Pennsylvania
Guy Ciarrocchi: McCormick promotes Pennsylvania in a most un-Pennsylvanian way
It’s a tale of two outlooks. A tale of two different priorities. Of two different types of leaders.
Pennsylvania Senator Dave McCormick invited the President, much of his cabinet and almost 3 dozen of America’s top corporate executives from technology, energy, manufacturing, finance and workforce development to collaborate at his “Pennsylvania Energy & Innovation Summit.”
The focus: America — not China — must win the battle to develop and use artificial intelligence. And Pennsylvania should lead the way to this new economy, with more natural gas energy than Saudi Arabia has oil, technology hubs, nuclear, coal and hydro-powered plants, and countless universities and trade schools.
Before they left, the President and his cabinet pledged to do everything they could with policies and regulatory support. Executives pledged to work cooperatively and focused on that vision. And over $92 billion was publicly committed for specific technology and energy projects. That’s just the start.
A freshman senator with business, military, and government experience looked at the technology challenges and opportunities facing America and our state, looked at our existing assets and set forth a vision and a plan to do it. America’s best and brightest came to Pittsburgh and said: “yes!”
Contrast this with Harrisburg. For the third time in three years, Pennsylvania doesn’t have a budget on time. For the third year in a row, Governor Shapiro is trying to spend more money than we have in revenue. For the third year in a row, he pushes “fixes” to allow him to spend more than we have: raise taxes, create new taxes and borrow from our savings.
The GOP-led State Senate is opposed to spending more than we have, raising taxes, and borrowing to fill Shapiro’s debt.
That’s the story of the last three years — and, frankly, for far too long.
A state that’s old and getting older — the fifth highest percentage of seniors. (Florida beats us because seniors actually move there.) A state with a stagnant population. We were third when I was born; now fifth. We were sixth after the 2010 census and only slipped back into fifth because Illinois fails more.
Harrisburg deals in the short-term. Budget by budget. Governors create new taxes to fill the shortfalls because we are old and too poor. And they “have to” offer taxpayer funded assistance to more and more citizens. All too often, governors try to keep or attract companies by giving them money: “how much do we have to bribe you to stay here or come here?”
Pennsylvania elected officials have all too often been short-sighted, miss the bigger picture, and rarely think big.
Under Governor Ed Rendell, it became clear that Pennsylvania was sitting on a huge amount of natural gas — and engineers learned how to get to it. When Governor Tom Corbett arrived, it was crystal clear that “huge” was really huge. Just like discovering oil in Venango County a century earlier, Pennsylvania had the chance to lead and create almost unlimited jobs.
Yet the talk in Harrisburg: “we should create a new tax and make sure ‘we make money’ off of this.”
Politicians anxious to spend money tried to create a tax for this brand new industry — to raise short-term dollars rather than grow the industry and make billions. (Almost $4 billion last year alone.) Fortunately, Corbett and Lt. Governor Jim Cawley convinced the legislature to avoid strangling that new industry with short-sighted taxes. (Author’s note; I was Cawley’s Chief of Staff.)
In 2012, word was floating around the capital that Amazon was looking to construct warehouses across Pennsylvania — not only because of the large population, but because we are the “Keystone State” with access to much of America by truck, rail and boat.
What was the response from legislators? Meet with Amazon and see what they needed? Nope. Reach out to local officials to see what locations our state could market to Amazon? Nope!
Legislators introduced a bill to create a “warehouse tax.”
Shapiro is the chief of short-sightedness. First, he’s pushing to impose a huge tax on video quiz games you find in VFW halls, bars and sandwich shops, and wants to legalize and tax recreational marijuana to “make money.”
Plus, of course, he wants to expand taxpayer funded programs to more and more people who fell behind during the Biden/Harris inflation years.
Shamelessly, Shapiro actually attended the Summit — to get campaign photo-ops.
What he forgot to mention is that he’s fighting before the Supreme Court to unilaterally tax Pennsylvania’s natural gas industry (punishing them for “climate change”), and then take that money to pay consumers back for the inevitably higher gas rates he’ll cause — and subsidize wind-turbines. Plus, he’s slow-rolling permits to build, expand, and modernize our natural gas pipes. As a result, too much gas sits underground or is shipped by rail cars.
That’s short-sightedness coupled with left-wing ideology — and the chutzpah to fly to the Summit for the photo ops.
Two different visions: economic growth — with Pennsylvania leading the nation — versus more taxes, legalized pot, and more handouts.
Two different leadership styles: boldness and collaboration, versus: “get me through this budget so I can go to Iowa and campaign without any headaches.”
McCormick offers a new way for Pennsylvania: for leaders to lead. But much of what was discussed at the Summit needs a Governor and legislature willing to be bold, with commonsense legislation and regulations.
Florida wasn’t always Florida 2025. Nor was North Carolina, nor Austin, Texas. It took leadership and boldness.
Is Harrisburg ready? If not, are we ready to demand it?
Guy Ciarrocchi is a Senior Fellow at the Commonwealth Foundation. The former Chief of Staff to the Chairman of the Marcellus Shale Coalition (Lt. Gov. Jim Cawley), he writes for Broad + Liberty and RealClear Pennsylvania. Follow Guy at @PaSuburbsGuy.
Is Pennsylvania the most wrestling-centric state in the country? Does the Keystone State have the most talent? Or even the top talent? Is it harder to win a state title there than anywhere else?
These all are terrific questions, and the answers may vary depending on who you ask and where they’re from, much like our nation’s great pizza debate, where the answers will vary by region.
What we do know for sure, is that Pennsylvania is well-represented in the 2025-2026 FloWrestling High School Wrestling Rankings, but with the 2026 Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Boys & Girls Individual State Wrestling Championships on the horizon, where do the competitors rank amongst their peers?
If you follow high school wrestling, you’ve probably already heard many of the names, whether it was at past PIAA events, national tournaments, international competition, college recruiting news or signings, etc.
Now, here they are listed by weight class in FloWrestling’s latest Pennsylvania-only rankings.
Among the most recognizable are Bishop McCort senior Bo Bassett (152 pounds), his brother and teammate Melvin Miller (172 pounds) and Adam Waters (189 pounds) from rival school Faith Christian Academy.
As you get ready to see who takes home the titles at the 2026 PIAA Individual State Wrestling Championships, set for March 5-7 at GIANT Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania, here’s a look at where everyone falls in the pecking order:
What Are The Weight Classes For High School Wrestling In Pennsylvania?
- Boys: 107, 114, 121, 127, 133, 139, 145, 152, 160, 172, 189, 215, 285
- Girls: 100, 106, 112, 118, 124, 130, 136, 142, 148, 155, 170, 190, 235
Pennsylvania High School Wrestling Rankings Before 2026 PIAA State Championships
As of Feb. 22, 2026
Boys
Girls
When Are The 2026 PIAA Boys & Girls Individual State Wrestling Championships?
The 2026 PIAA Boys & Girls Individual State Wrestling Championships will take place March 5-7, live on FloWrestling and the FloSports app.
The first girls wrestling champions in PIAA action were determined in 2024.
The road back to GIANT Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania, began with regional competition across 12 sites (eight boys, four girls) in February (Feb. 20-21; Feb. 22; Feb. 27-28; Feb. 28)
Among the highlights at the 2025 event was Bassett winning his second individual PIAA state championship and helping Bishop McCort to a Class AA runner-up finish behind Faith Christian.
Read more: 2025 PIAA Wrestling State Championship Results And Brackets
How To Watch The 2026 PIAA Individual State Wrestling Championships
Live coverage of the 2026 PIAA Individual State Wrestling Championships on March 5-7 will be broadcast on FloWrestling and the FloSports app, with news, notes, stats and more available on both platforms.
Archives will be available immediately following the conclusion of each match.
If you’re going to be in the area and want to catch the action in person, click here for spectator and ticket information.
Read more: 2026 PIAA Individual State Wrestling Championships Schedule & Brackets
2026 PIAA Individual State Wrestling Championships Brackets
Here’s where you’ll be able to find the brackets for the 2026 PIAA Individual State Wrestling Championships:
2026 PIAA Individual State Wrestling Championships Schedule
Here’s a look at when everything is going down:
All Times Eastern
Wednesday, March 4
- 4-7 p.m. – Media registration
- 4-7 p.m. – School registration (AA/Girls/AAA)
- 4-7 p.m. – Qualifying wrestlers’ workout (AA/Girls/AAA) (six mats)
- 6 p.m. – Officials’ meeting
Thursday, March 5 (Session 1)
- 7:30 a.m. – Media registration
- 7:30 a.m. – Admit coaches and contestants (AA)
- 7:30 a.m. – Late school registration (AA)
- 7:45 a.m. – Skin condition check (AA)
- 8 a.m. – Weigh-ins (AA)
- 9 a.m. – Preliminaries and first round (AA), six mats (52/104 matches)
- 12:30 p.m. – First-round consolations (AA), six mats
- 12:30 p.m. – Admit coaches and contestants (Girls)
- 12:30 p.m. – Late school registration (Girls)
- 12:45 p.m. – Skin condition check (Girls)
- 1 p.m. – Weigh-ins (Girls)
- 2 p.m. – First round (Girls), six mats (104 matches)
- 3 p.m. – Admit coaches and contestants (AAA)
- 3 p.m. – Late school registration (AAA)
- 3:15 p.m. – Skin condition check (AAA)
- 3:30 p.m. – Weigh-ins (AAA)
- 3:30 p.m. – First-round consolations (Girls), six mats (52 matches)
- 4:30 p.m. – Preliminaries and first round (AAA), six mats (52/104 matches)
- 8 p.m. – First-round consolations (AAA), six mats (52 matches)
Friday, March 6 (Session 2/Session 3)
- 6:30 a.m. – Admit coaches and contestants (AA)
- 6:45 a.m. – Skin condition check (AA)
- 7 a.m. – Weigh-ins (AA)
- 8 a.m. – Quarterfinals (AA), three mats (52 matches)
- 8 a.m. – Second-round consolations (AA), three mats (52 matches)
- 10:15 a.m. – Admit coaches and contestants (Girls)
- 10:30 a.m. – Third-round consolations (AA), three mats (52 matches)
- 10:30 a.m. – Skin condition check (Girls)
- 10:45 a.m. – Weigh-ins (Girls)
- 11:45 a.m. – Quarterfinals (Girls), six mats (52 matches)
- 12:45 p.m. – Admit coaches and contestants (AAA)
- 1 p.m. – Skin condition check (AAA)
- 1:15 p.m. – Weigh-ins (AAA)
- 1:15 p.m. – Second-round consolations (Girls), six mats (52 matches)
- 2:15 p.m. – Quarterfinals (AAA), three mats (52 matches)
- 2:15 p.m. – Second-round consolations (AAA), three mats (52 matches)
- 4:45 p.m. – Third-round consolations (AAA), six mats (52 matches)
- 6:15 p.m. – Admit coaches and contestants (AA/Girls/AAA)
- 7 p.m. – Semifinals (AA/Girls/AAA), 2/2/2 mats (26/26/26 matches)
- 9 p.m. – Fourth-round consolations (AA/AAA), 2/2 mats (26/26 matches)
- 9 p.m. – Third-round consolations (Girls), two mats (26 matches)
Saturday, March 7 (Session 4/Session 5)
- 8 a.m. – Admit coaches and contestants (AA/Girls/AAA)
- 8:15 a.m. – Skin condition check (AA/Girls/AAA)
- 8:30 a.m. – Weigh-ins (AA/Girls/AAA)
- 8:45 a.m. – Skin condition check, finalists (AA/Girls/AAA)
- 9 a.m. – Weigh-in, finalists (AA/Girls/AAA)
- 9:30 a.m. – Fifth-round consolations (AA/AAA), 2/2 mats (26/26 matches)
- 9:30 a.m. – Fourth-round consolations (Girls), 2 mats (26 matches)
- 11:30 a.m. – Third-, fifth- and seventh-place matches (AA/Girls/AAA), 2/2/2 mats (39/39/39 matches)
- 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. – Admit coaches and contestants (AA/Girls/AAA)
- 3:40 p.m. – Parade of Champions (AA/Girls/AAA)
- 4 p.m. – Championship Finals (AA/Girls/AAA), 1/1/1 mats (13/13/13 matches)
When Was The 2026 PIAA Team Wrestling State Championships?
The 2026 PIAA Team Wrestling State Championships took place Feb. 6-7 at the 1st Summit Arena in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, and included 20 teams that survived the preliminary and first round of the tournament, which was held Feb. 3 at host schools across the state.
The advancing teams made their way to Johnstown for two more days of intense competition, with the 1st Summit Arena hosting the quarterfinals through the championship matches.
In Pennsylvania this year, there were 475 schools participating in boys wrestling.
They were divided into two classifications – 228 schools in AA and 247 schools in AAA – which are further split into 12 districts. Class AA is for schools with 1-308 male enrollees, and Class AAA wrestling includes schools with 309-9999 male students.
Read more: 2026 PIAA Team Wrestling State Championships Schedule & Brackets
Did You Know: PIAA Wrestling Has A Long History
The first state wrestling championships in Keystone State happened in 1938, while the girls were added to the action in 2024. The PIAA Team Wrestling State Championships debuted in 1999.
There are 14 four-time individual state champions in Pennsylvania. Another 30 have won three times.
2025-2026 FloWrestling High School Wrestling Rankings
Top 20 as of Feb. 18, 2026
Curious about how the top wrestlers from each state stack up against competitors from across the country?
Click here to see the latest high school rankings from FloWrestling.
FULL DUAL: Bishop McCort vs. Faith Christian | 2026 PIAA AA Team State Finals
Faith Christian has been dominant in team wrestling in Pennsylvania, and Bishop McCort keeps falling just short.
Trackwrestling Has Joined The New FloWrestling
Trackwrestling officially has merged with FloWrestling, bringing its powerful tournament tracking tools and live data into a modern, all-in-one platform.
Fans can follow every bout with pro-grade brackets, mat schedules, team rosters and detailed wrestler profiles—all seamlessly integrated within FloWrestling.
This move delivers a faster, smarter and more connected experience for the wrestling community. Through the updated FloSports app, users can track live results, explore brackets and even sign up for free alerts so they never miss a match.
FloWrestling Archived Footage
Video footage from all events on FloWrestling will be archived and stored in a video library for FloWrestling subscribers to watch for the duration of their subscriptions.
Join The State Wrestling Conversation On Social
A man has been cited after police said he drove a vehicle into a frozen pond at a country club in Pennsylvania, left the scene, then spent the night in a hotel.
According to the East Lampeter Township Police Department, on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026, around 10:38 a.m., officers were called to the Lancaster Country Club after receiving reports about a vehicle in a pond.
Police said that, through an investigation, it was learned that Sung Chun, a 50-year-old man from Hoboken, New Jersey, had driven onto the property the day before around 8:30 p.m., crossed portions of the golf course, and ultimately ended up in a pond.
Chun then exited the vehicle and walked away without reporting the incident and spent the night at a nearby hotel, according to police.
Credit: East Lampeter Township Police Department
Credit: East Lampeter Township Police Department
Credit: East Lampeter Township Police Department
Police said Chun returned to the location while police were on scene investigating the incident and was ultimately cited with “Trespass by Motor Vehicle.”
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