Scranton’s Drew Leonori, back, wrestles Delaware Valley’s Drew Churchill during the District 2 Class 3A championships at Wilkes-Barre Area on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Abington Heights’ Mason Whitney, bottom, wrestles Hazleton Area’s Jude Salko during the District 2 Class 3A championships at Wilkes-Barre Area on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Abington Heights’ Dakota Sandy, right, wrestles Hazleton Area’s Gabe Benyo during the District 2 Class 3A championships at Wilkes-Barre Area on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Pittston Area’s Ethan Aftewicz wrestles Abington Heights’ Lucas Drake during the District 2 Class 3A championships at Wilkes-Barre Area on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Hazleton Area’s Jake Benyo wrestles West Scranton’s Santino Aniska during the District 2 Class 3A championships at Wilkes-Barre Area on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Abington Heights’ Dakota Sandy, front, wrestles Hazleton Area’s Gabe Benyo during the District 2 Class 3A championships at Wilkes-Barre Area on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Wilkes-Barre Area’s James McKeown wrestles Pittston Area’s David Krantz during the District 2 Class 3A championships at Wilkes-Barre Area on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Hazleton Area’s Jake Benyo wrestles West Scranton’s Santino Aniska during the District 2 Class 3A championships at Wilkes-Barre Area on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Pittston Area’s David Krantz, right, wrestles Wilkes-Barre Area’s James McKeown during the District 2 Class 3A championships at Wilkes-Barre Area on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Pittston Area’s Ethan Aftewicz, right, wrestles Abington Heights’ Lucas Drake during the District 2 Class 3A championships at Wilkes-Barre Area on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Pittston Area’s Ethan Aftewicz, left, wrestles Abington Heights’ Lucas Drake during the District 2 Class 3A championships at Wilkes-Barre Area on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
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Scranton’s Drew Leonori, back, wrestles Delaware Valley’s Drew Churchill during the District 2 Class 3A championships at Wilkes-Barre Area on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
PLAINS TWP. — For two Lackawanna League wrestlers, it was their last chance to capture district gold.
However, the other two Lackawanna Leaguers are just getting started.
Seniors Drew Leonori of Scranton and Gabe Caufield of Wallenpaupack made the most of their final District 2 Class 3A tournament Saturday inside The Den at Wilkes-Barre Area, securing 139-pound and 172-pound titles, respectively.
Meanwhile, Abington Heights freshman Brady Full (127) and West Scranton sophomore Tommy Schechterly (160) secured golds in their first district tournaments.
“It feels great. I’ve been working for this all year,” Full said. “It’s been my top goal, so I’m very happy I was able to win that match.”
Abington Heights junior Mason Whitney (133) earned his second district title, as the Lackawanna League crowned five champions.
Leonori was a district bronze medalist twice and sixth-placer before breaking through Saturday. The No. 1 seed at 139 secured a first-period pin in the quarterfinals, a 14-5 major decision in the semifinals and a 6-2 decision in the final. He is Scranton’s first district champion since Bobby Zelinski and Jeremiah Oakes secured gold in 2019.
“This means everything to me,” Leonori said. “I’ve worked so hard all four years, especially this year, and I’m just really proud of myself that I was able to do it this year.”
The top three finishers in each weight class advance to the Northeast Regional, which is Friday and Saturday at Bethlehem Liberty High School.
Caufield had a first-period pin and a second-period pin to reach the 172 final and set up a rematch with No. 1 seed Gene Ardo of Wilkes-Barre Area. He beat Ardo, 7-5, on Jan. 31.
He took the lead 36 seconds into the finals match, and added another takedown in the second period for a 6-1 victory.
“I really had to focus on getting to my offense a little more,” Caufield said.
His effort led Wallenpaupack to the team title, as the Buckhorns compiled 186 points. Ayden Blaut (127) and Tyler Gallo (215) placed second, Declan Brown (121), Gio Lomonaco (133), Greg Nalesnik (107), Kyle Scartelli (139) and Tristan Braxton (160) finished third, Jake Rafferty (189) took fourth, Sawyer Jones (152) secured fifth and Colten Wilczewski (145) placed sixth.
Full had two pins and a tech to reach the 127 final, where he faced Blaut for the third time this season. In their first two matchups, Full won by 8-0 major decision and 8-4 decision.
This time, the Abington Heights freshman jumped ahead in the first period with a takedown and two back points and never looked back, adding a takedown and four back points in the second and four back points in the third for a 17-1 tech fall.
“I really feel what I improved on this time was keeping the pressure on him,” Full said. “I broke him I think in the third. He was just so gassed, and I was able to run up the score.”
Whitney dominated with a pin and two tech falls for the 133 title, as the Comets placed second with 178 points. Dakota Sandy (114), Chace Berry (145) and Lucas Drake (152) secured silver medals and Frank Scialpi (215), Braghan Pallis (145), Dane Wheeler (285) and Coen Holland (172) finished third, fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively.
Schechterly had two first-period pins and a tech fall to cruise to the 160 title.
“I feel like I’ve learned a lot, learned how to weight cut, so everything should go well after that,” Schechterly said.
The West Scranton sophomore, who is ranked fourth in the state, hopes this is just the start of a memorable postseason.
“It feels good,” Schechterly said. “I’m going to be moving on with my career, going on to bigger things with regionals and going up to states.”
Pittston Area’s Brody Spindler pinned his way to the 215 title and earned the Class 3A Outstanding Wrestler award.
Class 3A
Finals
107: James McKeown (Wilkes Barre Area) tech fall David Krantz (Pittston Area), 15-0 3:48.
114: Gabe Benyo (Hazleton Area) dec. Dakota Sandy (Abington Heights), 3-2.
121: Jake Benyo (Hazleton Area) tech fall Santino Aniska (West Scranton), 15-0 1:44.
127: Brady Full (Abington Heights) tech fall Ayden Blaut (Wallenpaupack), 17-1 5:52.
133: Mason Whitney (Abington Heights) tech fall Jude Salko (Hazleton Area), 18-1 4:58.
139: Drew Leonori (Scranton) dec. Drew Churchill (Delaware Valley), 6-2.
145: Micah Engelman (Crestwood) tech fall Chace Berry (Abington Heights), 15-0 3:27.
152: Ethan Aftewicz (Pittston Area) dec. Lucas Drake (Abington Heights), 2-1.
160: Tommy Schechterly (West Scranton) tech fall Liam Evanko (Wilkes Barre Area), 17-2 4:44.
172: Gabriel Caufield (Wallenpaupack) dec. Gene Ardo (Wilkes Barre Area), 6-1.
189: Mason Marolo (Hazleton Area) tech fall Mariusz Bibla (Crestwood), 17-2 2:51.
215: Brody Spindler (Pittston Area) pinned Tyler Gallo (Wallenpaupack), 1:07.
285: Noah Gruber (Pittston Area) pinned Altamir Terry (Wilkes Barre Area), 0:20.
Third place
107: Greg Nalesnik (Wallenpaupack) pinned Jake Gluchowski (Wyoming Valley West), 1:37.
114: Zion Colon (Delaware Valley) pinned Mikel Roman (Pittston Area), 4:09.
121: Declan Brown (Wallenpaupack) pinned Angelo Cosentino (Delaware Valley), 1:42.
127: Carlo Salinas (Wilkes Barre Area) maj. dec. Tibor Toth (Pittston Area), 13-0.
133: Giovanni Lomonaco (Wallenpaupack) pinned Jahiem Butler (Pittston Area), 1:26.
139: Kyle Scartelli (Wallenpaupack) dec. Braghan Pallis (Abington Heights), 9-3.
145: Teagen Butler (Wilkes Barre Area) dec. Chase Baron (Pittston Area), 8-6
152: Logan Pop (Hazleton Area) tech fall Hunter Konschnik (Crestwood), 19-4 3:23.
160: Tristan Braxton (Wallenpaupack) dec. Tyler Youngcourt (Hazleton Area), 9-7 TB2.
172: Jaxson Johnson (Hazleton Area) medical forfeit Nathan Wisniewski (Crestwood), 2-0 3:17.
189: JJ Segal (Delaware Valley) pinned Jake Rafferty (Wallenpaupack), 3:32.
215: Frank Scialpi (Abington Heights) pinned Joshua Magnotta (North Pocono), 1:52.
285: Mikey Seltzer (Delaware Valley) pinned Austin Gottstein (Scranton), 2:25.
Semifinals
107: David Krantz (Pittston Area) pinned Greg Nalesnik (Wallenpaupack), 1:19. James McKeown (Wilkes Barre Area) tech fall Jake Gluchowski (Wyoming Valley West), 16-1 1:34.
114: Gabe Benyo (Hazleton Area) pinned Mikel Roman (Pittston Area), 1:25. Dakota Sandy (Abington Heights) tech fall Zion Colon (Delaware Valley), 15-0 2:22.
121: Jake Benyo (Hazleton Area) pinned Jayson Sanchez (Wilkes Barre Area), 0:37. Santino Aniska (West Scranton) dec. Declan Brown (Wallenpaupack), 8-5.
127: Brady Full (Abington Heights) tech fall Tibor Toth (Pittston Area), 15-0 2:37. Ayden Blaut (Wallenpaupack) maj. dec. Carlo Salinas (Wilkes Barre Area), 13-3.
133: Mason Whitney (Abington Heights) tech fall Jahiem Butler (Pittston Area), 17-1 2:26. Jude Salko (Hazleton Area) dec. Giovanni Lomonaco (Wallenpaupack), 8-2.
139: Drew Leonori (Scranton) maj. dec. Braghan Pallis (Abington Heights), 14-5. Drew Churchill (Delaware Valley) dec. Kyle Scartelli (Wallenpaupack), 5-3.
145: Micah Engelman (Crestwood) tech fall Teagen Butler (Wilkes Barre Area), 24-9 4:48. Chace Berry (Abington Heights) maj. dec. Chase Baron (Pittston Area), 14-4.
152: Ethan Aftewicz (Pittston Area) pinned Sawyer Jones (Wallenpaupack), 1:18. Lucas Drake (Abington Heights) tech fall Logan Pop (Hazleton Area), 18-3 4:15.
160: Tommy Schechterly (West Scranton) pinned Tyler Youngcourt (Hazleton Area), 0:51. Liam Evanko (Wilkes Barre Area) pinned Tristan Braxton (Wallenpaupack), 5:45.
172: Gene Ardo (Wilkes Barre Area) dec. Nathan Wisniewski (Crestwood), 7-5 UTB. Gabriel Caufield (Wallenpaupack) pinned Jaxson Johnson (Hazleton Area), 3:09.
189: Mariusz Bibla (Crestwood) dec. JJ Segal (Delaware Valley), 12-9 SV. Mason Marolo (Hazleton Area) pinned Jake Rafferty (Wallenpaupack), 0:34.
215: Brody Spindler (Pittston Area) pinned Joshua Magnotta (North Pocono), 2:24. Tyler Gallo (Wallenpaupack) dec. Frank Scialpi (Abington Heights), 11-6.
285: Altamir Terry (Wilkes Barre Area) dec. Austin Gottstein (Scranton), 7-5. Noah Gruber (Pittston Area) pinned Mikey Seltzer (Delaware Valley), 0:40.