The two prime-time championship finals featuring all-Lehigh Valley pairings at the Bethlehem Wrestling Holiday Classic were an annual public display for year-round training partners.<\/p>\n
\u201cMe and him wrestle each other all the time,\u201d said Nazareth Area High School senior Brayden Zuercher of his 189-pound foe Luke Fugazzotto of Northwestern Lehigh. \u201cWe\u2019re like training partners in the offseason, so we have a pretty good feel for each other. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe wrestle each other all over. He has a mat in his house. I go there a lot. But we\u2019re like best friends, actually. I go up there a lot. Sometimes, we roll around in the Muhlenberg (College) room or at Steel Valley (Wrestling Club). Wherever we have a mat.\u201d<\/p>\n
Monday afternoon\u2019s venue of choice for Zuercher and Fugazzotto was the cathedral of Lehigh Valley wrestling, Liberty\u2019s Memorial Gym. <\/p>\n
This time, Zuercher avenged a loss to the Northwestern standout in their only other meeting by prevailing 4-1 in sudden-death overtime with a takedown 23 seconds into the one-minute session.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn my mind I knew I had limited time in that overtime bout,\u201d said Zuercher, a Cornell University recruit. \u201cYou have a minute to take him down. Then it goes to a rideout, and I really don\u2019t want to be stuck in that position where top and bottom determine the outcome. So I knew I had to push that pace, get into my offense and finish that shot.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fugazzotto, who\u2019s committed to George Mason, scored first with a second-period escape. He rode Zuercher for more than 90 seconds of the third period before the Blue Eagle broke free with 20 seconds remaining to send the bout into overtime. <\/p>\n
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Nazareth’s Brayden Zuercher walks off the mat after defeating Northwestern Lehigh’s Luke Fugazzotto at 189 during the Bethlehem Holiday Wrestling Classic finals at Liberty High School on Dec. 29, 2025.Alan Sylvestre | lehighvalleylive.com contributor<\/p>\n
Zuercher didn\u2019t waste any time and converted the winning takedown to reverse the score of last year\u2019s BWHC meeting, also at 189.<\/p>\n
\u201cLast year we met in the finals here and he got the best of me and this year I was on top,\u201d Zuercher said. \u201cBut really this is all practice for both of us. Come later in the season we\u2019ll roll around more and get each other ready for the postseason, too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Zuercher, a two-time District 11 champion and fourth-place state finisher at 189, will compete in Class 3A. Fugazzotto will be in the Class 2A field. He\u2019s also a two-time district champion with PIAA finishes of second and seventh in 2024 and 2025, respectively.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s just a really solid partner,\u201d Zuercher said. \u201cHe always pushes me. He probably pushes me more than anyone else in the Lehigh Valley that I go with, so we definitely make each other better. Wrestling in these bouts kind of shows us where we\u2019re at on a live mat. Even if we go live in the practice room it\u2019s not the same feel until you\u2019re out on the mat in front of a crowd wrestling.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Emmaus’ Emilio Albanese (left) wrestles against Saucon Valley’s Carter Chunko (right) at 127 during the Bethlehem Holiday Wrestling Classic finals at Liberty High School on Dec. 29, 2025.Alan Sylvestre | lehighvalleylive.com contributorTraining partners Part II<\/p>\n
The same could be said for juniors Carter Chunko of Saucon Valley and Emilio Albanese of Emmaus, the combatants in the 127 final. Albanese came into the bout with a pair of wins over Chunko in Williamsport\u2019s Top Hat Tournament — 2-1 UTB in 2023 and 3-2 in 2024.<\/p>\n
Those tight scores shouldn\u2019t come as a surprise since Chunko, a Class 2A state runner-up at 107 last season, and Albanese, a fourth- and third-place finisher in Class 3A in 2024 and 2025, respectively, both train at Grit Mat Club, owned by Chunko\u2019s father, Ben.<\/p>\n
Chunko said there wasn\u2019t anything he could take from those previous meetings into Monday\u2019s match.<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing much because we wrestle in the room all the time. We\u2019re very familiar, and I knew it was going to be tight,\u201d Chunko said. \u201cWe\u2019ve been wrestling together since we were in elementary school.\u201d<\/p>\n
The final score of Chunko\u2019s 7-1 victory belied the closeness and tenseness of their six minutes of sparring. The difference was Chunko hitting a takedown 23 seconds into the bout and then countering a late takedown attempt into his own three-pointer with 13 seconds left in the third period.<\/p>\n
While Saucon Valley fans might\u2019ve been in white-knuckle mode in the closing minute, Chunko was the calmest Panther in the gym.<\/p>\n
\u201cI play around with that position a lot from a cradle when they\u2019re going for it where I sit back so I felt pretty comfortable there, actually,\u201d Chunko said. \u201cAnd it was important to get the first takedown because I have a feel for what he does so after that first takedown I felt pretty comfortable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Like Zuercher and Fugazzotto, Chunko and Albanese, who recently committed to Lehigh, will go their separate ways except in the practice room.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe rest of the year we can still wrestle together and help each other peak for the postseason because we won\u2019t see each other,\u201d said Chunko, a Rutgers recruit. \u201cI\u2019m now more confident heading into the postseason by turning some of my past losses into wins.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Bethlehem](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/GE6TVDFRXRCFVJFCGOW5U7EPPQ.jpg\")
Whitehall’s Wilmont Kai wrestles against Wilson West Lawn’s Charlie Griffin at 133 during the Bethlehem Holiday Wrestling Classic finals at Liberty High School on Dec. 29, 2025.Alan Sylvestre | lehighvalleylive.com contributorKai the pinner<\/p>\n
Whitehall\u2019s 2025 state champion Wilmont Kai was holding so many awards at the conclusion of the BWHC that he was unable to shake hands with the attending media.<\/p>\n
And that begged the question of which honor made him the proudest, the Outstanding Wrestling Award or the Pinner Award for the most falls in the least amount of time?<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d say the Pinner Award because I was never really a pinner the past three years,\u201d Kai said. \u201cI\u2019d mostly put a guy on his back and never get the pin so that\u2019s the award I\u2019m mostly proud of.\u201d<\/p>\n
The senior pinned Charlie Griffin of Wilson West Lawn in 5:01 in the 133 final. After receiving a bye, Kai advanced to the final with falls in 1:14, 2:42 and 5:35. He placed third at the Beast of the East Tournament by avenging his only loss of the season, which came to 2025 Class 3A 121-pound state runner-up Kavin Muyleart of Cedar Cliff in the Beast quarterfinals.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just going out on the mat, staying sharp, can\u2019t take anyone lightly,\u201d said Kai of wrestling as a defending state champion. \u201cIt\u2019s early in the season so I still have some work to do. I think I could\u2019ve performed a little better, but got the job done.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Nazareth’s Cade Campbell reacts after defeating Emmaus’ Zyler Sallit at 160 during the Bethlehem Holiday Wrestling Classic finals at Liberty High School on Dec. 29, 2025.Alan Sylvestre | lehighvalleylive.com contributorBlue Eagles soar to team title<\/p>\n
Brayden Zuercher was just as happy for what Nazareth did as a team as he was for his individual championship. The Blue Eagles entered Day 2 of the tournament trailing Emmaus in the team race. By the time Zuercher emerged with his OT victory, Nazareth had completed its mission with 171 points to Emmaus\u2019 147. Wilson West Lawn was third (133.5), Whitehall fourth (131), Parkland fifth (127) and Phillipsburg seventh (122).<\/p>\n
\u201cFreshman, sophomore and junior years, yeah, I think this is the first year that we actually won as a team here,\u201d Zuercher said. \u201cIt\u2019s definitely a bittersweet ending. Coach (Dave) Crowell couldn\u2019t be here. He had to go to his mother\u2019s funeral in western PA, so I\u2019m really happy we got to win it for him and also as a team. We all performed really well on all cylinders, and it ended up working out well for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Campbell twins captured their weight classes. Jack Campbell, the second seed, edged fourth-seeded Bryce Boyer of Kennett 3-2 at 145. Cade Campbell dominated Emmaus sophomore Xyler Sallit 10-1 at 160. <\/p>\n
Nazareth\u2019s depth was the difference as it put five other wrestlers on the medals podium led by Cooper Wenrich, who was third at 139.<\/p>\n
Nazareth will host Emmaus on Jan. 7 before heading to the Virginia Duals.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith Virginia Duals comes the start of morning runs, and honestly that\u2019s what I\u2019m looking forward to the most,\u201d Zuercher said. \u201cI really need to get my conditioning up. It\u2019s lacking a little bit right now. So, I\u2019m looking forward to it, believe it or not. This (tournament) is just the start of it, and we\u2019re going to keep building from here.\u201d <\/p>\n
![\"Bethlehem](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/J5ZNGHTZNVGDRBMQQ4IIBILC3Y.jpg\")
Phillipsburg’s Gavin Gelata (right) wrestles against Wilson West Lawn’s McKaden Speece (left) at 172 during the Bethlehem Holiday Wrestling Classic finals at Liberty High School on Dec. 29, 2025.Alan Sylvestre | lehighvalleylive.com contributorStateliners return to action<\/p>\n
Phillipsburg, which had to pause its schedule out of an abundance of caution because of skin issues, returned to action for the first time since the season-opening Robin Leff Tournament on Dec. 13. The Stateliners placed two in the finals. <\/p>\n
Third-seeded Massimo Gonzalez lost 8-1 to top-seeded Blake Boyer of Kennett at 139. At 172, third-seeded Gavin Gelata dropped a 13-3 major decision to No. 1 seed McKaden Speece of Wilson West Lawn. Both Boyer and Speece finished in the top five of their respective weights at the PIAA tournament last winter. Owen Garriques was third at 152 and Zack Swingle was fourth at 107 for Phillipsburg.<\/p>\n