The Central Sectional tournament wrapped up this past Saturday at Hughesville with nearly 40 area wrestlers qualifying for today’s District 4 championships. But, other area wrestlers also qualified between the North Sectional tournament and South Sectional tournament.

All in all, there’s tons of talent from our area who are going to compete at Williamsport’s Magic Dome with the hopes of advancing to the Northeast Regional tournament and get one step closer to the state tournament in Hershey. The top seven finishers in Class AA advance to next week’s regional tournament.

Preliminary bouts get underway on Friday at the Magic Dome, but let’s dive into all 13 weight classes.

107 POUNDS

Gage Wentzel of Montoursville wins against Wyatt Gavitt of Hughesville during their match at 172 pounds at the PIAA District 4 AA Central Sectional at Hughesville High School. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Montoursville freshman Branden Eisenhour is having a great debut season at the varsity level. He won the Central Sectional title over returning regional qualifier and state-ranked Manny Stoltzfus of Montgomery, a junior, for gold. Eisenhour is state-ranked himself, however, as he’s currently No. 13.

Those two could meet up for Round 2 in the finals if both win out.

Seeded No. 2 in the bracket is Southern Columbia standout Rowan Humphrey, a junior who’s 31-8 and ranked No. 20 in Pennsylvania. Humphrey has proven himself as a tough wrestler and is one who could make a run to the final.

Canton’s Levi Vermilya, a fourth-place North Sectional finisher, has a first-round matchup against Midd-West’s Mason Kerstetter with the winner advancing to face Stoltzfus.

Eisenhour will face either Danville’s Kavvion Seabrook or Northeast Bradford’s Mason Alexander.

Gage Wentzel of Montoursville takes down Wyatt Gavitt of Hughesville during their match at 172 pounds at the PIAA District 4 AA Central Sectional at Hughesville High School. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

114 POUNDS

This one will be a fun bracket. There are six state-ranked wrestlers throughout the 114-pound field in North Penn-Liberty’s Bryce Pequignot (No. 13), Montgomery’s Liam Sealey (No. 21), Sullivan County’s Andrew Kapec (No. 22), Canton’s Lyle Vermilya (No. 24), Wyalusing’s Isaiah Harey (No. 27) and Warrior Run’s Chase Wirnsberger (No. 28).

Pequignot, who’s 30-5, is the No. 1 seeded wrestler after winning the North Sectional title. Sealey, who took first at the Central Sectional, is 37-10 and is the No. 2 seed.

Wirnsberger was the South Sectional champion and is 32-10. Lane Yount of Midd-West is the No. 4 seed and is 22-7.

Harvey, Kapec and Vermilya all will face off in first-round matchups. Pequignot will face either Montoursville’s Coltyn Wagner or Milton’s Jordan Sassaman, Yount faces Sugar Valley’s Hunter Berry or Harvey, Wirnsberger faces either Kapec or South Williamsport’s Kamden Vanzile and Sealey will compete with either Southern’s Liam Gray or Vermilya.

Hayden Harvey of Montoursville and Mason Mordan of Hughesville grapple at 160 pounds at the PIAA District 4 AA Central Sectional at Hughesville High School. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Any one of the six state-ranked wrestlers could make a run to win the title at 114.

121 POUNDS

The 121 field features three wrestlers ranked in the top 10 in the state wtih No. 4 Brock Rothermel of Line Mountain (29-1), No. 8 Teli Bobotas of Montoursville (38-4) and No. 9 Gage Swank of Muncy (21-7).

Bobotas beat out Swank in the Central Sectional finals by decision to win his second straight sectional gold medal, and no doubt he’s eyeing gold medal No. 2 for districts as well.

Swank is no doubt using that loss as motivation from sectionals to potentially get a rematch with Bobotas. Swank’s side of the bracket features just one other ranked wrestler, but it’s fourth-ranked Rothermel, one of the district’s best wrestlers.

Mason Mordan of Hughesville gets ready for his match at 160 pounds against Hayden Harvey of Montoursville at the PIAA District 4 AA Central Sectional at Hughesville High School. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Rothermel’s lone loss came by a narrow 4-2 decision to Braiden Weaver of Altoona, a returning PIAA Class AAA qualifier who is 34-6 this year.

Montgomery’s Porter Hall has a tough draw as the fourth-place Central Sectional finisher with a matchup against Gramly, the No. 17th ranked wrestler in the state (35-8). Lewisburg’s Nolan Altoft and North Penn-Liberty’s Charles Aumick will wrestle with the winner advancing to face Bobotas.

127 POUNDS

This weight features an impressive seven state-ranked wrestlers, giving you an idea of just how loaded central Pennsylvania is when it comes to wrestling if you weren’t already aware.

Colton Wade of Sullivan County is the top-seeded wrestler in the field with a 39-3 record after winning the North Sectional championship. At the opposite end of the bracket is Montoursville’s David Kennedy, a 150-win wrestler who is 31-6 and ranked No. 5 after winning the Central Sectional championship.

Liam Seeley of Montgomery wins his match against Hunter Berry of Sugar Valley during their match at 114 pounds at the PIAA District 4 AA Central Sectional at Hughesville High School. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Also in the bracket is No. 4-ranked Bradley Wagner of Mifflinburg (39-2), No. 23-ranked Brayden Pequignot of North Penn-Liberty (22-7), No. 26-ranked Tanner Vanderpool of Towanda (18-8), No. 29-ranked Carden Wagner of Montgomery (25-7) and No. 30-ranked Landon Michaels of Lewisburg (29-9).

Kennedy is in a tough portion of the bracket. He’ll likely see Towanda’s Tanner Vanderpool in the quarterfinals and will then have to face most likely Mifflinburg’s Wagner in the semifinals.

Kennedy very well could have to go through three straight ranked wrestlers if he wants to win gold. But Kennedy’s battle tested and experienced, having been to the state tournament all three years of his career entering this season.

Milton’s Ty Locke and Muncy’s Kass Snyder will wrestle a first-round matchup with the winner facing Wade and Wagner will face Williamson’s Noah Robinson wtih the winner advancing to face Michaels.

133 POUNDS

While there are four state-ranked wrestlers in the 133-pound bracket, this field is fairly open in terms of who can win it all.

Towanda’s Gage Evans (33-7) is ranked No. 17 and is the No. 2 seed in the field as the North Sectional champion while South Sectional champion Ben Straub of Mifflinburg (37-5) is seeded No. 1 and is ranked No. 20.

Also in the field is Hughesville’s Chase Shaner (33-8) who took second at the Central Sectional and is ranked No. 19 and Montoursville’s Blaize Vogel (28-9), the Central Sectional champion and ranked No. 18.

Shaner and Vogel both could very well meet in the final if they have good performances on Saturday.

Montgomery’s AJ Kroft will wrestle Troy’s Keagan Kerr with the winner facing Straub while Shaner will wrestle either Wyatt Begley of Sullivan County or Line Mountain’s Bradyn Schadel.

Vogel will await either Wellsboro’s Mason Nowak or Warrior Run’s Caden Snyder and Evans faces either Soutehrn’s Kaden Zachmen or Daniel Sielman of Benton.

Vogel, a senior, is eyeing his third ever trip to the regional tournament this year. He’s posted 10 wins by fall, the second most in his career so far, and has nine tech fall wins, the most he’s had in a season.

This marks Shaner’s fourth District 4 championship appearance. He’s nearing in one 150 career wins as well as he sits at 134. Shaner earned his 50th career fall this winter and has nine wins by fall and seven by tech fall this year.

139 POUNDS

Has anyone this year mentioned yet how great Brandt Harer of Montgomery is? I did already last week? Well anyways, let me reiterate that fact. Harer is good. Really good.

The Montgomery junior is not only ranked No. 1 in Pennsylvania, but is ranked No. 5 in the country and will head to Rutgers after he graduates. Harer hasn’t lost a match since the state final in 2023 and he’s 47-0 this year and has dominated every opponent he’s faced.

In other words, no one’s beating Harer. The Montgomery standout has continued to prove why he’s the best in the state and he’s not showing any signs of slowing down on the mat.

Harer overwhelms his opponents the second the whistle blows, and that means not many ever have a chance to score against him.

Harer will face either Mount Carmel’s Lukas Carpenter or Canton’s Tommy Preston in the quarterfinals. Also on Harer’s side f the bracket is Mifflinburg’s Lane Kenamond (34-11), the No. 20th-ranked wrestler. Midd-West’s Charley Paige is ranked No. 17 and is 36-6 and is on the bottom sife of the bracket. Montoursville’s Karter Stone has a first-round matchup against Southern’s Gavin Brown while Sullivan’s Kaegan Bagley will face Sugar Valley’s Jarren McCloskey. Loyalsock’s Ivan Baker, the Central Sectional fourth-place finisher, will wrestle Wyalusing’s Cole Patrick, with the winner advancing to face Kenamond.

145 POUNDS

This field features five state-ranked wrestlers, three of whom are in the top 10 in MIdd-West’s Matthew Smith (42-2, No. 3), Line Mountain’s Nolan Savage (34-9, No. 9) and Towanda’s Riley Vanderpool (35-5, No. 10).

Also in the field is No. 28th-ranked Max Furman of Montgomery (35-12) and No. 29th-ranked Kile Hartman of Hughesville (32-10).

Both Hartman and Furman are sophomores this year and will look to use the success from the Central Sectional tournament to build off and advance. Hartman, the second-place finisher at sectionals, faces either Canton’s Carson Rockwell or Mifflinburg’s Wesley Smith and Furman will face either Northeast Bradford’s Russell Martin or ninth-ranked Savage.

Milton’s Gavin Whitenight has a first-round matchup against Sugar Valley’s Wyatt Conoway and the winner gets Vanderpool in the quarterfinals.

152 POUNDS

This is another field with a number of talented wrestlers who can make a deep run and features six ranked in the state: Southern’s Brayden Andrews (No. 15), Line Mountain’s Dalton Schadel (No. 19), Lewisburg’s Landen Wagner (No. 20), North Penn-Liberty’s Riley Oakes (No. 23), Hughesville’s Keagan Smith (No. 24), and MIdd-West’s Evan Maneval (No. 28).

Smith is on a mission this year and wants to finally get to the state tournament his senior year after having never been able to qualify. The next step of that quest begins today.

Smith is 33-7 and won his first-ever postseason gold medal at sectionals when he beat Benton’s Dylan Brokenshire. Smith will have a tough bracket to get through as he likely will face Wagner, ranked No. 20, in the quarterfinals and could wind up against No. 15-ranked Andrews in the semifinals.

The Spartan has continued to wrestle well all year, however, and will give anyone he faces a tough match.

Muncy’s Paxton Derr, the third-place sectional finisher, faces Schadel in the first round and Montoursville’s Ryan Meredith, who finished fourth, will face Oakes.

160 POUNDS

Warrior Run’s Reagan Milheim is the wrestler to beat at 160 pounds. The Defender is ranked No. 2 in the state behidn only Bishop McDevitt sophomore Melvin Miller and is 37-0 this winter.

Milheim is also the only top-10 wrestler in the field. Montoursville’s Hayden Harvey, who won the Central Sectional, is ranked No. 12 and is seeded second in the bracket with a 34-7 record. The other state-ranked wrestlers are Hughesville’s Mason Mordan (No. 22) and Shamokin’s Chase Pensyl (No. 25).

Milheim, who’s committed to wrestle at American, has 134 career wins entering districts and has only suffered three losses the last two seasons, all last year. The last two years combined Milheim is an impressive 86-3 with 36 falls and 19 tech falls in that span. This year alone, Milheim has 15 tech fall victories and 15 falls. In his 33 contested bouts, only three wrestlers have taken him all three periods.

Harvey has won 13 bouts by fall this year and will look to better his fourth-place finish at districts a year ago.

Mordan, the Central Sectional runner-up will wrestle Southern’s Calus Morrow with the winner facing Northeast Bradford’s Kale Howland. Troy’s Carter Austin will wrestle either Montgomery’s Riaden Felix or Pensyl and Harvey gets either Line Mountain’s Ethan Lanker or Wellsboro’s Silas Hickey.

172 POUNDS

Two top-5 ranked wrestlers are in the 172 bracket and are on opposite sides of the bracket, meaning fans at the Magic Dome could get an awesome final between the No. 4th-ranked and No. 5th-ranked wrestlers if they both win out.

Montoursville’s Gage Wentzel (41-5) won the Central Sectional title and is ranked No. 4 at his weight. On the other side, Warrior Run’s Max Wirnsberger enters 34-4 and won the South Sectional title and is ranked No. 5.

Wirnsberger is committed to wrestle at California Baptist University.

Wentzel and Wirnsberger have wrestled twice this year already. Wirnsberger won with a 5-2 SV-1 decision victory in an exciting bout on Dec. 21 and Wentzel won the rematch with a 4-2 decision on Jan. 23.

If they meet up for Round 3, expect another fun match.

Wirnsberger’s posted five straight pins since that loss to Wentzel.

This is Wentzel’s third straight 40-win season and he’s on pace to best his season-high 45 wins each the last two seasons as he’s sitting at 41. Wentzel has 20 wins by fall this year and 61 for his career. Wentzel took third as a freshman at districts and silver last winter. No doubt he’s eyeing his first gold medal this year.

Wentzel will wrestle either Troy’s Rylan Breidt or Line Mountain’s Kohen Shingara (No. 20) in the semifinals. Lewisburg’s Chase Wenrich, ranked No. 15 with a 32-9 record, wrestles South’s Cole Garber in the first round and the winner advances to wrestle Towanda’s Chase Gaurin. Sayre’s Jordan Brown will wrestle either Grant Yount of Midd-West (ranked No. 21) or Hughesville’s Wyatt Gavitt. Wirnsberger, meanwhile, will wrestle either Wellsboor’s Evan Ingerick or Central Columbia’s Hunter Dietterick.

189 POUNDS

Speaking of Warrior Run, the Defenders have another top-seeded wrestler at 189 in Tyler Ulrich. The Defender is 35-6 and won the South Sectional championship and is ranked No. 10 in the state at his weight.

Montgomery’s Coy Bryson is 41-9 and won the Central Sectional title over Owen Kleinman of Montoursville. Both Bryson (No. 13) and Kleinman (No. 14) are top-15 ranked wrestlers.

Line Mountain’s Maxim Johnson is the other state-ranked wrestler in the bracket as he’s No. 21 with a 31-11 record.

Ulrich will face either Canton’s Leland Pepper or Central Columbia’s Josh Worthington. Bryson will face either Mifflinburg’s Landen Moser or Timothy Freeman of Williamson. Wellsboro’s Ryder Bowen won the North Sectional title at 189 and is 27-3 and seeded No. 3. Towanda’s Zack Lentz is seeded No. 4.

215 POUNDS

Muncy’s Austin Johnson is 35-1 and is the No. 1-ranked wrestler at 215 pounds and is seeded No. 1 in this field. Johnson cruised in the Central Sectional tournament with two falls to win gold. He tied his brother Scott with 146 wins on Saturday to become the program’s second all-time wins leader, but Johnson noted after the tournament that while it’s cool, he isn’t focused on wins.

The only thing Johnson is worried about is winning medals, especially at states.

The Oklahoma State commit is a three-time state medalist, claiming two silvers and a gold so far in his career and no doubt he wants to cap his incredible career with another gold at states.

Johnson’s only loss this year was a decision loss. He’s posted 18 falls and has nine tech fall wins. He’s 146-5 in his career with 82 career falls.

The 215-pound bracket is loaded as there are four top-10 ranked state wrestlers and another ranked 20th.

Towanda’s Sawyer Robinson (36-1) is ranked No. 4 after winning the North Sectional title and is the No. 2 seeded wrestler. Southern Columbia’s Jude Bremigan won the South Sectional title and is ranked No. 9 with a 34-6 record and Mifflinburg’s Landon Tucker, who finished second at sectionals, is 36-8 and ranked No. 10.

Johnson will likely see Warrior Run’s Isaiah Betz (ranked No. 20, 28-9) in the quarterfinals and could wind up against Tucker in the semifinals.

If Johnson wins out, he’d likely run into three straight state-ranked wrestlers to win gold, showcasing the talent at 215.

So who is Robinson’s loss to this year? None other than Johnson, who dominated with a 16-1, 2:07 tech fall on Jan. 25.

Johnson also won via tech fall (19-4, 4:59) against Bremigan and pinned Tucker in 69 seconds early in the season.

That speaks to how good Johnson is that he dominated the No. 4th, 9th and 10th-ranked wrestler in the state this year, and did so with ease.

285 POUNDS

Montoursville’s Landon Morehart has been wrestling great this year and is 34-7 and won the Central Sectional title last week at Hughesville against Central Columbia’s Clayton Whitenight. Morehart is inching closer to the 100-win milestone as he is currently 94-36 in his career. He also needs one pin to reach 50 for his career.

The Warrior is looking to win his first-ever gold medal at districts after taking silver last year. Morehart is in a tough side of the bracket, however. He’s one of four state-ranked wrestlers in the bottom side of the bracket alongside Southern Columbia’s Braylin Smith (26-6, No. 29), Williamson’s Luke Sottolano (32-7, No. 24) and Troys’ Reed Palmer (18-9, No. 30).

The highest-ranked wrestler is Towanda’s Mason Higley (38-0) who is No. 3 in the state and is the top-seed in the field. Higley will face either Robert Whitmer of Shamokin or Hughesville’s Colton Woolever. Warrior Run’s Noah Johnson is the fourth-seed and faces either WEllsboor’s Hayden Stevens or Whitenight.

Smith faces either Sottolano or Montgomery’s Ethan Hugar and Morehart will get either Palmer or Line MOuntain’s Jackson Kauwall.

Manny Stoltzfus of Montgomery is taken down by Branden Eisenhour of Montoursville during their match at 107 pounds at the PIAA District 4 AA Central Sectional at Hughesville High School. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Keagan Smith takes down Dylan Brokenshire of Benton during their match at 152 pounds at the PIAA District 4 AA Central Sectional at Hughesville High School. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

David Kennedy of Montoursville takes down Carden Wagner of Hughesville during their match at 127 pounds at the PIAA District 4 AA Central Sectional at Hughesville High School. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Max Furman of Montgomery wins his match against Kile Hartman of Hughesville during their match at 145 pounds at the PIAA District 4 AA Central Sectional at Hughesville High School. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette