PIAA WRESTLING: ATHENS' COOKE NARROWLY MISSES TRIP TO STATES (2025-03-01)

Valley Sports Report
BETHLEHEM — Sophomore Brendan Cooke finished one win shy of a trip to the PIAA Championships here Saturday with a sixth-place finish at the North East Class 3A Regional Wrestling Championships.

The Wildcats placed 20th in the 51-team field with 25 points.

Nazareth won the team title with 161 points, while runner-up Becahi had 141 points, third-place Notre Dame Green Pond had 138.5 points, fourth-place Northampton had 127 points, and Easton was fifth with 116.5 points.

Cooke, who was knocked into the consolation bracket in the quarterfinals by eventual champion Charlie Scanlan of Becahi, bounced back Saturday morning with a pair of wins to put himself in position for a trip to Hershey.

Cooke opened his day with an 8-5 win over Luke Johnson of LaSalle College, building an early 6-0 lead with a pair of takedowns, then cementing the win with a reversal midway through the third period.

In the consolation quarterfinals, Cooke scored a takedown with 23 seconds remaining to break a 5-5 tie with Wallenpaupack's Tristan Braxton, who scored a reversal at the buzzer to provide the final margin, 8-7.

In the consolation semifinals, Cooke lost via first-period fall to Notre Dame Green Pond's Keegan Ramsey.

In the must-win fifth-place match, District 4 champ Cole Wetzel of Shikellamy forged a 9-2 win over Cooke.

Cooke was the only Wildcats to register a win Saturday.

Senior Caleb Nason at 285 pounds, freshman Treyton Barrett at 145, sophomore Connor Davidson at 172, Wyatt Clink at 133, and Lucas Persun at 127 each lost their first wrestleback match of the day Saturday.

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IN PHOTO: Athens sophomore Brendan Cooke.

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