HS Boys’ Wrestling: Spartans repeat as top team at Schuylkill League Wrestling Championships
North Schuylkill's wrestlers and coaches gather with the trophy after winning a second straight team title at the Schuylkill League Wrestling Championships on Saturday at Martz Hall. (Photo by Eli Doyle)
POTTSVILLE — North Schuylkill started strong, pushing 11 wrestlers into the semifinals.
The Spartans maintained their level in the middle, advancing seven wrestlers to the finals.
And they got contributions from everyone, placing 12-of-13 wrestlers among the top five. That included two champions, five runners-up, two thirds, two fourths and a fifth.
All that added up to a resounding victory in the team race at the Schuylkill League Wrestling Championships on Saturday at Martz Hall. The Spartans finished with 210 points, easily outdistancing runner-up Tri-Valley, which finished with 167. Pine Grove placed third with 161.5 points, and Blue Mountain (149) and Mahanoy Area (129.5) rounded out the top five.
North Schuylkill also won last season’s team title, marking the first time the Spartans went back-to-back at the league tournament since 1995 and 1996. The team title is North Schuylkill’s 15th overall.
A pair of freshmen, Brock Holmes (139) and Bode Gates (145), led the way for North Schuylkill. Both No. 3 seeds, they wrestled to the gold.
Holmes (24-7) went first, scoring an escape and a penalty point in the third period to edge top-seeded Williams Valley senior Xzavion Tennis 2-1. Gates (25-10) followed with a sharp 10-2 major decision over another No. 1 seed, Pine Grove junior Aaron Osatchuck. Tied 2-2 in the third period, Gates turned it on down the stretch to earn the victory.
“We’ve been close friends. We played baseball together when we were younger, too,” Gates said of Holmes. “It’s really fun that we’re both doing so good this year.”
Gaige Mentusky (107), Alex Deritis (127), Kaden Tavares (152), Bryce Kile (160) and Cadyn McGraw (215) wrestled to silver and contributed lots of team points. Stanley Padakowski (121) and Noah Leib (133) wrestled back strong for third. Ben Carr (172) and Connor Dower (189) placed fourth, and Evan Miernicki (114) finished fifth.
Meanwhile, Mahanoy Area’s and Williams Valley’s stars shined, as the Golden Bears and Vikings crowned three champions apiece.
Mahanoy Area’s trio of freshman Arturo Reyes (127), junior Rory Dixon (152) and senior Kyler Quick (215) have been collecting tournament medals elsewhere all season. The league tournament produced much of the same, this time all gold.
Reyes (22-4), a formidable combination of quickness and skill, racked up a technical fall in the finals, defeating Deritis 17-2 in 1:46. Reyes had three takedowns and a pair of four-point near falls in the victory.
Dixon, who has had injury problems in the past, is back to 100 percent and just overwhelms most opponents from neutral. Dixon (27-2) rolled past Tavares by technical fall, 23-4 in 1:53, posting five takedowns and two four-point near falls.
“Consistency,” Dixon said about the difference this season. “Having the ability to wrestle non-stop, no hiccups with the knee, no taking timeout for injury, just continuous practice day after day, just getting better. So fun. I’m so grateful. Unfortunate what I went through (with injury), so the ability to go to practice every day, wrestle whenever I get the opportunity, I’m so grateful for it.
“It’s fun. I love piling up points,” he added. “I love being on my feet in neutral, taking people down and cutting them (loose).”
Quick (27-1) continued his banner senior season by pinning McGraw in 1:13. In four tournaments this season, Quick has three firsts and one third.
Similarly, Williams Valley’s standouts brought home three gold medals.
Junior Magnus Monger started the run, scoring a pair of takedowns to defeat Pine Grove’s Chase Nagle 8-4 in the 121-pound final.
At 172, junior Colin Crisswell defeated Tri-Valley’s Hunter Updegrave for the second time this week. Crisswell earned a 6-2 decision in Wednesday’s dual meet. In the rematch, Crisswell (28-4) dominated, scoring the initial takedown and pinning Updegrave in 1:37.
And in the final match of the tournament, senior Camron Green posted his 100th career victory with a 9-6, sudden-victory decision over Blue Mountain’s Vaughn Helverson. After a scoreless first period, Helverson scored a takedown and two back points to lead 5-2 heading to the third period. Helverson added an escape early in the third period, but Green pushed the action, scoring a takedown and receiving a penalty point for stalling to tie the bout and send it to overtime. With 18 seconds left in the 1-minute sudden victory, Green (23-6) scored the winning takedown.
“I wasn’t really thinking. I was just trying to catch my breath at first and really take everything in,” Green said with a laugh. “I was happy that I have everyone pushing me, my teammates, my coaches and my family and my supporters cheering me. I couldn’t do it without them. I was the runner-up the last two years, so it hurt me and motivated me. I’ve been working hard for it.”
In other finals:
*** Pottsville’s Terrell McFarland was named the tournament’s Outstanding Wrestler after winning the 189-pound title and earning his fourth Schuylkill League crown.
*** Tri-Valley’s Owen Wolfgang (107) earned his 100th win and Blue Mountain’s Owen Woll (160) captured his 100th career pin on the way to securing their third league gold medals. See related story on McFarland, Wolfgang and Woll: www.t102sportsnow.com/2026/01/17/hs-boys-wrestling-tides-mcfarland-captures-4th-gold-at-schuylkill-league-wrestling-championships/
*** Tamaqua freshman Rylan Reitz won the 114-pound title with a 7-0 victory over Pottsville’s Cole Cook. After a scoreless first period, a pair of takedowns lifted Reitz (25-4) to the gold.
*** Tri-Valley senior Jaxson Bruso (23-6) joined teammate Wolfgang on the top of the podium. Bruso won the 133-pound title by pinning Pine Grove’s Drew Hikes in 1:55.
