. 5 Abington Heights junior Dane Wheeler (12-19) once.
Others to watch: This is Gruber’s weight class to lose, and the field is wide open for the last two regional qualifying spots. Terry has losses to No. 6 Wyoming Valley West senior Jake Mahoney (14-13) and No. 7 Wallenpaupack sophomore Rocco Emilio (9-6). Gottstein has two wins and a loss to No. 4 Delaware Valley junior Mikey Seltzer (22-14) and a loss to No. 5 Abington Heights junior Dane Wheeler (12-19). Seltzer has two wins over Wheeler.
Projected final: Gruber over Gottstein.