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2021-2022 District 10 Class 2A Wrestling: Who to Know Powered by Luton’s Plumbing Heating & AC

Eisenhower's Cael Black.

With the 2021-2022 wrestling season just underway, now seems as good a time as any to try and get a sense of those grapplers who will make their presence known in the small school division of District 10.

                        

What names will the fans be hearing over the course of the next several months? Who might need reckoned with when the postseason rolls around? Who could possibly find themselves staking a claim to a podium spot in Hershey come March 2022? There are guides that can be used for assistance, in this case, the preseason state and NW Region (District 9/10) rankings released last week just prior to the first day of competition by PA Power Wrestling (PAPW).

Any effort such as this is, by its very nature, an inexact science; some wrestlers will be changing weight classes, some may opt-out for various reasons, some may not compete due to injury. Please keep that in mind while considering what follows. (All records are from the truncated 2021 season).

106 Pounds
District 10 is well represented in the statewide preseason rankings, with four grapplers cracking the PAPW poll. Andie Przybycien (10-7), a Fort LeBoeuf senior, is ranked fifth in the state and first in the NW. She qualified for regionals last season at 106 pounds. Przybycien was the girls’ state champion at 108 pounds in 2020 and was runner-up at that weight last season. Three ninth-graders also have state rankings; Carter Beck of Saegertown is 10th (second regionally), Hickory’s Dylan O’Brien 14th (third regionally), and Sierra Chiesa of Northwestern 15th (fourth regionally). PAPW projects Chiesa to finish the season as a girls’ state champion. Cole Giebel of Commodore Perry and Cochranton’s Cameron Boozer, both freshmen, are ranked seventh and eighth, respectively, in the NW Region.

113 Pounds
Returning 106-pound state champion Louie Gill (30-5), a sophomore at Hickory, is ranked first in the state and NW. He was the district and regional runner-up in 2021. Sophomore Cael Daily (11-6) of Franklin is positioned at 18th in the state poll and third in the regional rankings. He wrestled primarily at 106 pounds last season. Reynolds’s Logan Hammerschmidt was 11-10 last season at 106 pounds. The junior enters the season ranked 19th in the state and fourth in the region. Fort LeBoeuf sophomore Matt Salmon is ranked eighth regionally.

                              

120 Pounds
Five 120-pounders enter the season with a spot on the state poll; Saegertown’s Hunter Robison (24-3) at seventh (first in the NW), Hunter Gould (20-5) of Conneaut 12th (second in the NW), Reynolds’s Chase Bell (21-10) at 20 (third in the NW), Jake Bennett (13-10) of Fort LeBoeuf 22nd (fourth in the NW), and Commodore Perry’s Hunter Geibel 25th (sixth in the NW). Robison, a senior, finished fifth in Hershey at 106 pounds after winning district and regionals in 2021. He was also a state qualifier as a freshman. Gould, Bell, and Bennett are all sophomores and returning state qualifiers. Gould qualified at 106, with Bell and Bennett doing so at 113 pounds. Geibel, a junior, was a regional qualifier as a freshman. Greenville senior Seth Renwick (14-6) is ranked seventh in the region.

126 Pounds
Kyle Lantz (13-8), a Conneaut junior, is ranked 13th in the state and first in the NW Region. He is a two-time regional qualifier, doing so at 113 pounds in 2021. Greenville junior Brayden Porter (15-6) is 22nd statewide and fifth in the region. Sophomore Cole Kellogg (13-10) of Eisenhower comes in at 24th in Pennsylvania and sixth regionally. Trenton Rodgers (11-4) of Titusville and Northwestern’s Kelton Sutter (13-7), both sophomores, are ranked seventh and eighth in the NW, respectively.

132 Pounds
Jojo Przybycien (19-11) of Fort LeBoeuf finished sixth at states last season as a 120-pounder, following a runner-up placing at districts and third at regionals. The sophomore is ranked fourth in the state and first regionally. Cody Miller (20-11), a Hickory senior, is 13th on the state poll and 3rd in the NW. He is a three-time regional qualifier, last season at 132 pounds. Cambridge’s Brody Beck (18-9) qualified for regionals in 2021 as a 113-pound freshman. He enters this season ranked 24th in the state and sixth in the NW Region.

138 Pounds
Cochranton senior Jack Martinec (20-3) is a three-time regional qualifier, advancing as the district-runner-up in 2021 at 126 pounds. He starts the season ranked ninth in Pennsylvania and third in the region. Junior Gunnar Gage (19-7) of Cambridge Springs is 10th in the state and fourth regionally. The two-time regional qualifier was fourth in districts the past two seasons, the last at 126 pounds. Alex Rueberger (20-10), a Sharpsville sophomore, qualified for regionals at 126 pounds to cap his first varsity season. Hickory sophomore Timmy Krivosh (18-11) qualified for regionals at 120 pounds in 2020. He is ranked seventh in the NW Region. Hickory’s Logan Platz (9-4), a sophomore, is ranked eighth regionally.

145 Pounds
Seven of the eight regionally ranked wrestlers in the PAPW preseason poll reside in D10, with five of them holding statewide rankings. Leading the way is senior Conner Pierce (23-5), ranked both first in the state and region. The Harbor Creek senior finished fourth at states in 2021 at 132 pounds after winning both districts and regionals. He also won districts and regionals as a sophomore, ultimately taking seventh at the state tournament. As a freshman, Pierce earned the seventh step on the podium at Hershey. Connor Saylor (30-10), a Hickory junior, is another returning state placer, taking sixth at 126 pounds. The two-time state qualifier is ranked third in Pennsylvania and second in the NW Region. Two-time state qualifier Kane Kettering (24-6), a Reynolds senior, is ranked 12th in the state and third regionally. He won districts as a sophomore and was runner-up as a 132-pound junior. Both years he finished second at regionals. PAPW rewarded sophomore Hunter Hohman (24-4) for a regional-qualifying ninth-grade campaign, the Grove City student ranked 18th in the state and fourth in the NW. Similarly recognized was fellow sophomore Caullin Summers (22-8) of Sharpsville, a regional qualifier last season at 132 pounds. PAPW has him at 20th in the state and fifth in the region. Two sophomores, Nate Stearns (13-9) of Titusville and Commodore Perry’s Wyatt Lazzar (15-7), are ranked in the NW Region, seventh and eighth, respectively. Stearns qualified for regionals at 138 pounds as a freshman.

                          

152 Pounds
Riley Kneeland, a senior at Greenville (17-2), is currently ranked ninth in the state and first in the region. He was a regional qualifier as a sophomore. Cochranton’s Willis Morrell (15-7) is positioned at 16th on the state poll and second on the regional. Clayton Rhoades (9-4) of Reynolds is ranked seventh in the state. PAPW has the senior at third in the NW Region. Fort LeBoeuf sophomore Dominic Stearns (6-10) holds down the seventh spot in the NW Region rankings.

160 Pounds
Two-time state placer Carter Gill (28-9) of Hickory enters this campaign ranked sixth in Pennsylvania and first regionally. The senior placed seventh in Hershey at 145 pounds as a junior and sixth as a sophomore. Conneaut’s Collin Hearn (17-6), a junior, finished third at regionals to qualify for states at 152 pounds in 2021. PAPW has him at 16th in the state and second in the regional. Sophomore Conner McChesney (13-8) qualified for regionals last season at 145 pounds. He is ranked fifth in the NW Region. Clay Thomas of Union City and Corry’s Trey Proper, both juniors, are regionally ranked sixth and seventh, respectively. Thomas was a regional qualifier at 152 pounds in 2021.

172 Pounds
Seven D10 wrestlers are ranked in the NW Region, with five garnering statewide recognition. Returning 160-pound state qualifier Jalen Wagner (22-9), a Reynolds junior, is ranked seventh in the state and first in the region. He won districts last year and was runner-up at regionals as a 160-pounder. Wagner was also a regional qualifier as a freshman. Eisenhower’s Gannon Jaquay (16-3), a senior, is 10th in the state and third in the region. Jaquay qualified for regionals as both a freshman and sophomore. Last year’s district runner-up and regional qualifier at 152 pounds Brock Covell (13-7), a junior at Titusville, is 18th on the state poll and fourth on the regional. Mercer senior Michael Berger (22-6) is 21st statewide and fifth regionally. He was a regional qualifier as a freshman and sophomore. Luke Gentile (15-3) wrestled at 138/145 pounds last year. The Greenville junior is ranked 22nd statewide and sixth in the NW Region. Two sophomores, Ryan Welke (5-7) of Fort LeBoeuf and Commodore Perry’s Danick Hinskon (11-8), check-in at seventh and eighth, respectively, in the region. Welke qualified for regionals in 2021 at 160 pounds.

189 Pounds
Danny Church (16-6) of Fort LeBoeuf is a returning state qualifier at this weight. The junior finished second at districts and third at regionals. He was a regional qualifier in 2020. Church enters this season ranked eighth in the state and first in the region. Landon Caldwell (18-6) is also a returning state qualifier, having done so at 172 pounds after earning runner-up status at both districts and regionals. Ranked 10th statewide and second regionally, Caldwell qualified for the regional tournament as both a freshman and sophomore. Commodore Perry’s Clayton Smith (20-12) is another returning state qualifier, having placed third at districts and regionals as a 160-pounder. The senior, who qualified for regionals as a sophomore, is currently ranked 11th in Pennsylvania and third in the NW Region. Maplewood senior Logan Gross (14-2) is ranked 20th statewide by PAPW and fourth regionally. Stetson Boozer (14-10) of Cochranton is at 23rd in Pennsylvania and fifth in the NW. The senior qualified for regionals at 160 pounds in 2021 and was also a regional qualifier in 2020. Juniors Tyler Holland (13-10) of Hickory and Ryan Miller (8-2) of Seneca are sixth and seventh in the region, respectively. Corry freshman Mason Savitz starts his varsity career ranked eighth regionally.

215 Pounds
Six D10 wrestlers bring state rankings into the season at this weight. Corry senior Hayden Linkerhof (19-4) won districts, regionals, and placed seventh at 215 pounds in Hershey last season. Ranked third in the state (first regionally), Linkerhof qualified for the regional tournament as a freshman and sophomore. Cole Karpinski (28-5), a Greenville senior, is another returning state placer, taking sixth at 189 pounds. He also won districts and was regional runner-up last season. Linkerhof, ranked fourth in Pennsylvania (second regionally), qualified for states as a sophomore and regionals his freshman year. Three-time state qualifier, last year at this weight, Cael Black (25-5) is ranked seventh in the state (third regionally). An Eisenhower senior, Black finished sixth at states to cap his sophomore campaign. Slippery Rock’s Tony Pilosi (13-5) qualified for regionals as a 215-pounder in 2021. A senior, Pilosi is 17th in the state and fourth in the region. Girard junior Abraham Keep (9-6) is a two-time regional qualifier, last season at 172 pounds. PAPW has him 20th statewide and seventh regionally. Jackson Carico (19-3), ranked 24th in Pennsylvania (eighth regionally), is a senior at Cambridge Springs. He was a regional qualifier at the end of his sophomore season.

285 Pounds
Xavier Reyda (12-4), a Corry senior, qualified for regionals last season at this weight. He was also a regional qualifier as a sophomore. Reyda is ranked 10th in the state and first in the NW. Sharon junior Mike Mazurek (13-4) is ranked 20th in Pennsylvania and sixth regionally. Josh Perrine (12-5), a senior at Saegertown, is ranked eighth in the NW Region. He was a regional qualifier in 2020.

                       

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