Panther Valley's Alisa Williams goes for the fall during a 170-pound round-of-16 girls' match against Central Dauphin's Madison Rife at the PIAA Wrestling Championships on March 5, 2026, at the Giant Center in Hershey. (Photo by Bob Lipsky

Williams, Banks open with victories

HERSHEY — Alisa Williams glanced at the scoreboard clock.

Tie score, 17 seconds left in regulation. With the Panther Valley senior 170-pounder on bottom, all she had to do to win was escape. No small task against Central Dauphin star Madison Rife, the Southcentral champion, who had just turned Williams for four back points and nearly pinned her with 30 seconds to go.

Williams, though, dug deep, powered to her feet and slipped free with 6 seconds left to pull out a 10-9 decision over Rife in the girls’ round of 16 at the PIAA Wrestling Championships on Thursday afternoon at the Giant Center.

“I did a lot of good things, (other) things I need to work on,” Williams said. “Overall, I had fun. My shoulder was hurting, and I told my coach I didn’t know if I could get out (in the final seconds). Ends up I can do it. It was fun.”

About 10 minutes later, Panther Valley senior Brenda Banks proved something to herself, her coaches and the rest of the field. Yes, she still can pin people in a hurry, but she can also go the full 6 minutes and not get tired.

Dominating all three phases — top, bottom and neutral — Banks cruised to a 10-0 major decision over Central Dauphin’s Layla Barrios in a 235-pound bout in the round of 16. Barrios is the first opponent Banks hasn’t pinned in the first period this season, but she wasn’t upset about it.

In fact, she liked wrestling a full match to sharpen her technique for future bouts.

“Going the full 6 minutes being strong and still having my stamina … I knew I could,” Banks said. “If I have to, I can.”

Barrios had one goal in the match — go as long as she could and not get pinned. To that end, she did nothing to challenge Banks (34-0). The three-time state champ from Panther Valley scored a quick takedown in the first period, then went through a series of pinning combinations to no avail.

Banks scored a reversal just 5 seconds into the second period and spent the next 1:55 punishing Barrios on top. An escape, a single-leg takedown and a stalling point against Barriors in the third period clinched the major decision in a match that wasn’t as close as the final score indicated.

“I work on my moves,” Banks said. “I get pins so quickly, it’s good to work on how to get other ones if the first move doesn’t work. Going through everything I know, that’s always a good time.”

At states for the third time, Banks seems completely at ease in the Giant Center. Listening to music on her headphones, Banks, wearing her glasses, swayed and bounced on her toes as she waited for her match to get called.

“Now I’m very aware of my surroundings,” Banks said. “When something doesn’t work, my immediate thought is, ‘What is Coach telling me to do?’ Coming to states, I was excited today for my first match.”

While Banks cruised to victory, Williams (32-7) got locked up in a back-and-forth tussle against Rife.

Williams started aggressively, scoring a takedown to lead 3-1 after the first period. Rife took a 4-3 lead with a takedown early in the second period, but Williams reversed Rife to her back for a six-point move that gave her a 9-4 lead heading to the third period.

Then things got dicey. Rife took top and turned Williams for four back points, nearly pinning her, and tying the bout 9-9 on a stalling point against Williams.

Williams got a restart with 17 ticks remaining and worked free for a one-point win that moved her into the quarterfinals.

“She’s a great wrestler,” Williams said of Rife. “She’s one of those wrestlers who is super humble.

“I got a little too comfortable when I was up on points,” Williams added. “In this sport, you need experience for sure. Experience and work ethic. I didn’t wait as much as I usually do in matches. I learned from last year when I was more defensive and waiting to react.”

Day 2 action for the girls begins at 11:45 a.m. with the championship quarterfinals. The second round of consolations will follow at 1:15 p.m. After a break, the girls will compete in the championship semifinals at 7 p.m., followed by the third round of consolations at 9 p.m.

PIAA Wrestling Championships

At the Giant Center, Hershey

GIRLS

Thursday’s local results

Round of 16

170 — Alisa Williams (Panther Valley) dec. Madison Rife (Central Dauphin), 10-9

235 — Brenda Banks (Panther Valley) maj. dec. Layla Barrios (Central Dauphin), 10-0

Friday’s matches

Championship Quarterfinals

170 — SE-4 Alisa Williams, Panther Valley, sr., 32-7 vs. C-3 Kate Prior, Delaware Valley, sr., 30-2

235 — SE-1 Brenda Banks, Panther Valley, sr., 34-0 vs. C-2 Evelyn Sheer, Hazleton Area, fr., 30-2