H.S. GIRLS WRESTLING: Five Schuylkill League wrestlers qualify for state regionals
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Five local Schuylkill League girls wrestlers will be wrestling in this weekend’s Southeast Regional Girls’ Wrestling Championships at Quakertown High School.
This past weekend, District 11 held its annual Girls Wrestling Championships at Freedom High School in Bethlehem.
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The headlining news coming out of the District 11 championships is that both Panther Valley’s Brenda Banks, a three-time state champion, and Pine Grove’s Geanna Lemke won District 11 championships at their respective weight classes. Banks was also named the Outstanding Wrestler of the Tournament.
Banks, one of the most dominant Pennsylvania girls wrestlers ever, picked up her 28th, 29th, and 30th victories of the season on Sunday to improve her record to 30-0. The three-time state champion won all three matches via pin, bringing her pin total this season up to 25. Her other five victories have all been via forfeit.
The Panther Valley star is now 103-2 overall in her high school career and has won 58 straight matches dating back to last season. PAWrestling.com ranks Banks as the top 235-pounder in Pennsylvania as well as the fourth-best wrestler pound-for-pound in the state. She is currently one of 10 wrestlers in the state who have 25 or more wins and remain perfect this season, including the lone wrestler in her weight class.
Lemke, a 142-pound star for Pine Grove, earned four victories over the weekend to improve her overall record to 29-3. After picking up a pair of tech fall victories to start her day, Lemke won both her semifinal and final bouts with pins. The sophomore finished second at last year’s District 11 Champions before finishing fifth at regionals at 142 pounds. She’ll enter this weekend’s regional championships with a career record of 59-11 and a six-match winning streak. Of her three losses this season, two have come against opponents who appeared in last year’s state championships.
Also locking in trips to the Southeast Regional Championships were Panther Valley’s Alisa Williams at 170 pounds, finishing second at the District 11 championships, Pine Grove’s Rieleigh Purcell and Audrey Graeff, finishing second and third, respectively, at 190 and 235 pounds, will also make the trip to Quakertown this upcoming weekend.
Williams has posted a 29-5 record this season, after going 33-10 last season. This will be her second trip to the Southeast Regionals after finishing fourth last year, earning a trip to the state championships.
Purcell, at 190 pounds, will make her first appearance at the regional championship and boasts a 19-8 record this season with 12 wins via pin.
Graeff earned her trip to regionals after her third-place finish. The junior has collected a 9-6 record this season with eight wins by fall. Graeff won five of six matchups on Sunday, with her lone loss coming to Brenda Banks.