PIAA WRESTLING: ATHENS ADVANCES FOUR TO STATES; WINS CENTRAL REGION TITLE (23 PHOTOS) (February 28, 2026)
Valley Sports ReportMILTON, Pa. — Led by senior Hanna Rathbun, Athens advanced four wrestlers to the PIAA Championships, and won the PIAA Central Region Girls Wrestling team championships here Saturday at Milton High School.
Heading into this week, I thought we could have two, maybe three girls make it through to States," said Athens coach Donnie Barrett. "So to have four is something we didn’t really expect."
"Give credit to all of these kids," he noted. "They came to our room this week and had the best, hardest week of practice of the season.
"With everybody wrestling back through and winning those 3rd place matches that was huge for the momentum heading into next week," added Barrett.
Athens won the team title with 100.5 points, edging out runner-up Montgomery, which tallied 100 points. Hughesville was third with 93 points, while Williamsport was fourth with 76.5 points, and Shikellamy was fifth with 76 points.
"The whole day just showed what our team is all about — just keep fighting," said Barrett. "They had their best tournament of the season at the right time.
"As a team, we are regional champs," said Barrett. "Our caching staff can’t say enough about this whole group of girls.
"This week, we had six girls still competing, but when it came time to practice, we had 10 to 12 girls in the room every night; that just shows what a team they really are," he noted. "They are there for each other; and want the best and will help each other out any way possible.
"It’s a special group of kids, that’s for sure," added Barrett. "Hopefully we can ride this momentum into next week."
Rathbun finished second in the 130-pound bracket, while senior Leah Nason, junior Joyce Clink, and freshman Skylynn Payne each had third-place finishes to book their trip to Hershey.
Junior Abigail Wagner, a two-time state qualifier, just missed a third trip, placing fifth at 170 pounds. Sophomore Alyssa Rinebold was 0-2 at 106 pounds.
Rathbun was 3-1 to finish second at 130 pounds.
Rathbun opened Saturday with a pair of pins, flattening Lake Lehman's Miley O'Kane in 42 seconds in the opening round, then decking Northern Bedford's Emily Dennis in 3:02.
Rathbun punched her ticket to Hershey with a 14-6 major decision of Brielle Walk of Montgomery in the second finals.
Walk scored the only takedown of the first period, and led 3-0 after the initial two minutes, but Rathbun hit a seven-point move early in the second period, and led 10-6 heading into the final two minutes.
Walk chose bottom to start the period, and Rathbun quickly turned her, then rode her out for the final 1:45 to earn the major decision.
In the finals, Rathbun dropped an 18-2 technical fall to Anaiah Kolesar in 2:42.
Rathbun is 35-5 on the season, with her last three losses coming to Kolesar in the final at the Williamsport Showcase, Districts, and Regionals.
"Hanna went out and did what she’s does, and made it to the finals," said Barrett. "She wrestled great all day."
Nason was 3-1 to place third in the 235-pound bracket.
After a bye into the quarterfinals, Nason opened her day with a pin of Curwensville's Emily Neeper in 2:19.
After a scoreless first period, Nason chose top and quickly turned Neeper for the fall.
In the semifinals, Nason scored a takedown against Hazleton Area's Evelyn Sheer midway through the first period, but Sheer chose top to start the second period and turned Nason at 2:59 for the fall.
Nason was able to book her trip to Hershey after a pin of Montgomery's Adeline Rine in 1:54 in the consolation bracket.
After a scoreless first period, Nason turned Rine for a fall in the second period.
In the third-place match, Nason pinned Crestwood's Samara Bailey in 3:42. She led 4-3 after two periods, then chose top to start the third, and was able to turn Bailey for the fall.
"Leah got beat in the semis, then won both matches she needed to win," said Barrett. "She had a good day."
Clink was 5-1 on the day to place third in the 118-pound weight class.
Clink opened the day with a 6-4 win over Hanover Area's Gabriella Griffth, scoring a takedown early in the third period to pull out the win.
In the quarterfinals, Juanita's Madison Bryner knocked Clink into the consolation bracket with an 8-6 win, scoring two takedowns in the first 61 seconds of the match to take a 6-0 lead, then holding on for the win.
Clink answered the loss with four straight wins — all bonus-point victories.
Clink started consolation bracket action with a 12-2 win over Wilkes-Barre Area's Savannah Gonzalez, scoring a takedown in the first period, and a takedown and two-point tilt to take an 8-0 lead midway through the second period.
In her next bout, Clink built a 10-1 lead before recording a fall of River Valley's Kira West.
In the consolation semifinals, Clink forged a 17-1 technical fall of Hazleton's Kayla Torres in 2:46 to punch her ticket to States.
Clink scored a takedown late in the first period, and led 6-1 after a takedown early in the second period. A seven-point move midway through the period made it 13-1, and Clink finished off the move with 14 seconds reaming with four near-fall points.
In the third-place match, Clink decked Crestwood's Rachel Shoemaker in 27 seconds.
Payne was 4-1 to finish third in the 190-pound bracket.
Payne kicked off her day with a pin of Wallenpaupack's Mya Statile in 3:19. After a scoreless first period, Statile recorded an escape to start the second, but Payne took her straight to her back for the fall midway through the stanza.
In the quarterfinals, Payne won via injury default over Shikellamy's Kirsten Grubbs at 2:36. Payne led 3-0, thanks to a first-period takedown, at the time of the stoppage.
Payne lost via fall in 3:58 to District 4 champ Morgan Reichard of Central Columbia in the semifinals. Reichard led 1-0 when she took Payne straight to her back in the closing seconds of the second period.
Payne bounced back in the consolation semis and was Hershey-bound after a 48-second pin of Wilkes-Barre Area's Avah Jobareth.
In the third-place match, Payne pinned Mifflinburg's Taylor Stewart in 2:47 to avenge two losses at Districts.
"Joyce and Sky both lost in the quarters, and both of those were matches they should have won, so that was a little setback," said Barrett.
"However they both regrouped and won three straight matches to punch their tickets," he noted. "They both showed up when they needed to, and that’s solely on them — all heart and grit.
"I couldn’t be happier for either of them, it's very well-deserved," added Barrett.
Wagner was 4-2 to finish fifth in the 170-pound bracket.
In the opening round, Wagner built a quick 11-0 lead before pinning Southern Huntingdon's Emily Ryan in 58 seconds.
In the quarterfinals, Abigail Wagner dropped a 12-1 major decision to Central Mountain's Kendall Wagner, who used a seven-point move midway through the second period to blow the match open.
Abigail Wagner bounced back in the consolation bracket with a 7-1 decision over Southern Columbia's Daphney Bingaman, and a pin of North Stars Laikyn Paxton in 1:49.
In the consolation semifinals, Wagner lost via fall in 1:56 to Shikellamy's Finley Boetsch.
Wagner put herself in position for States as an alternate with a win by injury default over Greater Nanticoke's Sierra Ripka in 3:24. Wagner led 4-0 at the time of the stoppage.
"Abby Wagner also had a great tournament," said Barrett. "She lost a couple of heart-breaker matches.
"She could have thrown the towel in and called it a season," noted Barrett. "Instead, she went out in the fifth-sixth place match and dominated a girl she’s never beaten before."
Rinebold lost via fall to Northern Bedford's Rachel Clouse in the opening round, then dropped a 10-1 major decision to Punxsutawney's Ellie Bodenhorn in her first wrestleback bout.
The PIAA Girls Wrestling Championships begin Thursday at the Giant Center in Hershey.
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PHOTOS BY CHRIS MANNING.
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