Four Penn State wrestling commits were in action Thursday, March 5, to mark the opening of the 2026 PIAA State Championships.
At 121, Norwin’s Landon Sidun is the heavy favorite to reclaim his title after not being able to compete at PIAAs last year due to injury.
At 215, Belle Vernon’s Elijah Brown is looking to defend his state title.
At 133 and 152, Braiden Weaver (Altoona) and James Whitbred (State College) are looking to become state champs for the first time.
All four of them won their first-round matches Thursday in Hershey, and here’s a breakdown of how those four bouts went.
121
Landon Sidun (Norwin)
Less than a week removed from having his 82-match win streak snapped, Sidun, the No. 2 pound-for-pound wrestler in the Class of 2027 per Flo Wrestling, competed like a guy with a chip on his shoulder. He took on Lower Dauphin’s Tommy Oswald and tech-falled him 17-2, needing just 2:37 to do it.
Sidun will now take on Bethlehem Catholic’s Nico Emill in the quarterfinals Friday.
133
Braiden Weaver (Altoona)
Weaver’s match was much closer than Sidun’s. Taking on Abington Heights’ Mason Whitney, the bout was deadlocked until the third period, when Weaver escaped to make it 1-0. That’s how the final score stood.
Next up for Weaver is the quarterfinals, where he’ll take on Drew Scherer of Boiling Springs.
152
James Whitbred (State College)
Whitbread’s match took almost the same amount of time as Sidun’s, with just a two-second difference. A 17-1 tech fall over Notre Dame-Green Pond’s Jared Gonzalez pushed Whitbred into the quarterfinals. Whitebred led 10-1 after the first period, and the second period lasted all of 39 seconds.
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215
Elijah Brown (Belle Vernon)
Brown won his match in 34 seconds. Maybe his quarterfinal bout against Pennridge’s Sawyer Ermigiotti will last a little longer.
Here is the remaining schedule for the PIAA State Wrestling Championships.
Friday
8 a.m. ET — Class 2A boys quarterfinals/second round consolations
10:30 a.m. ET — Class 2A boys third round consolations
2:15 p.m. ET — Class 3A boys quarterfinals/second round consolations
4:45 p.m. ET — Class 3A boys third round consolations
7 p.m. ET — Class 2A/3A boys semifinals
9 p.m. ET — Class 2A/3A boys fourth round consolations,
Saturday
9:30 a.m. ET — Class 2A/3A boys fifth round consolations
11:30 a.m. ET — Class 2A/3A boys third-/fifth-/ seventh place medal matches
4 p.m. ET — Class 2A/3A boys championship finals
