Bethlehem Catholic Wins AAA Title at Pennsylvania State Wrestling Tournament; Keanu Dillard Secures Third Gold

Bethlehem Catholic claims both the AAA Dual and Tournament championships at the Pennsylvania State Wrestling Tournament in Hershey, with standout performances from Keanu Dillard, Wilmont Kai, and Collin Gaj.

The victorious Bethlehem Catholic wrestling team after sweeping the PIAA dual meet and AAA state tournament championships. / PIAA

The AAA team scores at the Pennsylvania State Wrestling Tournament at the Giant Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania last weekend varied wildly from the AA Division, which was dominated by two powerhouse teams, No. 1 Faith Christian Academy and No. 2 Bishop McCort.

On that side, those two teams accounted for eight champs, and both posted over two hundred points. The AAA slate would see a wrestler from a different school win each of the weight classes and the top four teams being separated by just 17.  

No. 31 Bethlehem Catholic came out ahead of the tally, 88-72.5, over Thomas Jefferson. Nazareth was third with 72.5. Connellsville was fourth with 71 points.

This gives Bethlehem Catholic both the AAA Dual and Tournament titles. The Golden Hawks downed Nazareth in the state and regional portion of the dual process. The Blue Eagles outpaced Bethlehem Catholic at the District and Region Tournaments leading up to states. 

The Golden Hawks’ champ, No. 3 Keanu Dillard, claimed his third gold in a row as the junior won an 8-2 decision over No. 17 Gabe Ballard of Northampton and set himself up for possible inclusion in the four-time club. In a twist that will make this a lasting memory, the finals victory was the 100th of Dillard’s career. 

Honorable Mention Charlie Scanlan (160) and Shane McFillin (172, No. 26 at 165) were third for Bethlehem Catholic. Marco Frinzi was fifth at 145, with No. 17 Nico Emili landing in seventh at 107lbs. 

Thomas Jefferson did all its heavy lifting with just three place winners and one champion, No. 7 Maddox Shaw (152). Shaw’s second title in a row came on a 4-2 decision of Connellsville’s No. 18 Evan Petrovich, making the senior a four-time state placer (2nd SO, 3rd FR). 

The Jaguars’ other two medalists were No. 8 Bode Marlow (2nd at 172) and honorable mention Shepherd Turk (3rd at 215).

State College’s No. 6 Asher Cunningham (172) duplicated Shaw’s feat of winning a second consecutive crown to become a four-time placer when he won a 12-6 meeting with Shaw’s teammate, Marlow. Cunningham was fourth a year ago and eighth as a freshman.  

No. 1 Collin Gaj (Quakertown) also joined the two and four-time clubs with his 11-2 major decision of No. 24 Luke Sipes (Altoona) at 160lbs. Gaj won his first championship as a sophomore and was a runner-up last year. As a freshman, Gaj placed fourth. 

The 145lb final was a showdown of three-time placers, No. 5 Dalton Perry (Central Mountain) versus No. 6 Eren Sement (Council Rock North). Sement had already gotten the monkey off his back and reached the finals after three consecutive third place finishes. The senior took it home the rest of the way with a 1-0 win. Perry won a crown in his freshman season, was second last year, and third his sophomore year.

Nazareth’s senior No. 4 Tahir Parkins became a repeat champ after demolishing Patrick Kelly (Central Bucks West) with a 20-3 technical fall at 139lbs. Parkins was fourth during his sophomore campaign. 

No. 25 Wilmont Kai of Whitehall jumped on the national radar when he beat No. 24 Emilio Albanese (Emmaus) in the District Finals. Albanese would gain the edge in their subsequent meeting at regionals. So, while Kai was certainly one to watch, a title run was not one of the expectations for the junior.

Kai’s magical trip went into high gear in the quarters when he edged No. 22 Nico Kapusta (Hempfield Area), 13-12, in a wild match that was tremendously entertaining. Kai kept it going when he squared off with No. 7 Dominick Morrison (Hatboro Horsham) and after posting a 6-4 semifinal win, radiated the arena with his beaming smile. 

Kai’s final upset was more of the milder variety, but still, it was his third unexpected win in a row and this one crowned him as a state champion when a 7-3 advantage was earned against No. 23 Mateo Gallegos (DuBois), improving on last year’s fourth place showing. 

Unranked Chase Williams of Central Bucks East didn’t slay as many highly rated foes as Kai did for his glory, but Williams executed his unlikely deed in overtime, 6-0, with No. 16 Brayden Wenrich (Northampton) in the 107lb final.

Owen J. Roberts’ No. 3 Dean Bechtold (285) has improved in each of his trips to Hershey. Bechtold’s freshman year resulted in a sixth-place finish, last year it was second. The junior made the final move up this year with a dominating 18-0 turn in the finals with No. 10 Maxwell Roy (St. Joseph’s Prep).

No. 19, junior Nicholas Salamone (Easton), became a three-time placer (7th FR, 8th SO) with his 4-3 outcome against unranked Kavin Muyleart (Cedar Cliff). Muyleart was ranked a season ago but until now has not had the results to merit inclusion this year. Wins over No. 18 Reef Dillard (Bethlehem Catholic) and No. 22 Braiden Weaver (Altoona) have put Muyleart on a trajectory up the rankings.

West Perry senior No. 23 Tyler Morrison’s finals win, 10-1, over No. 27 Brandon Carr, at 189lbs gave him three-time placer credentials (6th SO, 4th JR). 

Anthony Mutarelli (Council Rock South) ended a frustrating career on a high note with a 9-2 win over No. 25 Luke Willochell (Greater Latrobe) in the 133lb final. Mutarelli, No. 23 in the nation, captured a National Prep crown as a Malvern Prep freshman. The senior transferred to South after an injury riddle sophomore year at Prep and encountered more misfortune as a junior. This is Mutarelli’s first end of season placing anywhere since that Prep gold. 

No. 15 Elijah Brown of Belle Vernon finished ahead of Honorable Mention Cooper Roscosky (Kiski Area) by a slim, 4-3 margin for the junior’s first ever state placing. 

Team Scores (Top 15)

1-Bethlehem Catholic 88

2-Thomas Jefferson 76

3-Nazareth 72.5

4-Connellsville 71

5-Northampton 66

6-Altoona 57

7-Greater Latrobe 55

8-Counil Rock South 50.5

9-Cedra Cliff 50

10-Notre Dame-Green Pond 44

11-Kiski Area 42.5

12-Easton 41

13-Quakertown 39.5

14-Owen J. Roberts 38.5

15-Central Bucks West 38

107 lbs

1st Chase Williams (Central Bucks East) DEC Brayden Wenrich (Northampton), 6-0 SV

3rd Nicholas Mcgarrity (Peters Township) MD Sam Culp (Red Land), 9-0

5th Dom Powell (Upper Dublin) F Tommy Gretz (Connellsville), 0:44

7th Nico Emili (Bethlehem Cath) DEC Jackson Max (Emmaus), 10-7

114 lbs

1st Willmont Kai (Whitehall) DEC Mateo Gallegos (DuBois), 7-3

3rd Emilio Albanese (Emmaus) DEC Thunder Beard (Central Dauphin), 4-1

5th Dominick Morrison (Hatboro-Horsham) TF Jayden Lee (Radnor), 19-1 2:40

7th Dylan Barrett (Penn Trafford) DEC Gus Smith (Spring-Ford), 4-2

121 lbs

1st Nicholas Salamone (Easton) DEC Kavin Muyleart (Cedar Cliff), 4-3

3rd Braiden Weaver (Altoona) DEC Leo Joseph (Greater Latrobe), 5-1

5th Elijah Hewitt (Northeastern) DEC Will Yordy (Gettysburg), 13-11

7th Marco Loss (Council Rock North) FOR Nolan Rice (Connellsville), 0-0

127 lbs

1st Keanu Dillard (Bethlehem Cath) DEC Gabriel Ballard (Northampton), 8-2

3rd Santino Sloboda (Butler Area) DEC Aiden Herndon (Cedar Cliff), 4-1

5th Dom Canali (Trinity) DEC Quinn Mcbride (Pennridge), 9-3

7th Dalton Wenner (Cranberry) DEC Mason Whitney (Abington Heights), 4-0

133 lbs

1st Anthony Mutarelli (Council Rock South) DEC Luke Willochell (Greater Latrobe), 9-3

3rd Nico Fanella (Indiana) MD Collier Hartman (Canon-McMillan), 13-3

5th Trey Wagner (Northampton) DEC Jack Campbell (Nazareth), 2-1 TB2

7th Drew Scherer (Boiling Springs) DEC Tanner Berkenstock (Notre Dame GP), 5-2

139 lbs

1st Tahir Parkins (Nazareth) TF Patrick Kelly (Central Bucks West), 20-3 4:31

3rd Kai Vielma (Connellsville) MD Patrick Woloshyn (Council Rock South), 10-0

5th Blake Boyer (Kennett) DEC Myles Grossman (Gettysburg), 7-0

7th Gavin Ciampoli (Altoona) DEC Cj Ferree (Central Dauphin), 3-2

145 lbs

1st Eren Sement (Council Rock North) DEC Dalton Perry (Central Mountain), 1-0

3rd Michael Turi (West Scranton) DEC Mckaden Speece (Wilson), 7-0

5th Marco Frinzi (Bethlehem Cath) DEC Kane Lengel (Kennett), 5-4 UTB

7th Ramil Islamov (Baldwin) MD Ian Longenberger (Boiling Springs), 9-1

152 lbs

1st Maddox Shaw (Thomas Jefferson) DEC Evan Petrovich (Connellsville), 4-2

3rd Luke Knox (Perkiomen Valley) F Chris Dennis (Central Bucks West), 1:46

5th Cade Campbell (Nazareth) DEC James Whitbred (State College), 4-3

7th Gavin Carroll (Quakertown) MD Ezra Swisher (Bellefonte), 10-1

160 lbs

1st Collin Gaj (Quakertown) MD Luke Sipes (Altoona), 11-2

3rd Charlie Scanlan (Bethlehem Cath) DEC Jon Smith (Oxford Area), 7-4

5th A.j. Corp (West Chester Rustin) DEC Lonzy Vielma (Connellsville), 8-1

7th Keegan Ramsay (Notre Dame GP) DEC Rook Smith (Montour), 12-8

172 lbs

1st Asher Cunningham (State College) DEC Bode Marlow (Thomas Jefferson), 12-6

3rd Shane Mcfillin (Bethlehem Cath) DEC Connor Wetzel (Shikellamy), 4-0

5th Brian Heard (Abington Heights) FOR Mario Hutcherson (Kiski Area), 0-0

7th Blake Hostetter (Oxford Area) DEC Tucker Seidel (West Perry), 7-4 SV

189 lbs

1st Tyler Morrison (West Perry) MD Brandon Carr (Sun Valley), 10-1

3rd Hunter Snyder (Greater Latrobe) DEC Brayden Zuercher (Nazareth), 6-2

5th Dominic Sumpolec (Notre Dame GP) F Kendahl Hoare (DuBois), 1:17

7th Mark Gray (Kiski Area) F Michael Spielman (Strath Haven), 0:50

215 lbs

1st Elijah Brown (Belle Vernon) DEC Cooper Roscosky (Kiski Area), 4-3

3rd Roman Thompson (Central Catholic) DEC Jake Conroy (Ringgold), 5-2

5th Brodie Daugherty (Manheim Central) DEC Decker Bechtold (Owen J Roberts), 7-0

7th John Boggs (St Joseph's Prep) MD Brody Rebuck (Shikellamy), 14-6

285 lbs

1st Dean Bechtold (Owen J Roberts) TF Maxwell Roy (St Joseph's Prep), 18-0 3:16

3rd Shepherd Turk (Thomas Jefferson) F Guner Hiller (Cedar Cliff), 0:54

5th Peyton Kearns (Mifflin County) DEC Gavin Grell (Northampton), 7-2

7th Philup Rearick (Armstrong) F Kaleb Britting (Conrad Weiser), 2:04