The high school season is coming to a close in Pennsylvania with the state’s crown jewel set — the PIAA state championships — to begin Thursday at the Giant Center in Hershey. This tournament is always loaded with top-tier talent, highly anticipated matches and exciting team races, and this year will be no different. 

Here are nine potential matchups to watch this weekend in Hershey. 

AA 145: #1 Bo Bassett (Bishop McCort) vs. #4 Brandt Harer (Montgomery) 

This is the one the high school wrestling world is waiting to see. 

Bassett (166-0) is a two-time champ with 155 bonus-point wins and is chasing history — a third title and a perfect career, something only four wrestlers have ever done. A state title would put him in a Pennsylvania high school club with Jerry Maurey (67-0), Mike Johnson (84-0), Cary Kolat (137-0), and Chance Marsteller (166-0). 

Harer (211-2) is also a two-time champ and is now the PIAA career wins leader. He hasn’t lost at states since the 2023 finals when he dropped a 5-1 decision to Gauge Botero as a freshman, and he’s racked up 186 bonus-point wins during his career. 

We almost saw this in the Dual Team State Championships when McCort and Montgomery collided in the quarterfinals. But Harer’s coach and father — Denny Harer — elected to save the potential showdown for Hershey. 

Harer enters the AA 145-pound bracket as the top seed and will be heavily favored to make his fourth PIAA title bout appearance. Bassett, the #2 seed, will likely only be tested in the semifinals against two-time PIAA medalist and 2024 finalist #10 Greyson Music. Bassett is known for his world-class handfight and footwork as well as his unrelenting pace, while Harer is nearly impossible to take down as he uses his length and hips to dominate scrambles, and turns nearly everyone he wrestles with his tilts. 

The path to victory for Bassett is to dominate the hand fight, keep the pace high, and stay on his offense. For Harer, he will likely look to use Bassett’s pressure against him with his slide-by and short offense, slow down the match, create scrambles, and ride hard from the top position. 

AAA 121: #14 Mateo Gallegos (DuBois) vs. #1 Landon Sidun (Norwin) 

This one suddenly became a must-watch match in Hershey after Gallegos stunned Sidun 3-2 on a tiereaker reversal in the West Regional final, ending an 82-match winning streak for the three-time Powerade champ and #1 120-pounder in the country.  

Gallegos, a returning state finalist, now owns the top seed. Meanwhile, Sidun could have to go through #12 Nico Emili in the quarters and 2024 champ Dominic Morrison in the semis. Sidun and Morrison met back in December at Beast of the East, and it was a 4-1 sudden victory win for Sidun. 

If they meet again, expect another razor-thin battle. And remember — Sidun lost in regionals as a freshman and then won the state tournament the next week.

AA 160: #1 Melvin Miller (Bishop McCort) vs. #13 Reagan Milheim (Warrior Run) 

A rematch of last year’s final.

Milheim, a 2024 champ, is looking to make his fourth PIAA finals appearance. After a runner-up finish as a freshman, he won a state title as a sophomore at 145 and has since gone 95-1 with his lone loss coming to Miller via an 11-2 major decision in last year’s finals. 

Miller is chasing his third straight title and remains one of the country’s most explosive talents.

Last year, Miller scored 10 first-period points in the final. If Milheim wants revenge, he has to slow him early. Almost no one has been able to do that, except for national #1 Jayden James. 

Watch Miller Defeat Milheim In The 2025 PIAA Finals

AA 127: #5 Freddy Bachmann (Faith Christian Academy) vs. #13 Dominic Deputy (Chestnut Ridge) 

Two returning champs could collide.

Bachmann went 43-0 as a freshman en route to a title. Deputy is a three-time finalist who broke through last year to win the 121-pound title with a 4-2 victory against Bachmann’s teammate, Gauge Botero. 

Bachmann will be heavily favored to make the finals once again, while Deputy will likely see returning PIAA runner-up in the semifinals on the bottom side of the bracket. If Bachmann and Deputy meet up, expect a tactical bout. Bachmann scores early and controls pace. Deputy is dangerous on top and won’t hesitate to lock up a cradle. There’s also history here — Bachmann’s brother, Joe, beat Deputy in the 2024 finals.

AA 172: #4 Nick Singer (Faith Christian Academy) vs. #15 Gage Wentzel (Montoursville) 

Another possible finals rematch.

Singer dominated last year’s title bout 12-3 and has since added a Fargo title and a Who’s #1 win to his résumé.

Wentzel, a three-time state medalist, has lost just one PIAA match this season. He dropped a bout to Max Wirnsberger at the King of the Mountain, but he has avenged it now four times since and is 45-2 on the season.  

If they meet again, Wentzel must finish clean. Singer came out of nearly all of their exchanges with takedowns and ended up winning a 12-3 major decision. It’s also worth noting that there was an exchange in which Singer was called for an illegal slam and Wentzel admirably elected to continue wrestling rather than taking a win by disqualification. 

Watch Singer Defeat Wentzel In The 2025 PIAA Finals

AAA 133: #5 Keanu Dillard (Bethlehem Catholic) vs. Wilmont Kai (Whitehall)

Dillard is closing in on history. He’s looking to become the 15th four-time PIAA champion. To do so, may need to beat Kai — a returning champ — for the third straight weekend. Dillard won the first two meetings 1-0 and 4-2.

Kai must break through Dillard’s elite defense. Dillard will look to control ties, ride tough, and close the door on his fourth title. 

AA 114: #8 Chase Karenbauer (Grove City) vs. #14 Braiden Lotier (Bishop McDevitt) 

Karenbauer was 44-0 heading into last year’s state tournament and the favorite to win the 107-pound AA title. Then he got knocked off in the semifinals by Carter Chunko before coming back to place third. ON the other side of the bracket, Lotier navigated his way to the finals witha 15-5 major decision over Keegan Bassett before defeating Chunko 7-1 for the title. 

Karenbauer got revenge in Fargo, winning 9-1 to place third at 113 pounds. They met again in December at Powerade, where Karenbauer won a 1-0 decision to hand Lotier his only loss of the season. 

If they meet again, expect another low-scoring scrap. Karenbauer wants to control the match on top. Lotier needs to find a way off the bottom to reverse the outcome. 

Watch Karenbauer Defeat Lotier In The 2025 Powerade Finals

AAA 189: Mario Hutcherson (Kiski Area) vs. #10 Dominic Sumpolec (Notre Dame-Green Pond)

Hutcherson came into high school as a highly acclaimed prospect and he took sixth at the PIAA tournament as a freshman. He seems to have jumped levels this year and is 44-1 with 40 bonus-point wins. His lone loss came to Sumpolec in the Powerade semis. In that match, Hutcherson came out with a furious pace and led 2-1 off a pair of stall warnings and a hands-to-theface penalty. 

Sumpolec showed some veteran savvy in the final seconds, picking up a single-leg finish on the edge of the mat for a 4-3 victory.  

If they see each other again, Hutcherson will push the pace. Sumpolec will counter and scramble and ride tough on top. Both are chasing their first state title.

Watch Sumpolec Defeat Hutcherson Late In The 2025 Powerade Semifinals

AAA 215: Kendahl Hoare (DuBois) vs. Cooper Roscosky (Kiski Area)

Hoare burst onto the scene last year as a freshman when he took sixth at 189, while Roscosky found himself on the short end of his rivalry with Elijah Brown and took second at 215. 

They’re 1-1 this season — Roscosky won big in December; Hoare answered with a 3-2 ultimate tiebreaker last weekend in the West Regional semifinals. 

A semifinal clash could decide who gets another shot at Brown.

Pennsylvania High School Premium Rankings

Check out the Pennsylvania High School Wrestling Premium Rankings, which are generated by using an athlete’s complete match history to predict a wrestler’s performance against others in their weight class by considering factors such as win-loss records, the quality of their victories (pins, technical falls, major decisions), the strength of their opponents, and overall historical performance patterns. 

The data is updated every Monday, sourced from the Trackwrestling season results. Since each team is responsible for maintaining its season results, any data discrepancies for a wrestler should be addressed by contacting their coach to manage the information within the season. This includes the weight class assigned. Wrestlers are eligible to be ranked after competing in five matches at a single weight.