HS Boys’ Wrestling: 10 local grapplers qualify for states
North Schuylkill's Cadyn McGraw, top, controls Pine Grove's Zach Kurtz during a 215-pound semifinal at the Southeast Regional Class AA Wrestling Championships on Feb. 28, 2026, at Warwick High School. McGraw won 2-1 to advance to the finals; Kurtz wrestled back to earn a trip to states as well. (Photo by Bob Lipsky)
LITITZ — Schuylkill League grapplers ran the gauntlet at the Southeast Regional Class AA Wrestling Championships on Saturday at Warwick High School. Some of them came out battered and bruised, but 17 of them left as placewinners. And nine of them qualified for the PIAA Wrestling Championships.
Meanwhile, Pottsville senior Terrell McFarland (189) navigated his own nationally ranked bracket at the Northeast Regional Class 3A Wrestling Championships and earned a trip to states, too (more on McFarland later). That means 18 of the area’s 24 boys’ regional qualifiers placed among the top eight and 10 boys are headed to states.
In Class AA, nationally ranked Faith Christian and Bishop McDevitt did what they do, sending their star-studded lineups onto the mat and moving six wrestlers apiece into the finals. Other non-boundary schools like Trinity, Berks Catholic and Conwell-Egan gobbled up more spots in the medal rounds, and a slew of powerhouse individuals from Districts 3 and 11 did the same, filling out brackets with danger lurking everywhere.
North Schuylkill senior Cadyn McGraw became the league’s only regional finalist, nipping Pine Grove junior Zach Kurtz 2-1 in a 215-pound semifinal. Trailing 1-0, McGraw hit a reversal in the third period and rode out Kurtz over the final minute to earn the win. In the finals, Faith Christian’s Cael Weidemoyer pinned McGraw in 28 seconds.
“I’m real happy,” McGraw said after his semifinal win. “I worked real hard for that. Me and my teammates, we all work hard. I’m glad I could do it for my coaches who always believed in me.
“No matter if I win or lose in the regional finals, I’m going to Hershey,” McGraw added. “I worked really hard — just running, lifting — all offseason for this opportunity. I’m so grateful.”
Mahanoy Area/Marian junior Rory Dixon (152) finished third, racking up six takedowns in an 18-4 major decision over Northwestern Lehigh’s Chase Sukanick in a bronze-medal bout.
“After that loss (in the semifinals), it was important to come back and wrestle,” Dixon said. “I couldn’t keep my head down. I had to look past (the loss) and get through it.”
Tri-Valley senior Owen Wolfgang (107), Mahanoy Area freshman Arturo Reyes (121) and Kurtz (215) placed fourth.
North Schuylkill senior Gaige Mentusky (107), Tamaqua freshman Rylan Reitz (114), Tri-Valley junior Hunter Updegrave (172) and Mahanoy Area senior Kyler Quick (215) earned fifth places to extend their season.
Tri-Valley senior Jaxson Bruso (133), Tri-Valley sophomore Parker Hatter (160) and Pine Grove junior Isaiah Miller (172) finished sixth.
Pine Grove sophomore Chase Nagle (121) and Tri-Valley senior Max Masser (189) placed seventh, while North Schuylkill freshman Bode Gates (145), Mahanoy Area sophomore Stanley Boris (189) and Williams Valley senior Camron Green (285) took eighth. In a head-to-head battle, Masser decisioned Boris 4-2.
The top five placewinners in each weight class advance to the PIAA Wrestling Championships on March 5-7 at the Giant Center in Hershey.
In other bronze-medal bouts, Wolfgang got pinned by Faith Christian’s Riley Crandall in 2:43, and Reyes dropped a 7-2 decision to Faith Christian’s Flynn Arnestad.
Going for fifth, Mentusky scored three takedowns and a set of back points to defeat Hamburg’s Hunter Gregg 12-6.
“It feels amazing. I worked for four years to get where I’m at right now,” Mentusky said.
Reitz followed with a wild, 17-9 major decision over Bristol’s Cason Vazquez. After building a big lead, Reitz got taken to his back and nearly pinned before regaining control and pulling away down the stretch.
In an all-Schuylkill League matchup, Updegrave scored a takedown in the final seconds of regulation, then another takedown in sudden-victory overtime to defeat Miller 7-4.
“It was amazing, so much excitement going through my blood,” Updegrave said.
Quick punched his ticket to states by rolling past Palisades’ Silas Day by technical fall, 17-2 in 4:56.
Tide’s McFarland clinches
trip to states with bronze
BETHLEHEM — After nearly three years of injuries and heartbreaking losses at regionals, Pottsville’s Terrell McFarland is going back to the PIAA Wrestling Championships for the first time since his freshman season.
