Through the past two seasons, it’s become customary for the pair to meet in the finals or semifinals anytime the two teams attend an event. Three weeks after his most recent loss to Wirnsberger, Wentzel got his chance at a run-back. And at Saturday’s PHAC Wrestling Championships at Bloomsburg University, he’d make the most of it.

With a 2-1 lead late, Wentzel put Wirnsberger in a rough spot amidst a scramble and kept up the intensity, pressing his opponent into the mat until he eventually gave for the takedown. He then briefly turned Wirnsberger on his back, gaining four near-fall points and ultimately, coming away with a 9-1 major decision to claim PHAC gold at 172.

“My hands were heavier,” said Wentzel when discussing the difference between Saturday’s matchup against Wirnsberger and the previous. I controlled center, got to my offense more and whenever I got to the edge and whatnot, I didn’t let him circle back in and shoot me out, which definitely played a factor in that.”

“It goes back to the mat room. We practice every day just to get better and be able to compete on the weekends, not to wrestle an individual. We don’t see names,” he added when asked about the win.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Montoursville's Gage Wentzel wrestles Warrior Run's Max Wirnsberger at 172 during the final rounds of the PHAC wrestling championships at Bloomsburg University on Saturday.

His gold was one of three for the Warriors.

Alongside Wentzel, Montoursville junior Hayden Harvey and sophomore Branden Eisenhour kept up their successful seasons, taking first at 107 and 189 respectively. They were just three of the team’s PHAC medalists on the day, medals which culminated in the Warriors earning PHAC bronze as a squad with 175 team points.

“We’re always in the room pushing each other, trying to be the best,” said Harvey when discussing the team’s success. “Gage and I are in there, grinding as hard as we can because we want to place high in postseason and go for that championship.”

For Harvey, the run was another cog in what’s been a strong season of improvements. The junior now has two titles in the team’s three tournaments so far this season, and this one sported similar difficulty to his previous at King of the Mountain.

Facing No. 7 Tyler Ulrich (Warrior Run) in the 189 final, Harvey broke through with a five-point move deep in the first period before shifting to a defensive mentality. He allowed Ulrich to score just one point on a third-period escape, capping a championship run that also featured two first-period pins with a strong, 6-1 decision.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Montoursville's Gage Wentzel wrestles Warrior Run's Max Wirnsberger at 172 during the final rounds of the PHAC wrestling championships at Bloomsburg University on Saturday.

“Hard work pays off,” said Harvey when discussing his success this season. “It was a good, aggressive match. I got the pace up, kept going, trying to score points. But that’s not the last time I’ve got to see him, so I’ve got to keep my mindset good for the next time going in.”

In terms of quick, dominant runs, Eisenhour wasted little time securing the second gold medal of his sophomore campaign. His first two pins didn’t even combine to fill a full period, coming in at 30 and 83 seconds, and his last against Warrior Run freshman Kael Majcher didn’t take much longer, as he secured it early in the second to claim 107 gold.

Three Warriors reached their respective third-place bouts in Coltyn Wagner (114), Brody Bower (127) and Teli Bobotas (133), with the latter two claiming bronze. Freshman Blake Fry finished in sixth at 152, Kaden Kleinman (139) and Mason Murray (215) took seventh and Gabe Vanderwall (285) placed in eighth to round out the team’s placements.

Apart from Montoursville, Central Mountain and Jersey Shore, three other area athletes claimed gold in Williamsport’s Jordan Piselli (114), Lewisburg’s Landen Wagner (152) and Warrior Run’s Reagan Milheim (160).

Piselli bounced back from a rough stint at King of the Mountain, bulldozing his way to the final before matching up with a wrestler that outranked him in No. 10 Rowen Humphrey (Southern Columbia). The pair matched up in the previous rendition of the event, with Piselli coming out on top in a tight 2-0 decision.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Montoursville's Hayden Harvey wrestles Warrior Run's Tyler Ulrich at 189 during the final rounds of the PHAC wrestling championships at Bloomsburg University on Saturday.

However, in the run back, Piselli was much more dominant. The junior secured a takedown and near-fall points in all three periods, racking up 14 unanswered points before Humphrey answered with a late reversal to avoid a tech fall. It was a win and tournament run that gave the Millionaire confidence heading into the latter portion of the season.

“A lot of it was that today, I felt great,” said Piselli on the difference between their two matchups. “All my teammates were beside me, and I was taking it less seriously overall. I had a bad tournament earlier this year (King of the Mountain) where I was overthinking the competition, and I feel like I really honed in on just wrestling and fixed that up for the last two tournaments.”

“I expected to beat him, but I don’t know if I expected quite the score discrepancy,” he added on the match.

Through four matches, Milheim saw the second period just once, posting three first-period pins to cruise to 160 gold.

His performance headlined a strong day for the Defenders, one which saw three others (Majcher, Wirnsberger and Ulrich) reach PHAC finals and finish as runners-up, Noah Johnson claim bronze at 285, Chase Wirnsberger take fourth at 114 and Blake Parker place sixth at 215. With those efforts, Warrior Run accumulated 139 team points to finish in fifth.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Montoursville's Branden Eisenhour wrestles Warrior Run's Kael Majcher at 107 during the final rounds of the PHAC wrestling championships at Bloomsburg University on Saturday.

Hughesville was next in line, finishing in eight behind six medalists. Kile Hartman led the way, claiming 160 silver. Wesley Harvey (145) and Colton Woolever (215) each placed fourth, and Ethan Wodrig (133) and Joey Laubacher (114) finished in sixth to round out the Spartans’ medalists.

Wagner’s title at 152 helped Lewisburg finish one slot behind the Spartans, with Landon Michaels (133), Nolan Altoft (139) and Ethan Long (160) winning their fifth-place bouts and Anthony Vazquez (114) and Bentley Chappell (127) finishing in eighth.

Joining Piselli on the podium for the Millionaires were Lauger Waldman (139), Collin Nasdeo (127) and Alexander Wright (145), who claimed third, fourth and eighth respectivel to help Williamsport finish in 11th. And rounding out the area’s medalists were Loyalsock’s Ivan Baker and Carter Brown, with Baker claiming silver at 145 and Brown taking eighth at 133.

PHAC CHAMPIONSHIPS

FIRST-PLACE FINALS

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Montoursville's Teli Bobotas wrestles Central Mountain's Patrick Tarantella at 133 during the semifinal rounds of the PHAC wrestling championships at Bloomsburg University on Saturday.

107: Branden Eisenhour, Montoursville, pinned Kael Majcher, Warrior Run, 2:17. 114: Jordan Piselli, Williamsport, maj. dec. Rowen Humphrey, Southern, 14-2. 121: Griffin Walls, Mifflinburg, pinned Gabriel Fisher, Jersey Shore, 0:31. 127: Gavin Heverly, CM, dec. Jack Gramly, Mifflinburg, 7-2. 133: Bradley Wagner, Mifflinburg, tech fall Patrick Tarantella, CM, 18-3, 3:22. 139: Benjamin Straub, Mifflinburg, dec. Alex Kadryna, Selinsgrove, 5-1. 145: Aiden Kunes, CM, tech fall Ivan Baker, Loyalsock, 21-5, 2:42. 152: Landen Wagner, Lewisburg, dec. Brayden Andrews, Southern, 3-2, TB2. 160: Reagan Milheim, WR< pinned Kile Hartman, Hughesville, 1:28. 172: Gage Wentzel, Montoursville, maj. dec. Max Wirnsberger, WR, 9-1. 189: Hayden harvey, Montoursville, dec. Tyler Ulrich, WR, 6-1. 215: Landon Tucker, Mifflinburg, pinned Todd Caris, CM, 2:58. 285:Brody Rebuck, Shikellamy, dec. Jack Peters, Selinsgrove, 4-0. THIRD-PLACE FINALS 107: Colton Kratzer, SElinsgrove, pinned Ashton Hughes, Shamokin, 3:42. 114: Max Hallman, Shikellamy, dec. Coltyn Wagner, Montoursville, 5-2. 121: Collin Bauman, CM, pinned Liam Grey, Southern, 2:03. 127: Brody Bower, Montoursville, def. Collin Nasdeo, Williamsport, by forfeit. 133: Teli Bobotas, Montoursville, dec. Chase Wirnsberger, WR, 4-1. 139: Lauger Waldman, Williamsport def. Hayes Donley, CM, by forfeit. 145: Gavin Richard, Southern, dec. Westley Harvey, Hughesville, 7-2. 152: Louden Spotts, Jersey Shore, dec. Lane Kenamond, Mifflinburg, 5-3. 160: Dalton McDermott, CM, dec. Tobias Morgret, Jersey Shore, 7-2, SV. 172: Caius Morrow, Southern, pinned Oliver Patte, Mifflinburg, 3:53. 189: Christian Boetsch, Shikellamy, dec. Hunter Donley, CM, 7-2. 215: John Quinton, Southern, dec. Colton Woolever, Hughesville, 4-0. 285: Noah Johnson, WR< dec. Claton Whitenight, Central Columbia, 7-2. FIFTH-PLACE FINALS 107: Colin Roman, Mifflinburg, pinned Hunter Nace, CM, 2:03. 114: Angelo Tarantella, CM, pinned Joey Laubacher, Hughesville, 0:32. 121: Anthony Snook, Selinsgrove, tech fall Jake Hendricks, Shikellamy, 17-1, 3:13. 127: Ezeriah Tobias, Danville, maj. dec. Gavin Rebuck, Selinsgrove, 8-0. 133: Landon Michaels, Lewisburg, pinned Ethan Wodrig, Hughesville, 2:15. 139: Nolan Altoft, Lewisburg, def. Ryder Borich, Shikellamy, by forfeit. 145: Gradyn Shuck, Mifflinburg, maj. dec. Ryan Harpster, Selinsgrove, 14-4. 152: Luke Garman, CM, def. Blake Fry, Montoursville, by forfeit. 160: Ethan Long, Lewisburg, def. Wesley Smith, Mifflinburg, by forfeit. 172: Jonathan Dincher, Jersey Shore, def. Mario Serafini, CM, by forfeit.. 189: Hunter Collett, Bloomsburg, pinned Chance Swatski, Mount Carmel, 1:53. 215: Owen Hoffman, Selinsgrove, dec. Blake Parker, WR, 5-3. 285: Landon Moser, Mifflinburg, def. Braylen Smith, Southern, by forfeit. SEVENTH-PLACE FINALS 107: Kyle Curland, Central Columbia, dec. Austin Wolfe, Shikellamy, 3-2. 114: Colt Carmean, Central Columbia, tech fall Anthony Vazquez, Lewisburg, 16-0, 3:29.. 121: Jake Keller, Bloomsburg, dec. Brayden Mirarck, Mount Carmel, 9-4. 127: Cole Horrax, Central Columbia, dec. Bently Chappell, Lewisburg, 4-1. 133: Keatin Lattimore, Shikellamy, def. Carter Brown, Loyalsock by forfeit. 139: Kaden Kleinman, Montoursville, pinned Gavin Trometter, Southern, 2:34.. 145: Gavin Keefer, Shikellamy, pinned Alexadner Wright, Williamsport, 2:19. 152: Landen Puderbach, Hughesville, dec. Lukas Carpenter, Mount Carmel, 5-2. 160: Wyatt Schrader, Bloomsburg, pinned Cain Carter, Selinsgrove, 2:46. 172: Evan Jones, Mount Carmel, pinned Hunter Derk, Selinsgrove, 2:02. 189: Jaxon Felmey, Mifflinburg, dec. Riley Kanski, Jersey Shore, 7-0. 215: Mason Murray, Montoursville, pinned Noah Musselman, Central Columbia, 0:25. 285: Hayes Henry, CM, dec. Gabe Vanderwall, Montoursville, 7-`. CHAMPIONSHIP SEMIFINALS 107: Branden Eisenhour, Montoursville, pinned Colton Kratzer, Selinsgrove, 0:30; Kale Majcher, WR, tech fall Collin Roman, Mifflinburg, 20-4, 2:00. 114: Rowen Humphrey, Southern, pinned Coltyn Wagner, Montoursville, 2;43; Jordan Piselli, Williamsport, tech fall Max Hallman, Shikellamy, 20-2, 4:58. 121: Griffin Walls, Mifflinburg, dec. Anthony Snook, Selisngrove, 5-2; Gabriel Fisher, Jersey Shore, tech fall Collin Bauman, CM, 20-5, 3:23. 127: Jack Gramly, Mifflinburg, pinned Exeriah Tobias, Danville, 0:49; Gavin Heverly, CM, dec. Collin Nasdeo, Williamsport, 4-0. 133: Bradley Wagner, Mifflinburg, tech fall Chase Wirnsberger, WR, 20-4, 1:49; Patrick Tarantella, CM, maj. dec. Teli Bobotas, Montoursville, 16-3. 139: Benjamin Straub, Mifflinburg, tech fall Hayes Donley, CM, 15-0, 4:22; Alex KAdryna, Selinsgrove, maj. dec. Lauger Waldman, Williamsport, 11-2. 145: Aiden Kunes, CM, tech fall Gavin Richard, Southern, 17-1, 3:59; Ivan Baker, Loyalsock, dec. Ryan Harpster, Selinsgrove, 5-2. 152: Landen Wagner, Lewisburg, dec. Louden Spotts, Jersey Shore, 10-3; Brayden Andrews, Southern, dec. Lane Kenamond, Mifflinburg, 7-3. 160: Reagan Milheim, WR, tech fall Wesley Smith, Mifflinburg, 17-2, 1:44; Kile Hartman, Hughesville, maj. dec. Tobias MOrgret, Jersey Shore, 11-3. 172: Max Wirnsberger, WR, tech fall Oliver Patte, Mifflinburg, 17-2, 2:00; Gage Wentzel, Montoursville, pinned caius Morrow, Southern, 0:55. 189: Hayden Harvey, Montoursville, pinned Hunter Collett, Bloomsburg, 1;24; Tyler Ulrich, WR< dec. Christian Boetsch, Shikellamy, 8-4. 215: Landon Tucker, Mifflinburg, pinned Owen Hoffman, Selinsgrove, 1;22; Todd Caris, Central Mountain, pinned John Quinton, Southern, 1:25. 285: Brody Rebuck, Shikellamy, pinned Clayton Whitenight, Central Columbia, 2:45; Jack Peters, SElinsgrove, dec. Braylen Smith, Southern, 4-1 SV. CONSOLATION SEMIFINALS 107: Colton Kratzer, Selinsgrove, pinned Hunter Nace, CM, 1:48; Ashton Hughes, Shamokin, pinned Collin Roman, Mifflinburg, 3:09. 114: Coltyn Wagner, Montoursville, tech fall Joey Laubacher, Hughesville, 18-3, 1:17; Max Hallman, Shikellamy, pinned Angelo Tarantella, CM, 2:12. 121: Liam Gray, Southern, maj. dec. Anthony Snook, Selinsgrove, 9-0; Collin Bauman, CM, pinned Jake HEndricks, Shikellamy, 2:14. 127: Brody Bower, Montoursville, dec. Ezeriah Tobias, Danville, 10-3; Collin Nasdeo, Williamsprot, tech fall Gavin Rebuck, Selinsgrove, 17-2, 3:50. 133: Chase Wirnsberger, WR, dec. EThan Wodrig, Hughesville, 10-4; Teli Bobotas, Montoursville, maj. dec. Landon Michaels, Lewisburg, 13-2. 139: Hayes Donley, CM, dec. Ryder Borich,Shikellamy, 7-4; Lauger Waldman, Williamsprot, dec. Nolan Altoft, Lewisburg, 6-1. 145: Gavin Richard, Southern, pinned Gradyn Shuck, Mifflinburg, 2:31; Westley Harvey, Hughesville, dec. Ryan Harpster, Selinsgrove, 14-7. 152: Louden Spotts, Jersey Shore, def. Blake Fry, Montoursville by forfeit; Lane Kenamond, Mifflinburg, pinned Luke Garman, CM, 2:31. 160: Dalton McDermott, CM, dec. Wesley Smith, Mifflinburg, 8-4; Tobias Morgret, Jersey Shore, maj. dec. Ethan Long, Lewisburg, 8-0. 172: Oliver Patte, Mifflinburg, dec. Mario Serafini, CM, 7-4 SV; Caius Morrow, Southern, pinned JOnathan Dincher, Jersey Shore, 2:29. 189: Hunter Donley, CM, pinned Hunter Collett, Bloomsburg, 2:05; Christian Boetsch, Shikellamy, dec. Chance Swatski, Mount Carmel, 12-8. 215: Colton Woolever, Hughesville, dec. Owen Hoffman, Selinsgrove, 2-1; John Quinton, Southern, pinned Blake Parker, WR, 2:25. 285: Clayton Whitenight, Central Columbia, dec. Landon Moser, Mifflinburg, 7-3; Noah Johnson, WR, pinned Braylen Smith, Southern, 4:51.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Williamsport's Jordan Piselli wrestles Southern Columbia's Rowen Humphrey at 114 during the final rounds of the PHAC wrestling championships at Bloomsburg University on Saturday.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Hughesville's Kile Hartman wrestles Warrior Run's Reagan Milheim at 160 during the final rounds of the PHAC wrestling championships at Bloomsburg University on Saturday.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Lewisburg's Landen Wagner wrestles Southern Columbia's Brayden Andrews at 152 during the final rounds of the PHAC wrestling championships at Bloomsburg University on Saturday.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Williamsport coach Brian Nasdeo works with Williamsport's Collin Nasdeo during a a match with Central Mountain's at 127 during the semifinal rounds of the PHAC wrestling championships at Bloomsburg University on Saturday.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Montoursville's Coltyn Wagner wrestles Southern Columbia's Rowen Humphrey at 114 during the semifinal rounds of the PHAC wrestling championships at Bloomsburg University on Saturday.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Loyalsock's Ivan Baker wrestles Selinsgrove's Ryan Harpster at 145 during the semifinal rounds of the PHAC wrestling championships at Bloomsburg University on Saturday.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Loyalsock's Ivan Baker wrestles Central Mountain's Aiden Kunes at 145 during the final rounds of the PHAC wrestling championships at Bloomsburg University on Saturday.