There was no question what the last District 11 Class 3A individual championship bout would be.
The final at 133 pounds, featuring Bethlehem Catholic senior Keanu Dillard, a three-time PIAA 3A champion, and Whitehall senior Willmont Kai, who won the state title at 114 last year, was the main event everyone who packed into Liberty’s Memorial Gym wanted to see.
That meant that Dillard’s younger brother, Reef, who bumped up to 139 so Keanu could drop to 133 ahead of the individual postseason, would compete in the first final.
Reef, a junior, captured his first District 11 championship with a 20-3 technical fall in 5:32 over Easton junior Noah Fenner.
“Obviously last year, coming up short at districts, it feels great to be on top of that podium and show everyone how good I really am,” said Dillard, who lost via tiebreaker in the district final as both a freshman and sophomore.
“It’s a little bit easier, I’m barely cutting at all so that’s kind of nice,” Dillard added with a smile of competing at 139. “I guess will see in two weeks if this was the right weight for me.”
Wrestlers who placed in the top five of their weight class at districts qualified for next week’s PIAA 3A Northeast Regional tournament at Liberty. The top five placewinners in that tournament, which starts 4 p.m. Friday, advance to the PIAA 3A tournament at the Giant Center in Hershey March 5-7.
Against Fenner, Dillard scored three takedowns, two reversals and seven nearfall points.
Bethlehem Catholic’s Reef Dillard (yellow) and Easton’s Noah Fenner wrestle at 139 pounds during the District 11 3A individual wrestling finals on Feb. 21, 2026. Dillard went onto win the bout. Saed Hindash | For lehighvalleylive.com
“We also went to the same club growing up, we used to be basically practice partners every day,” Dillard said. “A lot of history with him. He’s a good wrestler, it was a good match.”
After earning district gold with his third win over Fenner of the season, Reef had to wait about 90 minutes to watch Keanu become a four-time district champ.
Keanu Dillard rode out Kai in the second period and escaped about 25 seconds into the third to earn a 1-0 win in the final at 133. Kai pushed forward in the final minute and drew a stall warning on Dillard, but couldn’t score the decisive takedown.
Sophomore Nico Emili was the Golden Hawks’ other champion. Thanks in large part to a seven-point move halfway through the third period of the final at 121, Emili defeated Emmaus junior Teagan Caciolo 8-1.
Despite crowning more champions than any other team, Bethlehem Catholic finished fifth in the team standings with 162.5 points. Easton, which had three finalists, finished three points ahead of the Golden Hawks.
Notre Dame won the team title with 219.5 points, 11.5 ahead of runners-up Nazareth. Northampton finished third with 190.5 points. The top three teams all crowned two champions.
Albanese comes out with a close one
Like Reef Dillard, Emmaus junior Emilio Albanese fell short in his first two trips to a District 11 final.
In order to attain that first district title, Albanese had to beat a defending state champion.
In the final at 127, a takedown at the edge of the mat 30 seconds into the third helped Albanese defeat Easton senior Nick Salamone, who won the state title at 121 last year, 4-2.
“He’s a great scrambler, he’s fast on his feet,” said Albanese, who lost to Salamone once in each of his freshman and sophomore seasons. “Honestly, I just had to finish tight and get the score.”
Albanese got in on a low shot on Salamone at the edge of the mat near the scorers’ table and was able to gain control just before they went out of bounds.
“I kind of circled in. I know where the circle is because I wrestle on the mat so much,” Albanese said. “Just extended my feet and got the takedown.”
Albanese, who finished third in the state at 114 as a sophomore and fourth at 107 as a freshman, will enter the regional tournament with a 33-2 record on the season and is currently on a 10-match win streak.
“I think I’ve done pretty good. There’s always room for improvement, always can get better,” Albanese said. “This week, keep working on my offense, maybe work on top a little bit. Just keep attacking.”
Tunison continues to improve
Nazareth senior Dominick Tunison also earned his first district championship, albeit in more dominant fashion. Tunison took down Parkland senior Jorge Moya once in each period of a 10-1 major decision in the final at 160.
“What I learned significantly was that, if I commit to a shot, then I can get the takedown,” Tunison said. “If I just keep pushing the pace, I open up a lot more shots and a lot more abilities to score… I’m definitely a lot more confident on my feet, my top game as well. I just feel like I’m a way better wrestler.”
Nazareth’s Dominick Tunison (white) and Parkland’s Jorge Moya wrestle at 160 pounds during the District 11 3A individual wrestling finals on Feb. 21, 2026. Tunison went onto win the bout. Saed Hindash | For lehighvalleylive.com
Due to the strength of the Blue Eagles’ lineup at the mid-to-upper weights, Tunison spent most of the season wrestling at 172 or 189 before cutting down to 160 for the individual postseason.
“It’s been alright actually,” Tunison said of making weight at 160. “I’ve been leaving practice around ’63, ’62 consistently. It’s been decent.”
Tunison finished third at districts and fell one win shy of qualifying for states as a junior.
“I’m really excited for what’s to come in the next couple of weeks,” Tunison said. “I feel my hard work definitely paid off. I’m a lot more confident with my skills and my training now.”
Nazareth senior Jack Campbell earned his second district title with a 7-2 decision over Notre Dame senior Gavyn Kelton.
Northampton sophomore Brayden Wenrich (16-1 tech fall at 114) and junior Gabe Ballard (7-3 decision at 152) both won their second district titles.
Southern Lehigh senior Brock Frable and Pleasant Valley senior Evan Gillespie ended lengthy district title droughts for their respective programs.
Frable scored two takedowns to defeat Nazareth senior Elijah Simak 7-6 in the final at 172. Gillespie pinned Notre Dame senior Connor Smalley in 1:12 in the final at 215.
Freedom senior heavyweight Daniel Schiffert majored Easton senior Kurtis Crossman 11-1 to defend his district title.
Notre Dame freshman Max Quarry responded to giving up the first takedown in the final at 107 with two of his own in an 8-3 win over Parkland junior Luis Moya. Notre Dame senior Dominic Sumpolec took down Nazareth senior Brayden Zuercher with less than five seconds left to triumph 4-3 in the final at 189.
The Crusaders traditionally do not participate in interviews until after the conclusion of the individual postseason.
District 11 Class 3A brackets
107 | 114 | 121 | 127 | 133 | 139 | 145 | 152 | 160 | 172 | 189 | 215 | 285