Valley Sports ReportSTATE COLLEGE — Athens' Beau Hall earned medals at both the Keystone States and the PJW Youth State Championships, while Sophia Barrett, Nathaniel MacBride, and Elizabeth Trowbridge also earned state medals.
"Overall, it was an outstanding two weeks for the Athens youth wrestling program," said coach Travis Bennett. "At Keystones, Athens youth had four kids competing and three of them brought back state medals, and had all four wrestling on Day 2 of the tournament.
"At PJW, the kids ran into some very tough early-round match ups, but Sophia and Beau battled back and add to their state medal collection," noted Barrett.
"For the program to have 10 kids competing over two weeks and earn five medals is outstanding," added Bennett. "It is very exciting to see all their hard work pay off and to watch them compete and beat some of the best kids from top programs across the state."
KEYSTONE STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS — March 14-16
Hall and MacBride won state medals to lead an Athens trio of boys at the Keystone State Championships, while Trowbridge also brought home state hardware from the Bryce Jordan Center.
Hall, who was the runner-up the week prior at the Northeast Qualifier, was 3-0 on Day 1, with two falls and one technical fall, to reach the semifinals in the 10U, 150-pound weight class.
On Day, Hall dropped an 8-1 decision in the semifinals, but rebounded to win his consolation semi-final match, 5-0, before losing the third-place match, 7-0, to Travis Shearer of Lakeview to finish fourth and earn his first state medal.
McBride, who placed third at the Northeast Qualifier in the 12U 145-pound weight class, and Silas Bennett, who was fourth at the Qualifier in the 12U 80-pound weight class, each went 2-1 on Day 1.
McBride got off to a quick start on Day 2, winning his first consolation bracket match by fall in 66 seconds. He secured a state medal with a 4-0 win over Lucas Schoeneberger of Nazareth in the "blood round.
McBride would drop his next match to the eventual third-place finisher, before capping off his first tournament with a 5-1 win in the seventh-place match for his first state medal.
Bennett dropped his lone consolation bracket on Day 2 to finish at 2-2.
On the girls side, Trowbridge, wrestling in the 8U, 66-pound weight class, was 2-3 on the week to earn an 8th-place medal in the Girls Open State Championships.
PJW STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS — March 20-22
HARRISBURG — Sophia Barrett and Beau Hall won state medals to lead six Athens youth wrestlers at the PJW State Championships at the Farm Show Complex.
Barrett was 4-2 over the two-day tournament to earn a fifth-place medal in the 12U, 84-pound weight class.
Both of Barrett's losses were to eventual third-place finisher and Keystone States runner-up Jayleigh Rex of Oil City.
Barrett has now won state medals three years in a row, finishing second last year, and fourth in 2023.
Hall, wrestling in the 10U 150-pound weight class, was 5-2 on the weekend, losing only to the second- and third-place finishers. He finished seventh to claim his second state medal in as many weeks.
The Wildcats had four other boys wrestling in the championships: Driver Jennings, Jacob Cobb, and Nathaniel MacBride were all eliminated after Day 1, while Silas Bennett finished 2-2, falling in wrestlebacks on Day 2.
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IN PHOTO 1: Athens' Beau Hall and Sophia Barrett. IN PHOTO 2: Athens' Alex MacBride. ... PHOTOS PROVIDED.
