There will be a new event for wrestlers in Pennsylvania to test themselves. This one, however, won't come after the battles waged falling a long winter season.

The inaugural Ohio vs. Pennsylvania Wrestling All-Star Duals on set to take place on Oct. 10-11 at Venue 18 in Fostoria, Ohio.  One of the event organizers, Caden Crawford, set he expects to see a lot of strong matches.

"Both days will have a high school all-star dual and an open division all-star dual," Crawford said. "The inspiration behind it was wnating to create something different for the wrestling community. Ohio and Pennsylvania both have strong wrestling cultures, and I felt like an all-star dual between the two states could give athletes a bigger stage, more excitement and something that feels more meaningful than a normal offseason match."

There has been a real push to find opportunities for wrestlers outside of their typical high school and college careers. Real American Freestyle has held a number of events over the past year that have provided more mat time for a number of former Olympians, NCAA champions and even UFC fighters.

On the WPIAL front, Franklin Regional graduates Spencer Lee and Nico Megaludis and Kittanning graduate Jason Nolf have all competed in Real American Freestyle.

"I do think events like Real American Freestyle show that people are interested in wrestling when it is presented in a bigger, more exciting way," Crawford said. "I think there is room for more showcase style events that make wrestling feel like a real event, not just another tournament."

The Pennsylvania vs. Ohio All-Star event has seen a number of commitments already from Pittsburgh-area wrestlers, including Seneca Valley's Kaleigh Tuell and Pine-Richland's Giada Campanella. One of the challenges with filling the upper weights on the boys' side will come with a few one of the top wrestlers also playing football.

Crawford believes the event will see a good turnout. The wrestler announcements have been posted on Instagram under the State Pride Wrestling Series account.

​"I think it could create some challenges with certain athletes, especially upper weights, but I also think the right wrestlers will want to compete in something like this," Crawford said. "Since it is an all-star dual and not a full tournament, the goal is quality matchups and strong representation from both states."

Josh Rizzo is editor and publisher of Pittsburgh Preps and Colleges. Story ideas can be submitted to [email protected] or on X @J_oshRizzo.

The number of college programs support women's wrestling will continue to increase. The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference announced via a news release on Friday that it would add the sport as its 24th championship sport starting in the 2026-2027 academic season. There are currently five PSAC schools -- East Stroudburg, Edinboro, Gannon, Lock Haven and Pitt-Johnstown -- that field women's teams.

To help field a schedule, the PSAC chose to admit two other schools D'Youville (N.Y.) and Felican (N.J.) as associate members. The teams will have a round-robin dual meet schedule and the team with the best record will be crowned champions.

“Pennsylvania and wrestling are synonymous together, so adding women's wrestling to our championships menu makes perfect sense,” said Steve Murray, PSAC Commissioner in a news release. “There are 271 high school women's wrestling programs in PA and the number is growing fast at the collegiate ranks as well. Our five members sponsoring women's wrestling will be bolstered by the additions of Felician, D’Youville, and eventually Lackawanna College when they join the PSAC full-time in the near future. We will have a solid foundation as a Division II-only women's wrestling conference. It's a great addition for us.”

Josh Rizzo is the editor and publisher of Pittsburgh Preps and Colleges. Story ideas can be submitted to [email protected] or on X @J_oshRizzo.

PENN HILLS - The progress McKeesport wrestling coach Adam Alfer is chasing isn't anything complicated. With a lineup full of inexperienced wrestlers, Alfer wants to see the Tigers learn from their mistakes.

McKeesport picked up its first dual meet win of the season when it beat Penn Hills, 48-24, Monday night on the road. The Tigers (1-10) received seven forfeits. Tigers freshman Jamal Hafiz picked up McKeesport's lone win on the mat when he pinned Jayden Fuqua at 121 pounds.

"We're just trying to build some confidence in all the moves that they're working on in practice and the repetition their taking," Alfer said. "We want the kids to understand the way the moves work when you hit them out here, not just in the wrestling room, we want the kids to advance into some of the moves they've been working on. Hopefully, it carries into the postseason. We're a young team and hopefully the program continues to grow the sport."

Hafiz improved to 6-8 on the season with five of his wins coming via fall. With the win over Fuqua, Hafiz snapped a two-match slide and won after not wrestling for 10 days.

"He's had an up-an-down season," Alfer said. "He understood coming in that he's been building confidence over the past couple matches and has been working hard in the mat room. He finally put it together against a good kid from Penn Hills."

Penn Hills (0-4) has struggled to keep its numbers up with injuries and eligibility issues. The Indians won four of the five contested matches against McKeesport.

Penn Hills senior Daemon Phipps, who improved to 21-5 with a pinfall win over Isaiah Johnson at 121 pounds, improved to 85-36 in his career on the Indians' Senior Night. Indians coach Jeremy Packer said his team has done the most with what they have available.

The most competitive bout of the night was the 133-pound match between Xavier Nicholas and Evan Morgan. Morgan picked up the first takedown before Nicholas rallied to score a pin. Tony Gay-Scott (172 pounds) and Zakariyaa Lahujjiddin (285) also won for the Indians, winning by pin and injury default, respectively.

"It would be nice if we had a deeper lineup and then we could be a senior-led team and then they could be leading us to wins," Packer said. "It is what it is this year. We're just kind of learning and growing in every match and trying to get better."

McKeesport 48, Penn Hills 24
107: No match
114: Brady Helfrich (M) win by forfeit
121: Jamal Hafiz (M) pin Jayden Fuqua
127: Daemon Phipps (P) p. Isaiah Johnson
133: Xavier Nicholas (P) p. Evan Morgan
139: Jayden Cotton (M) wbf
145: Tyler Faulk (M) wbf
152: Tory Anderson-Pearson (M) wbf
172: Tony Gay-Scott (P) p. Evan Leone
189: Naragana Roka (M) wbf
215: Mahiya Brown (M) wbf
285: Zakariyaa Lahujjiddin (P) injury default Alex Winowitch

Josh Rizzo is the editor and publisher of Pittsburgh Preps and Colleges. Story ideas can be submitted to [email protected] or on X @J_oshRizzo.

The Kiski girls and boys wrestling teams swept Fox Chapel Wednesday night.

ALLEGHENY TWP - Brin Zehmisch once had to look for competition wherever she could find it. The Butler junior girls wrestler couldn't always find people in her weight class in the fledgling sport of girls wrestling. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Zehmisch was eager to accept matches even against opponents that outweighed her significantly.

Zehmisch, who is 35-16 in her career, opened the season by pinning Kiski's Marissa Prignon during the second period of a 130-pound bout Wednesday night on the road.

"As a kid, I wrestled a lot of guys and there weren't many girls who wanted to wrestle," Zehmisch said. "At a small tournament, there was only me and one other girl. I wanted to wrestle no matter what my weight class was. One time I wrestle a girl who was close to 200 pounds when I was 90 pounds."

Zehmisch, who has been wrestling for 10 years, has seen her experience pay off since the WPIAL and PIAA started sponsoring girls wrestling. Last season, Zehmisch finished fourth in the WPIAL at 118 pounds. Zehmisch, who was 21-10 overall, qualified for the West Regional.

Zehmisch, who finished 1-2 at the regional tournament, said she got into wrestling because of her younger sister. Her interest in wrestling was because of her dream to wrestle in the WWE. Once she started with folkstyle, Zehmisch's desire changed.

"My little sister brought a flyer home from school and it seemed like something I wanted to do," Zehmisch said. "It seemed like something I really wanted to do because I wanted to wrestle in the WWE. As I started progressing in wrestling, I didn't want to wrestle in WWE anymore. I like wrestling as it is."

Golden Tornado girls wrestling coach Nathan Bottinger said he was happy with how aggressive Zehmisch was against Prignon.

"She was forcing the pace a little bit," Bottinger said. "She's not a high-pressure kind of kid, but she likes to stay with girls, find that opening and pounce on it."

Zehmisch said she believes her style of wrestling allows her to catch her opponents off guard. During matches, Zehmisch is able to quickly shift her weight to be in better positions.

"Some of the people I practice with, they think I'm heave than I actually am," Zehmisch said. 

Josh Rizzo is the editor and publisher of Pittsburgh Preps and Colleges. Story ideas can be submitted to [email protected] or on X @J_oshRizzo