Two seniors seeking their third state titles will highlight the wrestlers to watch at this week's PIAA Class 2A tournament.
Jackson Arrington of Forest Hills and Dayton Pitzer of Mount Pleasant are among six 2021 state champions who will be wrestling in the Class 2A tourney.
Arrington will go for a 152-pound title after winning gold medals as a freshman and junior. (He finished third as a sophom*ore). Pitzer will pursue his third title as he enters the 215-pound division as a strong favorite. (He missed his sophom*ore season with an injury.)
Class 2A pairings:Here are the Class 2A wrestling pairings for the PIAA tournament
Class 3A wrestlers to watch:These are the Class 3A wrestlers to watch at the PIAA tournament
Another two-time champ is also back. Saucon Valley seniorRyan Crookham won back-to-back PIAA titles as a freshman and sophom*ore atNotre Dame-Green Pond. He then transferred to Saucon Valley, where he did not compete as a junior. He is entered in the 138-pound class this year.
Class 2A action will start Thursday at 9 a.m., and the tournament will conclude Saturday at 2 p.m. with the championship matches and other medal bouts.
PIAA schedule:2022 PIAA Class 2A, 3A wrestling championship schedule in Hershey
PIAA wrestling championships:Things to know going into tournament week in Hershey
One 2021 champion who will not be competing is Biglerville's Levi Haines. The Penn State recruit is not wrestling in the PIAA this season as he prepares to join the Nittany Lions. Haines won a state title as a junior after placing second as a freshman and sophom*ore.
Here's a look at wrestlers to watch in the Class 2A tournament:
Eric Alderfer, 145 pounds, Faith Christian
The senior is making his fourth trip to Hershey and placed eighth as a sophom*ore and fourth as a junior. He takes a 33-8 mark and 132 career wins to states.
Jackson Arrington, 152 pounds, Forest Hills
The senior standout is a two-time Class 2A state champion who won at 113 pounds as a freshman and then claimed a title at 132 pounds as a junior. He placed third at 126 pounds as ajunior. He enters with a 35-2 record, but those were midseason forfeits due to injury. He has a 142-8 record.
Landon Bainey, 113, West Branch
The sophom*ore is 37-1 and coming off a Southwest Regional title. He placed sixth in the PIAA as a freshman.
Ambrose Boni, 138, Central Valley
He won the WPIAL title and placed second in the Northwest Region. He carries a 34-3 record into the tournament.
Gauge Botero, 113, Faith Christian
The freshman has been superb all season and takes a 41-6 record to Hershey. His only losses against PIAA wrestlers have come against a PIAA runner-up and PIAA third-place finisher from a year ago by a combined three points.
Story Buchanan, 145, Girard
The sophom*ore lost to Hickory's Carter Gill in the region final, but still qualified for states with a 30-9 record.
Ryan Crookham, 138, Saucon Valley
He won PIAA titles as a freshman and a sophom*ore at Notre Dame-Green Pond and is seeking his third title. Crookham did not compete in PIAA action in 2021 because of an injury after he transferred toSaucon Valley. He has battled an injury this season as he entered the tournament with a 13-0 record. He is 113-3 in his career and is the favorite at 138 pounds.
Patrick Cutchember, 189, Quaker Valley
The senior is a WPIAL and Southwest Region champion with a 41-4 record. His best PIAA finish was seventh place as a sophom*ore, but he could be a top contender this weekend.
Garrett Garcia, 172, Southern Columbia
The sophom*ore is 35-3 and is coming off a victory over two-time state medalist Nolan Lean of Benton in the Northeast Regional final. Garcia has a whopping 25 pins.
Louie Gill, 106, Hickory
He bids to defend as the best small-school wrestler in the PIAA's lightest division. He'll resume that quest with a 39-1 record going into Thursday's early-round action at the Giant Center.
Carter Gill, 145, Hickory
Louie Gill's older brother won his weight class at the Northwest Regional. The senior, a University of Buffalo recruit, is 35-5 overall for the Hornets' current season.
Conner Harer, 145, Montgomery
The sophom*ore carries a 43-0 record into the state tournament after placing fifth as a freshman. He is 80-4 in two seasons.
Austin Johnson, 285, Muncy
He is a rare freshman standout at heavyweight. Johnson is 38-1 with 22 pins and six technical falls. He is coming off the Northeast Regional title.
Scott Johnson, 126, Muncy
He was a state runner-up as a sophom*ore in 2021 and is the likely favorite in 2022. He is 37-1 after winning Northeast Regional.
Jake Jones, 172,Saucon Valley
He's a pinning machine who is 42-3 with 32 falls. His only three losses came against top competition in the Beast of the East and the Powerade finals.
Cole Karpinski, 189, Greenville
The senior, who was accepted into the United States Military Academy has the only perfect record (38-0) among the 20 wrestlers in his bracket. He goes for his second state medal with an overall mark of 132-28 for the Trojans.
Abe Keep, 215, Girard
Keepand Corry's Hayden Linkerhof comprise the only two Erie County wrestlers who qualified for states in the same weight class. The junior is 34-5 going into his inaugural PIAA appearance.
Rune Lawrence, 172, Frazier
The sophom*ore goes for two state titles in a row after winning the PIAA Class 2A 172-pound division as a freshman. He is 33-3 this season and 63-4 in his career. Two of his losses this season have come to Waynesburg star Rocco Welsh (6-2 and 4-2), who is on the other side of the 172-pound bracket.
Nolan Lear, 172, Benton
The senior is 38-5 this season and 140-21 in his career. He placed fifth in the PIAA as a sophom*ore and third as a junior, so he's seeking his first state title. He has 25 pins.
Hayden Linkerhof, 215, Corry
The Bucknell University recruit was the gold medalist in his division during last weekend's Northwest Region 2A tournament. He brings a season record of 33-6 to Hershey, where he'll vie for a second state medal.
Grant MacKay, 160,Laurel
The junior standout won the PIAA Class 2A title at 152 pounds and enters the tournament with a 37-2 record. He claimed the Southwest Regional title with a 1-0 win over Glendale's Zeke Dubler.
Conner McChesney, 152, Fort LeBoeuf
The son of Bison coach Shane McChesney, himself a former PIAA finalist, will make his state debut. The sophom*ore is 32-8 this season.
Brad Morrison, 285, West Perry
The senior has not placed at states in his first three seasons, but he has been special in 2021-22 by going 45-1. Morrison, the Southeast Regional champion, is on the other side of the bracket from two-time champ Dayton Pitzer of Mount Pleasant.
Jaden Pepe, 120, Wyoming Area
He won the PIAA Class 2A title at 113 pounds as a sophom*ore after placing third at 106 as a freshman. He brings a 110-4 career record into the tournament.
Connor Pierce, 138, Harbor Creek
He seeks to become the Huskies' first PIAA champion since University of Michigan recruit Jeff Catrabone won consecutive weight classes in 1992-93. The senior, who takes a 34-0 record into Thursday's competition, also bids to become a four-time state medalist.
Dayton Pitzer, 215, Mount Pleasant
The Pitt recruit will seek his third state title as the favorite in the PIAA Class 2A 215-pound division. He is 41-0 this season. Excluding his six forfeit wins, he has pinned 34 of the 35 wrestlers he has faced this season. His only decision was a 4-2 tiebreaker victory over Blair Academy'sThomas Stewart in the Powerade finals. He did not wrestle as a sophom*ore because of a knee injury. He is 126-3 in his career.
JoJo Przybycien, 126, Fort LeBoeuf
He couldjoin older sister Andie Przybycien, who was a champion at the inaugural state girls wrestling tournament in 2020, if he finishes first at Hershey. The sophom*ore was 37-4 after his victory in last weekend's Northwest Region final.
Owen Reinsel, 132, Brookville
The senior is 40-2 with 20 pins and six technical falls after winning the Northwest Regional. He has placed fourth in the state each of the past two seasons and is 139-20 in his career.
Xavier Reyda, 285, Corry
The second of the Beavers' one-two punch at the end of their lineup, along with 215-pounder Hayden Linkerhof. Reyda, a senior, won the heavyweight division at regions and boosted his season record to 30-4.
Riley Robell, 285, Bishop McDevitt
The junior enters the PIAA Class 2A tournament as the likely favorite after placing second in the 285-pound division as a sophom*ore. The Southeast Region champion is 37-1, and his only loss came to a New Jersey wrestler in the Powerade semifinals.
Hunter Robison, 113, Saegertown
The former General McLane wrestler needs two victories for 100 in his high school wrestling career. He won his division during the Northwest Regional and is 33-3 this season.
Aaron Seidel, 106, Northern Lebanon
Seidel, just a freshman,enters the state tournament with a 43-1 record and has yet to come across a championshiphe couldn't conquer. To date this season, he's won a Lancaster-Lebanon title, a District 3 sectional title, a District 3 title and a Southeast Regional title.
Easton Toth, 138, Forest Hills
The Southwest Regional champion is seeking his first PIAA medal in his senior season. He carries a 35-5 record into the tournament.
Ty Watson, 145, Penns Valley
The sophom*ore is 38-0 after winning the Southwest Regional title. Unbeaten Conner Harer is on the same side of the bracket.
Rocco Welsh, 172, Waynesburg
Welsh, a junior, is a two-time PIAA Class 2A runner-up who could be primed to win his first state title. The Ohio State recruit is 42-1 this season and has two wins over defending PIAA champion Rune Lawrence of Frazier.
