It was an action-packed week for Pennsylvania high school wrestling. 

Five PIAA-affiliated schools entered last weekend’s Ironman — one of the nation’s toughest high school tournaments — and that group produced three schools that finished inside the top 20, two individual champions and 11 total medalists. 

Faith Christian Academy Wins Second Straight Ironman Team Title

Faith Christian Academy surged to #1 in the latest Flo 40 national high school team rankings after capturing its second straight Ironman team title. The Lions scored 141 points to finish 12 ahead of second-place Blair Academy, despite the absence of returning Ironman champion and #4-ranked 132-pounder Fred Bachmann and top-ranked 190-pounder Adam Waters forfeiting to sixth place after a loss in the semifinals. 

Five Lions earned medals, led by 285-pound champion Mark Effendian. After going down with a season-ending injury early last season, Cael Weidemoyer made his return up 50 pounds from 165 pounds, where he competed at Ironman last year, and bonused his way to the finals at 215 before falling 9-5 to Maximus Konopka. This performance moved Weidemoyer all the way up to #2 in the country at 215 pounds in the latest update of the 2025-26 High School Wrestling Rankings.

Bishop McCort finished sixth in the team race with 88.5 points and Notre Dame-Green Pond wound up 17th with 54.5. 

Hear from FCA Head Coach Ben Clymer after winning Ironman

Bo Bassett Wins Historic Fourth Ironman Title

After becoming the first four-time Super 32 champion this fall, Bo Bassett joined the history books once again this weekend at Ironman. Bassett teched his way to the finals, where he took on two-time Ironman and PIAA champion Joe Bachmann in the 150-pound title bout. Bassett ultimately came away with a 14-6 major decision for his fourth Ironman championship, joining NCAA and World champions David Taylor (St. Paris Graham, 2005-08) and Zahid Valencia (St. John Bosco, 2011-14) as the only four-time Ironman champs. 

Bassett will chase another four-timer club later this month, as he will have the opportunity to win his fourth Powerade title. You can watch all the action from Powerade live Dec. 29-30 on FloWrestling. 

Watch Bo Bassett win his fourth Ironman title

PIAA Ironman Medalists

106 pounds — Max Quarry, Notre Dame-Green Pond, sixth place

138 pounds — Keanu Dillard, Bethlehem Catholic, fourth place

150 pounds — Bo Bassett, Bishop McCort, champion

150 pounds — Joe Bachmann, Faith Christian Academy, runner-up

157 pounds — Gabriel Ballard, Northampton, eighth place

165 pounds — Melvin Miller, Bishop McCort, runner-up

175 pounds — Nick Singer, Faith Christian Academy, runner-up 

190 pounds — Dominic Sumpolec, Notre Dame-Green Pond, fifth place

190 pounds — Adam Waters, Faith Christian Academy, sixth place

215 pounds — Cael Weidemoyer, Faith Christian Academy, runner-up 

285 pounds — Mark Effendian, Faith Christian Academy, champion 

Nazareth Defeats Easton In Rivarly Dual

Two of Pennsylvania’s most historic and premier programs met for the 100th time last week when Easton tangled with Nazareth. This dual meet made a lot of headlines last year and was later known as the “headgear throw match.” In last year’s meeting, Easton’s Kurtis Crossman picked up a technical fall at 215 pounds in the final bout of the dual to give Easton the 28-27 win, but tossed his headgear toward the bench following the bout and was called for unsportsmanlike conduct, which cost Easton a team point and ultimately gave Nazareth the dual win on criteria. 

This year’s dual once again included some controversy and hardship for Easton. In a key moment for the Red Rovers, Jack Famularo led Nazareth’s Juan Diaz 10-1 late in the second period of the 127-pound bout. As Famularo worked for more near-fall points with a bar, the official slapped the mat for a defensive fall, resulting in six points for Nazareth. You could argue that Famularo was well on his way to a major or technical fall in this bout, creating a 10- or 11-point swing in the dual. 

Ultimately, Nazareth came away with a 32-25 win after scoring victories in seven of the 13 bouts. This brings the all-time record between these schools to 60-36-4, with Easton holding the advantage.

Watch the defensive fall at 127 pounds

Watch the full dual between Nazareth and Easton 

Beast of The East This Weekend

Pennsylvania will be well represented once again this weekend at another one of high school wrestling’s crown jewel events — the Beast of the East inside the Bob Carpenter Center on the University of Delaware campus. The tournament’s 33rd edition will include Bethlehem Catholic, Bishop McCort, Council Rock North, Easton, Nazareth, Notre Dame-Green Pond, Saucon Valley, Manheim Township are expected to compete in a field filled with top teams from the Atlantic coast. 

You can expect to see top competitors such as #1 Bo Bassett, #2 Melvin Miller, #7 Keanu Dillard, along with plenty of other nationally ranked representatives of the Keystone State. You can catch all the action from the Beast of the East live on FloWrestling, with wrestling getting underway Saturday at 8:30 am EST.