3 Centre County wrestlers claim regional crowns as 19 head to PIAA championships
The final step before the PIAA wrestling championships came to a close on Saturday for Centre County’s boys and girls teams.
When the dust settled, 19 county student-athletes were able to secure a trip to the PIAA championships next week in Hershey. Three of those 19 wrestlers came away with PIAA regional titles.
Here’s how the regional tournaments finished for the county’s schools:
Boys Class 2A Southwest Regional
BALD EAGLE AREA
Team score: 6th, 74 points
Champions: Tanner Guenot (133 pounds)
State qualifiers: Caden Judice (2nd, 145 pounds), Dawson Lomison (4th, 152)
Other medalists: Gage Gardner (8th, 285 pounds)
Recap: Tanner Guenot has been a regional finalist his entire Eagles career.
He won a regional title last year, and this year he had another shot to do it, but Guenot had to go through a familiar foe to do so.
The BEA wrestler faced off in the final with Bishop McCort’s Austin Carfley, who kept Guenot from being a three-time District 6 champ with a 4-3 decision two weeks ago.
Saturday night’s match was a complete reversal of the district final.
After a scoreless first period, Carfley got an escape to open the second period. Before the period ended, Guenot was able to snap off a takedown to lead.
The third period saw Guenot open with an escape, but he gave up a stall point in a 4-2 victory.
“It was awesome. I was looking forward to that for the past two weeks now. I’ve been really hungry for it,” Guenot said of his finals match. “In the practice room, I was working really hard, trying to take all the little things that I did wrong in the last match and perfect them. I put it all together, won, and it feels great.”
Caden Judice made a return trip to the regional finals, and saw it end the same way as last year — with a loss to a Bishop McCort wrestler.
The Lock Haven commit faced off with the top pound-for-pound high school wrestler in the country in the Crushers’ Bo Bassett. Bassett crunched Judice in the district finals two weeks ago, 19-4 in 2:00.
On Saturday night, Bassett rolled up a 21-6 technical fall in 2:43.
PENNS VALLEY
Team score: 4th, 120.5 points
Champions: None
State qualifiers: Evan Lisowski (6th, 114 pounds), Max Dinges (2nd, 121), Conner Myers (4th, 127), Erik Carlile (4th, 133), Tripp Watson (2nd, 139), Brayden Lisowski (4th, 172), Robert Martin (6th, 215)
Other medalists: None
Recap: The Rams sent seven of their eight wrestlers from the regional tournament to the PIAA championships.
It’s the most state qualifiers Penns Valley has had in one season in the program’s history.
“It’s really exciting. Those are all my brothers. We go in and push each other (in the practice room) as much as we possibly can,” 139-pound wrestler Tripp Watson said. “We want what’s best for each other. There’s positive energy in the room, and it’s really great to wrestle with.”
Watson was one of the Rams’ two finalists. The other was Max Dinges, who made a return trip to the finals after winning last year.
Watson worked his way to the semifinals on Friday with a pair of one-point victories. In his semifinals match on Saturday morning, the Rams wrestler shut out Burgettstown’s Carter Katus, 4-0.
The finals weren’t so nice to Watson as he was pinned by Bentworth’s Drake McClure in 1:41. However, Watson is still getting his first trip to Hershey after watching older brother, Ty, compete there for so many years.
“I don’t really know what to say. It’s unbelievable. I never thought I would see myself here,” Watson said. “I’ve been working with my brother and my coaches. (They) just (kept) putting the right things in my head. I just came out and wrestled.”
For Dinges, his finals match was a recurring nightmare — of sorts.
He got a rematch with Bishop McCort’s Keegan Bassett, who racked up a 14-3 major decision on Dinges in the District 6 finals two weeks ago.
Saturday night saw Dinges nearly get takedowns on Bassett. But, in the end, the Rams wrestler suffered a 2-0 loss.
“It sucks, but I don’t try to take the sport by wins and losses, which is not an easy thing to do. I’m trying to learn to do that,” Dinges said. “And it just wasn’t in God’s plan to win that one. I can only see as far as I can go. I just keep putting my best foot forward and see what happens in the future.”
PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA
Team score: Tied-13th, 43 points
Champions: None
State qualifiers: Caleb Hummel (5th, 121 pounds), Averi Gable (6th, 145)
Other medalists: Jacob Dugan (8th, 114 pounds), Ace Foster (8th, 133)
Recap: The Mounties came into the day with one state qualifier secured in Averi Gable, who made the semifinals on Friday night.
They had five others aiming to join Gable, but only Caleb Hummel was able to pull it off. Foster and Dugan had a shot as they made their respective seventh-place matches. But both suffered losses to come up short.
For Gable, it will be his first trip to Hershey after finishing one spot shy last year.
“I’m so excited. I think I’ll have a great time with my friend Caleb, hang out with people and go wrestle,” Gable said.
The P-O wrestler had a tough semifinals matchup as he suffered a 23-4 technical fall loss to Bassett in 1:41.
After that loss, he suffered two more losses for his sixth-place finish. However, Gable is still upbeat and ready to hit the mats inside the Giant Center next week.
“I feel all right. I haven’t been able to get there. I just wanted to get there,” Gable said. “I had to wrestle Bo (Bassett) in the semis, and then I lost again. This is the year to feel how it’s going to go down there. Then next year, I’m gonna walk in and try and get a medal.”
Hummel had work to do to make his fourth and final PIAA championships after being pinned in the quarterfinals on Friday night.
He opened his consolation bracket with a 20-1 technical fall of Central’s Carsen Mowry in 2:11. Hummel then secured his PIAA berth using a late takedown and nearfall points in the third period to edge Elizabeth Forward’s Preston Bubash, 9-8.
After losing to Chestnut Ridge’s Garrett Weyandt in overtime of their consolation semifinals match, the Mounties wrestler responded with a 5-2 victory over Quaker Valley’s Bruce Anderchak.
“I’m pretty excited, not really nervous, because I’ve already been there a couple times, but looking to get a state medal this year,” Hummel said. “I feel like I had a pretty good tournament. First day, I wasn’t really getting to my offense, but the second day I definitely got more of my shots and stuff.”
Boys Class 3A Western Regional
BELLEFONTE
Team score: 9th, 54.5 points
Champions: None
State qualifiers: Ezra Swisher (3rd, 152 pounds), Jackson Long (4th, 189)
Other medalists: None
Recap: The Red Raiders sent eight wrestlers to the regional tournament but only came away with the two qualifiers.
Ezra Swisher cruised to the semifinals on Friday with bonus-point victories. He opened with a 17-1 technical fall of Central Mountain’s Luke Garman in 2:55.
Swisher made the semis by pinning Montour’s Rook Smith in 5:29. The Bellefonte wrestler was then shipped to the consolations after suffering a 2-1 loss to Franklin Regional’s Michael Ruane.
Swisher rebounded with a pair of 1-0 victories to secure his third-place finish.
For Jackson Long, he got sent to the consolation bracket after suffering a 5-1 loss to Canon-McMillan’s Bryce Collins in the quarterfinals.
The Red Raiders wrestler worked his way through the consolation bracket to the consolation finals, where he faced Collins again. Collins topped Long again, 3-2.
Long topped State College’s Noah Williams, 2-1, to reach the consolation finals.
STATE COLLEGE
Team score: 4th, 88.5 points
Champions: James Whitbred (152 pounds), Teag Sanderson (172)
State qualifiers: Kael Davis (5th, 127 pounds), Noah Williams (5th, 189)
Other medalists: Noah Young (6th, 114 pounds)
Recap: The Little Lions had seven wrestlers make the trip to the PIAA Western Regional.
They came away with a pair of champs as part of a four-man contingent heading to Hershey.
James Whitbred made his third straight regional final as Teag Sanderson made it in his first trip, like Whitbred did as a freshman.
Of the two champs, Whitbred had a little bump in the road. After opening with a 19-4 technical fall, the Penn State commit needed a takedown with 18 seconds left in sudden victory to top Norwin’s Noah Curren, 8-5, in the quarterfinals.
From there, Whitbred cruised, topping Franklin Regional’s Michael Ruane, 7-2, in the finals.
“He was in tough weight class, and had some really good opponents. James dug deep and found a way to win those close matches,” State College coach Jason Nickal said. “He stayed solid the entire tournament. He’s wrestling at a really high level right now, so couldn’t be more proud of James. He’s a great leader on the team, and super excited about the rest of the guys following in his footsteps.”
Sanderson bonused his way to the semifinals, thanks to a 21-5 technical fall in his regional tournament debut and a 15-1 major decision over North Hills’ Carter Morvay in the quarterfinals.
In the semifinals, the Little Lions wrestler used a takedown and nearfall points in the third period to top Franklin Regional’s Ethan Cartwright.
In the finals, Sanderson opened with a takedown and nearfall points in the first period against Thomas Jefferson’s Zach Labryer. The second period saw the State College freshman tally another takedown, and he tacked one more on in the third period for a 13-6 title-clinching win.
“He was definitely not favored to win the regional tournament like James was. Teag had to beat some kids that were probably ranked a little higher than him, or seeded a little higher than him,” Nickal said. “In the semifinals, he avenged a loss from the state dual tournament to the Franklin Regional kid. At that point time, I knew Teag could win it all because he was wrestling with a lot of confidence. He said, ‘Coach, sometimes I think I give these kids too much respect.’”
Girls Central Regional
As the boys were competing in Altoona and Canonsburg, the girls were in Hershey at Milton High School looking to finish within the top four in their respective weights to head back to Hershey next week.
Bellefonte’s Bailee Scott was the lone Centre County wrestler to advance out of the six girls that competed.
Bald Eagle Area’s Lily Spicer (100 pounds), Bellefonte’s Ella Johnsonbaugh (142), Philipsburg-Osceola’s Kendyl Meersand (148) and Daisy Glessner (235), and State College’s Star Emel-Rash (190) also competed for Centre County.
Scott pinned her way to the 155-pounds semifinals of the Central Regional, where she was pinned by Clearfield’s Makayla Taylor.
The Lady Red Raiders wrestler rebounded to make the consolation finals by sticking Wyoming Valley West’s Brooke Long in 43 seconds. The win secured Scott’s bid to the Giant Center for the PIAA championships.
Scott ended up finishing fourth after being pinned by Abington Heights’ Hayden Manning.
PIAA Southwest Regional
Saturday at Altoona
Team key: Avonworth (A), Bald Eagle Area (BEA), Beaver County Christian (BCC), Bedford (B), Bentworth (BW), Berlin-Brothersvalley (BB), Beth-Center (BC), Bishop McCot (BM), Burgettstown (BT), Burrell (BR), Central (C), Central Cambria (CC), Central Valley (CV), Chartiers-Houston (CH), Chestnut Ridge (CR), Claysburg-Kimmel (CK), Conemaugh Township (CT), Derry (D), Elizabeth Forward (EF), Ellwood City (EC), Everett (E), Forest Hills (FH), Fort Cherry (FC), Frazier (F), Freedom Area (FA), Glendale (G), Greensburg Salem (GS), Highlands (HL), Hopewell (HW), Huntingdon (H), Jefferson-Morgan (JM), Juniata (J), Keystone Oaks (KO), Laurel (L), Ligonier Valley (LV), Marion Center (MC), McGuffey (MG), Meyersdale (M), Moshannon Valley (MV), Mount Pleasant (MP), Mount Union (MU), North Catholic (NC), North Star (NS), Northern Bedford (NB), Penn Cambria (PC), Penns Valley (PV), Philipsburg-Osceola (P-O), Quaker Valley (QV), Richland (R), River Valley (RV), Somerset (S), South Park (SP), Southmoreland (SM), Tussey Mountain (TM), Tyrone (T), United (U), Valley (V), Washington (W), West Branch (WB), West Greene (WG), Westmont Hilltop (WH)
Team scores: 1. Bishop McCort 259.5, 2. Derry 151, 3. Chestnut Ridge 144.5, 4. Penns Valley 120.5, 5. Burrell 80.5, 6. Bald Eagle Area 74, T7. Bentworth 55, T7. Huntingdon 55, 9. Elizabeth Forward 49.5, 10. Beth-Center 46.5, T13. Philipsburg-Osceola 43
Finals
107: Kooper Deputy, CR, pinned Mason Keesecker, D, 1:15; 114: Patrick Bulger, D, dec. Carter Ickes, CR, 1-0; 121: Keegan Bassett, BM, dec. Max Dinges, PV, 2-0; 127: Dominic Deputy, CR, dec. Cameron Baker, BR, 4-2; 133: Tanner Guenot, BEA, dec. Austin Carfley, BM, 4-2; 139: Drake McClure, BW, pinned Tripp Watson, PV, 1:41; 145: Bo Bassett, BM, tech. fall Caden Judice, BEA, 21-6 (2:43); 152: Jonah Erdely, F, dec. Lucas Boyer, EF, 2-1 (UTB2); 160: Melvin Miller, BM, tech. fall Ewan Olson, D, 21-5 (3:39); 172: Emory Gunby, BM, dec. Mason Horwat, D, 4-1 (SV); 189: Kyle Scott, T, dec. Brady Brown, D, 7-0; 215: Landon Erdman, H, tech. fall Marquez Gordon, BM, 16-0 (4:45); 285: Colin Whyte, WG, dec. Caleb Rodriguez, BM, 1-0
Consolation Finals
127: Auston Kosanovic, A, dec. Conner Myers, PV, 5-0; 133: Lucas Barr, MG, dec. Erik Carlile, PV, 6-5 (UTB2); 152: Jackson Butler, BM, injury def. Dawson Lomison, BEA, :01; 172: Cooper Porter, M, dec. Brayden Lisowski, PV, 5-2
5th Place Match
114: Tucker Smith, E, injury def. Evan Lisowski, PV, :01; 121: Caleb Hummel, P-O, dec. Bruce Anderchak, QV, 5-2; 145: William McNeal, D, dec. Averi Gable, P-O, 8-3; 215: Max Mcconville, U, pinned Robert Martin, PV, 1:31
7th Place Match
114: Santino DiPaola, FH, dec. Jacob Dugan, P-O, 4-2; 133: Austin Bernash, CR, pinned Ace Foster, P-O, 4:37; 285: David Peters, GS, dec. Gage Gardner, BEA, 4-1
Consolation Semifinals
114: Javeon Chambers, HL, injury def. E. Lisowski, PV, :01; 121: Garrett Weyandt, CR, dec. Hummel, P-O, 10-7 (SV); 127: Myers, PV, dec. Owen Dluhos, WH, 7-0; 133: Carlile, PV, injury def. Brady Kostick, R, :01; 145: Julian Bertucci, BR, major dec. Gable, P-O, 13-2; 152: Lomison, BEA, dec. Liam Jones, BR, 1-0; 172: B. Lisowski, PV, dec. Rocco Reifer, MV, 1-0; 215: Noah Layhue, BC, dec. Martin, PV, 4-1
Semifinals
121: Dinges, PV, major dec. Dakota Santamaria, TM, 14-5; 127: Baker, BR, tech. fall Myers, PV, 22-5 (1:42); 133: Guenot, BEA, dec. Barr, MG, 7-3; 139: Watson, PV, dec. Carter Katus, BT, 4-0; 145: Bassett, BM, tech. fall Gable, P-O, 23-4 (1:41); Judice, BEA, dec. Garshnick, U, 4-3; 152: Boyer, EF, dec. Lomison, BEA, 2-0; 172: Horwat, D, pinned B. Lisowski, PV, 3:12
Consolation Quarterfinals
114: Will Edwards, WB, dec. Dugan, P-O, 4-0; E. Lisowski, PV, dec. Santino DiPaola, FH, 4-0; 121: Hummel, P-O, dec. Preston Bubash, EF, 9-8; 133: Carlile, PV, tech. fall Foster, P-O, 19-4 (2:42); 215: Martin, PV, dec. Tyson Grove, E, 12-5; 285: Kaden Shannon, SM, major dec. Gardner, BEA, 13-0
Consolation Fourth Round
114: Dugan, P-O, pinned Ryder Gearhart, KO, 2:51; DiPaola, FH, dec. Ty Corey, BEA, 7-0; E. Lisowski, PV, tech. fall Blake Jamison, MG, 15-0 (3:00); 121: Hummel, P-O, tech. fall Carsen Mowery, C, 20-1 (2:11); 133: Foster, P-O, pinned Eli Mullen, NS, 1:46; Carlile, PV, pinned Griffin Tinsman, MC, 2:20; 152: Logan Noyes, BT, dec. Sawyer Fetterolf, PV, 11-5; 189: Kasey Yoder, NS, dec. Colton Chapman, P-O, 7-1; 215: Martin, PV, dec. Ty Blasko, D, 7-0; 285: Gardner, BEA, dec. Landon Heath, JM, 5-4
Consolation Third Round
107: Tanner Walk, T, dec. Hayden Koptchak, P-O, 14-9; 114: Corey, BEA, dec. Grayson Stroupe, BCC, 10-5; 127: Danny Smith, BT, pinned Liam Purcell, BEA, 4:04; 133: Foster, P-O, major dec. Jeremy Wagner, KO, 12-0; 152: Fetterolf, PV, pinned Josiah Bosch, BCC, 2:36; 189: Chapman, P-O, pinned Brayden Taggart, BW, 2:58; 285: Gardner, BEA, pinned Ian Koval, NS, 1:48
This story was originally published February 28, 2026 at 10:07 PM.
