Panther Valley's Brenda Banks pins Southmoreland's Zoey Murphy in the 235-pound final March 8, 2025, at the PIAA Wrestling Championships. (Photo by Bob Lipsky)

Can the Schuylkill League level up this season?

I think so. Maybe.

Let’s back up a second. To start, what does “leveling up” look like?

Leveling up can take many forms, depending upon where a wrestler is on the journey through the four years of varsity competition.

For the elite wrestlers, it means rising from third or fourth at big tournaments to first or second. It means racking up bonus-point wins in dual meets almost every time out. It means leading by example and by words and lifting the rest of the team. It means adding that missing ingredient that can take you from good to great, from great to All-State. It could be conditioning, weight training, tweaking technique, making better decisions about when and how to attack, improving your mental game/poise/toughness. The area has a couple dozen boys and maybe 10 girls ready to break through to that level or become even more dominant.

For second-year varsity wrestlers, it means getting pinned a lot less, saving 1-3 points in dual meets. It means turning 3-2 and 5-3 losses into 3-2 and 5-3 victories more often. A few of those will turn close dual meets your team’s way. It means developing and honing a go-to and a secondary move from top, bottom and neutral. It means becoming someone your team and teammates can count on.

For newcomers, it means being a sponge, asking questions, learning new moves in practice and being brave enough to do those basic, high-percentage fundamentals during a match. Hand-fighting, moving your feet, good, low stance, tight waist, ankle pick, armbars and half nelsons, wrist control off the bottom, exploding on the whistle, build your base and go. Do all of that with conviction. When you hit a move, hit it hard, make the opponent bend to your will. You’ll be surprised how far fundamentals can take you.

For everyone, it means getting off the bottom consistently. It means doing extra stand-ups at the end of practice. It means learning how to chain 3-4 moves together. It’s developing a mindset that nobody’s going to keep me down, that I won’t give up if my first or second attempt to escape doesn’t succeed.

It means not wrestling to the buzzer at the end of a period — but wrestling through the buzzer. You want to be the one scoring at the end of a period. In the last 15-20 seconds, you want to be the one finishing on top. You want to be the one getting to your feet, once, twice, three times to either escape or earn a stall warning on your opponent.

For teams, it means instilling a relentless attitude and mindset, a brotherhood in the practice room that carries into matchday. A work ethic that makes everybody better every day. The clichés apply: Iron sharpens iron, a rising tide lifts all boats. In tournaments, instead of placing five and finishing 12th in a big event, place seven or eight and finish fifth.

In general, numbers and experience are up in many places, most notably North Schuylkill, Blue Mountain, Tri-Valley, Pine Grove and Mahanoy Area on the boys’ side. A fine crop of junior high wrestlers are stepping up to varsity to fill lineups and add depth. As for the girls, Pine Grove, Panther Valley and Upper Dauphin/Tri-Valley should put strong teams on the mat.

The Road to Hershey opens today. What you do every day between now and mid-February will play a big role in what happens in late February and March.

Go for it, enjoy the sport and the time you spend with your teammates and have fun. High school careers go by so quickly. Make memories. Make the most of every day.

Century mark

Twelve area wrestlers have a mathematical chance to reach 100 career victories this season. One has a chance to reach 150.

That’s Blue Mountain’s Owen Woll, who comes into his senior season at 113-31.

A few others are set to reach 100 wins in December. Keep an eye on Pottsville senior Terrell McFarland (96-16) and Mahanoy Area senior Kyler Quick (94-44).

The others in the conversation will need to have productive, consistent seasons and in some cases deep postseason runs.

Here are the remainder of the local wrestlers who have more than 60 career victories (according to available records):

***Tri-Valley senior Jaxson Bruso — 81-47

***Tri-Valley senior Owen Wolfgang — 79-40

***Williams Valley senior Camron Green — 77-38

***Panther Valley senior Brenda Banks — 73-2

***North Schuylkill senior Cadyn McGraw — 70-55

***North Schuylkill senior Gaige Mentusky — 69-44

***Williams Valley senior Xzavion Tennis — 68-41

***Blue Mountain senior Bryce Bodenberg — 66-30

***Tri-Valley junior Noah Hanlon — 63-28

***Mahanoy Area/Marian junior Rory Dixon 60-18

Mark your calendars

Here are some of the big dates in boys’ wrestling to watch …

***Dual meets: Dec. 10 — Pine Grove at Mahanoy Area; Dec. 17 — Mahanoy Area at Tri-Valley; Jan. 7 — Blue Mountain at North Schuylkill; Jan. 21 — Pine Grove at Tri-Valley

***In-season tournaments: Dec. 29-30 — Mahanoy Area, North Schuylkill, Panther Valley, Pottsville, Tamaqua, Williams Valley at Jim Thorpe Holiday Tournament; Jan. 17 — Schuylkill League Wrestling Championships (Martz Hall)

***Postseason tournaments: Jan. 31 — District 11 Duals; Feb. 20-21 — District 11 Championships; Feb. 27-28 — Regional Championships; March 5-7 — PIAA Championships (Hershey)

Here are some of the big dates in girls’ wrestling to watch …

***In-season tournament: Jan. 16-17 — Panther Valley, Tamaqua, Tri-Valley/Upper Dauphin at Coal Cracker Individual Wrestling Tournament (Jim Thorpe)

***Postseason tournaments: Feb. 14-15 — District 11 Championships; Feb. 22 — Southeast Regional Championships; March 5-7 — PIAA Championships (Hershey)

Initial rankings

Here are the top 5 teams in the T102sportsnow.com power poll:

Team                          W-L  Pvs

1. North Schuylkill 12-3   –

2. Blue Mountain   12-6   –

3. Tri-Valley             13-6   –

4. Pine Grove           13-6   –

5. Mahanoy Area   13-6   –

Note: Records are from 2024-25. This year’s records will be added in the next poll.