The first month of the wrestling season has seen no shortage of stellar performances and memorable moments for all eight area teams, which includes the return of Panther Valley.

It’s also provided a decent sample size to use as the basis for the first set of Times News Wrestling Rankings.

The rankings will appear in the Times News every other week as part of our Winter Sports Notebook series, alternating with the boys and girls basketball stats.

As is always the case, these rankings are subject to change throughout the season, based on head-to-head matchups, quality of competition, manner of wins and losses, and overall activity during each evaluation period.

Weight classes have been built primarily based on where each wrestler has competed for the majority of their matches this season. There are some instances of wrestlers being bumped up or down to help fill out a weight class with fewer wrestlers.

The next set of rankings will appear after the Schuylkill League and Coal Cracker tournaments, a pair of events that should offer even more insight into how the season will play out.

Bout minimum: 10

(must be .500 or above to qualify; through Jan. 8)

107

- 1. Ethan Nothstein, Lehighton, Jr. (16-6), 2. Aiden Schlier, Tamaqua, So. (17-7), 3. Samuel Kenna, Jim Thorpe, Fr. (11-9)

114

- 1. Steven Korte, Jim Thorpe, Fr. (15-2), 2. Connor Dugan, Lehighton, Fr. (11-7), 3. Justin Kuehn, Panther Valley, Jr. (11-7)

121

- 1. Aidan Gruber, Lehighton, Jr. (19-2), 2. Gabe Erbe, Tamaqua, Jr. (18-6), 3. Josh Merkel, Palmerton, So. (11-9)

Honorable mention - Emmanuel Rivera, Pleasant Valley, Sr. (9-8)

127

- 1. Edward Lauritsen, Pleasant Valley, Sr. (13-5), 2. Blake Muffley, Lehighton, Fr. (10-10), 3. Cody Mazzocca, Northern Lehigh, So. (8-7)

Honorable mention - Allen Tracy, Tamaqua, Jr. (7-6)

133

- 1. Evan Wentz, Lehighton, Fr. (15-4), 2. Ridge Snyder, Jim Thorpe, Sr. (14-7), 3. Dillon Lombardi, Palmerton, So. (14-7)

139

- 1. Nicholas Zeigenfuss, Lehighton, Sr. (14-8), 2. Hunter Greenawalt, Northwestern, Fr. (8-6), 3. Max Pfeifer, Jim Thorpe, Jr. (7-6)

145

- 1. Derek King, Palmerton, So. (16-5), 2. Stephen Kieffer, Tamaqua, Jr. (11-11), 3. Richard Kenna, Jim Thorpe, Jr. (9-9)

152

- 1. Jacob Schlier, Tamaqua, Sr. (17-8), 2. Bryce Smith, Palmerton, So. (6-6)

160

- 1. Luke Fugazzotto, Northwestern, Fr. (16-4), 2. Jacob Ferguson, Lehighton, So. (14-8), 3. Bradley Whalen, Tamaqua, So. (15-8)

172

- 1. Dalton Clymer, Northwestern, Jr. (18-2), 2. Brok Solt, Lehighton, So. (13-8), 3. Jacob Hehn, Tamaqua, So. (19-7)

Honorable mention - Chase Moffit, Northern Lehigh, Jr. (10-7)

189

- 1. Lucas Miller, Northwestern, Sr. (16-3), 2. Deven Armbruster, Lehighton, So. (12-12) 3. Jason Schubert, Pleasant Valley, Jr. (9-6)

215

- 1. James Barruzza, Pleasant Valley, Sr. (15-4), 2. Noah Schlofer, Northwestern, Jr. (11-8), 3. Wyatt Sherer, Lehighton, Jr. (11-10)

285

- 1. Reese Balk, Lehighton, Jr. (17-4), 2. Sam Frame, Northern Lehigh, Jr. (9-6), 3. Aidan Milkovits, Panther Valley, So. (7-6)

NOTES: Nothstein placed fourth at the Sam Lovello Classic in December and seventh at the Jim Thorpe Christmas Tournament later in the month at 107 pounds ... Aiden Schlier was fifth at the Darren Klingerman Invitational wrestling at 114 pounds and eighth at the Jim Thorpe Christmas Tournament. At Hamburg’s Hawk Duals this past weekend, Schlier wrestled five matches at 107 pounds, going 5-0 with a pin and a technical fall ... Samuel Kenna has won five of his matches with a pin this season ... Korte, a freshman, has been extremely impressive so far this season, with six pins, two technical falls and a major decision among his victories. He suffered a 3-2 loss to Upper Perkiomen’s Gabriel Tulone early in the season at Catasauqua’s Rough Rider Tournament in the semifinals, and was pinned by Blue Mountain’s Colin Seefeldt in early January. Tulone is currently 18-5, while Seefeldt is 13-3 ... Dugan was fifth at Jim Thorpe’s Christmas Tournament at 107 pounds ... Kuehn has seven pinfall victories this season ... A state qualifier, district runner-up and regional fifth-place finisher a year ago, Gruber has picked up where he left off with a strong start to his junior season. He was third at the Sam Lovello Classic and second at Jim Thorpe’s Christmas Tournament. He suffered an 8-5 loss to Luke Sirianni (Abington Heights) in the 114-pound final at the Jim Thorpe Christmas Tournament. Sirianni was seventh at states in Class 3A last season. His other setback came at 121 pounds to Gunnar Maciejewski, a freshman from Berks Catholic who is 15-5 this year. Gruber went 5-0 at the Indian Duals this past weekend ... Erbe has made it to regionals each of the last two years. He was sixth at the Darren Klingerman Invitational and placed fourth at Jim Thorpe’s Christmas Tournament ... Merkel was seventh at the Carlisle Christmas Classic and Governor Mifflin Holiday Tournament in December ... Rivera was sixth at the South Williamsport Tournament this past weekend ... Lauritsen was also sixth at the South Williamsport Tournament. He has already surpassed his win total from a year ago (12) ... Muffley was fifth at the Sam Lovello Classic. He pinned Mazzocca in their match on Dec. 12 ... Wentz has been another impressive freshman this season and went 5-0 with three pins and two major decisions this past weekend at the Indian Duals. He also advanced to the finals at the Jim Thorpe Christmas Tournament, where he pinned Snyder ... Snyder, who was fourth at Catty’s Rough Rider Tournament, placed third at districts and made it to regionals last season ... Lombardi has won his last six matches, which includes four pins and a 9-8 decision over Tri-Valley’s Carson Yourey at 139 pounds ... Zeigenfuss had four pins at the Indian Duals, placed fifth at the Sam Lovello Classic and eighth at the Jim Thorpe Christmas Tournament ... All of Pfeifer’s wins this season have come by way of pin fall. Just one of his matches - win or lose - hasn’t been decided by a pin, which was an 8-5 loss to Juniata Valley’s Chris Gibson on Dec. 17 ... King picked up a 2-1 win in sudden victory overtime against Teagan Ruble (Conestoga Valley) in the third-place match of the Carlisle Christmas Classic. King has only wrestled five matches at 145 pounds, but is 4-1 with three pins and a major decision. The sophomore was also third at the Governor Mifflin Holiday Tournament ... Kieffer was eighth at the Jim Thorpe Christmas Tournament ... Richard Kenna had two pins at the Indian Duals over the weekend ... Jacob Schlier placed eighth at the Darren Klingerman Invitational and sixth at the Jim Thorpe Christmas Tournament ... Smith was 4-1 at the Line Mountain Duals over the weekend with three pins ... Yet another impressive freshman, Fugazzotto was second at Catasauqua’s Rough Rider Tournament and fifth at the Bethlehem Holiday Classic. He has won six straight matches, all with pins. Twelve of his victories have come via pinfall this season ... Ferguson opened the season with a runner-up finish at the Sam Lovello Classic and placed fifth at Jim Thorpe’s Christmas Tournament wrestling at 152 pounds ... Whalen was fifth at Jim Thorpe’s Christmas Tournament ... A state qualifier last season, Clymer was a runner-up at the Rough Rider Tournament and third at the Bethlehem Holiday Classic. Clymer, who was third at districts and sixth at regionals last season, has won eight matches in a row. His losses this season have come to undefeated Robbie Schneider (17-0) of Lackawanna Trail and Dominic Wheatley (15-3) of Nazareth. Clymer pinned Solt in 1:43 on Dec. 6 and topped Moffit in 0:45 on Dec. 7 ... Solt won the 172-pound title at Jim Thorpe’s Christmas Tournament, a result that helped him earn Times News/Lehigh Valley Health Network Male Athlete of the Week honors, and was fifth at the Sam Lovello Classic. He also owns a pair of wins over Moffit (pin in 1:59 and an 11-4 decision) as well as a pin in 3:05 against Hehn ... Hehn was seventh at the Darren Klingerman Invitational and Jim Thorpe Christmas Tournament ... Moffit was third at the Sam Lovello Classic ... Miller, another state qualifier a season ago, pinned Josh Ryan (Lake Lehman) in 3:27 to win the 189-pound title at the Rough Rider Tournament in early December and also earned Times News/Lehigh Valley Health Network Male Athlete of the Week honors. He placed fourth at the Bethlehem Holiday Classic. Miller, who was fourth at districts and sixth at regionals last season, also posted a 4-0 decision over Armbruster on Dec. 6 ... Armbruster was sixth at the Sam Lovello Classic and fifth at Jim Thorpe’s Christmas Tournament ... Barruzza was fifth at the South Williamsport Tournament over the weekend. Eleven of his wins have come via pinfall this season ... A 26-match winner a year ago, Schlofer placed sixth at the season-opening Rough Rider Tournament. He also owns a 10-2 major decision over Sherer on Dec. 6 ... Sherer was sixth at the Sam Lovello Classic ... Balk has been a force for the Tribe this season. He was a runner-up at the Sam Lovello Classic and fourth-place at the Jim Thorpe Christmas Tournament. Balk went 4-1 at the recent Indian Duals with four pins. He has also pinned Frame twice this season ... Frame was third at the Sam Lovello Classic ... Though he is not eligible for this week’s rankings with an 8-9 record, Pleasant Valley sophomore Aldin Vukel

recently finished second at the South Williamsport Tournament wrestling at 152 pounds. Vukel has won four of his last five matches.

(Compiled by Patrick Matsinko)