PIAA Wrestling: PV’s Banks takes aim at 4th state championship
Panther Valley's Brenda Banks stands atop the podium after winning the 235-pound title at the PIAA Girls' Wrestling Championships on March 8 2025, at the Giant Center in Hershey. Banks will go after state title No. 4 this weekend. (Photo by Bob Lipsky)
It’s mind-boggling that four years ago, Brenda Banks didn’t know anything about folkstyle wrestling.
Sure, the then-Panther Valley freshman had seen WWE pro wrestling before, but she had no idea how to score a high school match, how to get in a good stance, how to start in referee’s position …
Turns out, Banks learned quickly. Light-speed quickly.
The 235-pounder capped her freshman campaign with a state championship, a year before the PIAA sanctioned girls’ wrestling as an official varsity sport. She repeated the feat as a sophomore, winning her first PIAA gold on the Giant Center floor.
Banks returned as a junior and dominated the field, pinning all four of her opponents in the first period — in 1:38, 1:00, 10 seconds in the semifinals and in 42 seconds over Southmoreland’s Zoey Murphy in the finals — for gold medal No. 3.
Along the way, Banks has become a student of the game. She consistently adds technique to her repertoire and hones and refines her favorites — the blast double, the outside single, the bars and cranks on top … and more. Better than that, Banks seldom gets out of position. She doesn’t let bigger opponents force her to the mat. She’s light on her feet, sliding and circling, creating angles to score. And she’s a powerhouse.
Banks’ senior season has been nothing short of amazing.
She’s 33-0, with 28 victories by fall and five by forfeit. In addition, Banks has pinned all of those opponents in the first period. Let’s say that again … in the first period!
Banks has 13 pins in less than 30 seconds, her shortest match lasting just 12 seconds. She has 10 pins that last between 31-60 seconds and five between 1:00-1:59. Strath Haven’s Kindal Bizell-Brown took Banks 1:45 on Jan. 10, but Banks decked Bizell-Brown in 31 seconds two weeks ago in the Southeast Regional final.
Now Banks, 106-2 for her career, is four victories away from becoming a four-time state champion. The journey begins today at the PIAA Wrestling Championships in Hershey.
Panther Valley senior teammate and good friend Alisa Williams (170) will join Banks in the girls’ bracket.
Bear trio
Mahanoy Area leads the local contingent with three state qualifiers: freshman Arturo Reyes (121), junior Rory Dixon (152) and senior Kyler Quick (215). Quick is making his third trip to states, Dixon his second.
“It was fun last year going with Kyler, and now this year Kyler and Arturo Reyes coming out, it’s going to be a blast,” Dixon said. “We’re all going to have fun together. I think when we wrestle with each other, we raise each other’s level, too. So, seeing Arturo win is going to make me want to win. Seeing me win makes Kyler want to win. Seeing Kyler win makes Arturo want to win again. So it’s us raising each other’s level when we’re out there. I think it’s going to help us a lot.”
They came up short of the medals stand last season, and they’re focused on advancing deeper into the bracket this time around.
“I’m proud of myself for getting through it. It’s always a tough tournament,” Dixon said at regionals. “There are some stud kids out here that didn’t make it, so I’m just grateful that I was able to make it and grateful that I wrestled well.
“The heart is a big part of it. Without heart, I don’t think I would be here today,” Dixon added. “I would have quit after (my knee) tore again. So that hunger and that desire to want to keep wrestling and keep moving forward is what drives me to wrestle.
“I don’t want to be at Hershey again and leave on Friday,” he continued. “That’s the goal when I’m out there: I’m not leaving on Friday. I know it’s going to be a tough tournament again. It’s always a tough tournament, the best kids in the state of Pennsylvania, which in my opinion is the best wrestling state in the country. Just getting out there and wrestling like I do, I think I have a good chance at placing and knowing deep down in my heart, ‘Look, I’ve been here. I know what it was like last year (leaving without a medal).’ I don’t want to get that feeling again, and I’m going to do everything in my power to place and never get that feeling.”
Camaraderie
While Mahanoy Area has three wrestlers at states, Tri-Valley and North Schuylkill have two apiece. That’s a big deal as the grapplers will have a teammate to hang out with between matches and somebody to warm up with and help along the way.
For the Bulldogs, senior Owen Wolfgang (107) and junior Hunter Updegrave (172) will compete, while for the Spartans, seniors Gaige Mentusky (107) and Cadyn McGraw (215) made the field.
“It’s gonna be great,” McGraw said about states. “I’m here in the best wrestling state in the country … with some of the best wrestlers in the country — all in the same gym.”
While McGraw said he’s never been to states, even as a fan, Mentusky and Updegrave have attended states in previous years. None has wrestled there yet. That will change Thursday.
“I’m excited to get there,” Mentusky said, “just getting on the floor and having a good experience while I’m there. That’s all that matters to me.”
Added Updegrave: “When I was little, I went to Hershey as a fan to watch our one heavyweight, Danny Scheib (a state champion). Oh, I’m excited. It’s going to be an amazing feeling. It’s a new environment. The atmosphere is going to be amazing.”
Rising Tide
Pottsville senior Terrell McFarland (189) has made the most of his senior season, avoiding the injury bug that derailed his postseason runs the past two years. McFarland qualified for states as a freshman but didn’t place; now he’s back looking to cap his career with a PIAA medal.
McFarland (44-2) has beaten everyone he’s faced this season except for Nazareth senior Brayden Zuercher. Zuercher topped McFarland in the district and regional semifinals before McFarland wrestled back to take third in both tournaments.
The 189-pound Class 3A bracket is loaded, as McFarland opens against Southeast Regional runner-up Michael Spielman (42-3), a senior from Strath Haven. Spielman placed eighth at 189 at states last season. The winner will likely meet top-seeded Mario Hutcherson (44-1), a sophomore from Kiski Area. Hutcherson finished sixth at 172 a year ago.
Family matters
Pine Grove junior Zach Kurtz ended the drought. The Cardinals’ 215-pounder is the first PGA male wrestler to qualify for the PIAA Wrestling Championships since Carson Rittenbaugh did so in 2016.
Last season, Zach’s sister, Eve, qualified for the PIAA Wrestling Championships in the girls’ division. She finished sixth at 148 pounds to become a two-time state medalist. Eve Kurtz finished eighth as a junior in 2024.
