Centre County sees 5 wrestlers claim medals at PIAA championships. What to know
The high school wrestling season came to a close Saturday as the PIAA championships finished up inside the Giant Center in Hershey — and Centre County saw five of its wrestlers claim podium finishes.
Bald Eagle Area and State College each had two medalists as Penns Valley had one.
The Eagles’ Tanner Guenot and the Rams’ Max Dinges each made the finals at their respective weights, but came up short against formidable opponents. Guenot’s teammate Caden Judice (4th, 145 pounds) and the Little Lions’ James Whitbred (5th, 152) and Teag Sanderson (3rd, 172) were the other medalists.
All five of the medalists were in the semifinals on Friday night.
Guenot was Bald Eagle Area’s second consecutive finalist as Caleb Close suffered a loss in last year’s finals. The Eagles’ wrestler took on Trinity’s Will Detar, who is a Northwestern commit, in the 133-pound Class 2A finals.
The pair had a scoreless first period. Detar’s escape in the second period accounted for the only points of the bout.
Guenot wanted to rely on his offense in the third period, so he chose to start on his feet. He was unable to score, so Detar came away with a 1-0 win.
“He had an outstanding season. He wrestled a lot of great competition throughout the season. To finish state runner-up — it wasn’t his goal, his goal is to be a state champ — but I thought he had a great state tournament,” said BEA coach Ron Guenot, the uncle of Tanner. “I’m really proud of the way he stepped up and worked hard toward what he wanted. He didn’t meet his goal, but to be a state runner-up, we’re proud of what he accomplished.”
Likewise, Dinges came up just short. Still, he was Penns Valley’s first finalist since 2021 when Malachi DuVall suffered a loss.
The Rams’ wrestler took on a familiar opponent in Bishop McCort’s Keegan Bassett, who beat him in the District 6 and PIAA Southwest Regional finals, in the 121-pound Class 2A finals.
Saturday night’s result was the same.
Bassett recorded a counter takedown in the first period to hold a lead after one period. In the second period, the Crushers’ wrestler had an escape to extend his lead.
Dinges tried every way possible to try and get a takedown, but Bassett’s defense kept him at bay. In the end, the Bishop McCort wrestler came away with a 4-2 victory.
“He had a great season even though it didn’t end the way he wanted,” Penns Valley coach Joel Brinker said in a written statement. “He’s a fierce competitor, so I know he’ll use this as fuel.”
Overall, eighteen Centre County boys and one girl competed at states. Bellefonte’s Bailee Scott, a sophomore and first state qualifier for the program, earned valuable experience but was unable to crack the top 8.
This story was originally published March 7, 2026 at 8:13 PM.
