The Coal Cracker doesn’t just crown champions — it exposes weaknesses, tests confidence and shows wrestlers exactly how close they are to the level they want to reach.

Over two days in Lehighton — with action split between the elementary center and high school gyms — the 15th annual Coal Cracker Tournament packed 57 teams, state medalists and Division I recruits into a grind that felt more like February than January. Coming on the heels of last weekend’s girls Coal Cracker Tournament in Jim Thorpe, the boys event delivered another elite showcase for the region.

In that environment, Northwestern sophomore Chase Sukanick found his stride.

After spending the season at 160 and 152 pounds, Sukanick dropped to 147 for the weekend and powered his way to the championship match, producing the top local finish of the tournament.

“I think I wrestled my best all season,” Sukanick said.

His path to the final was built on control and confidence — two quick pins, two technical falls and a major decision in the semifinals. That set up a title bout with Montgomery’s Brandt Harer, one of the nation’s premier lightweights. Harer is a multi-time PIAA state champion with nearly 200 career wins and a Rutgers commit. Harer won by technical fall, but Sukanick’s run through the bracket underscored the level he wrestled at throughout the weekend.

“I just came in to wrestle my best,” Sukanick said. “I didn’t expect to wrestle as good as I did.”

The timing of that performance matters. Sukanick, now 18-11, is just a sophomore and played a key role on Northwestern’s football team, which reached the PIAA state championship game for the third straight year and played into December. That meant a late transition to wrestling and weeks spent regaining conditioning.

“I had a rough start getting into shape, but these last couple weeks I’ve been feeling a lot better,” he said. “This tournament made me feel ready. Getting second here definitely gives me a boost going into team districts and districts. If I wrestle like this, I think I’ll be good for states.”

Rather than tightening up against elite competition, he embraced the stage.

“When I wrestle good kids, I just go out there and have fun.”

Gillespie’s breakthrough moment

If Sukanick’s weekend showed timing, Pleasant Valley’s Evan Gillespie’s showed transformation.

The senior didn’t just place — he dominated. Wrestling at 217 pounds, Gillespie recorded four pins and two technical falls and left Lehighton at 26-1 on the season.

His only loss came in the semifinals to Faith Christian Academy’s Cael Weidemoyer, one of the state’s elite heavyweights — a former state finalist, multiple-time district and regional champion, and Lehigh commit.

Gillespie’s response defined his tournament.

In the third-place bout, he pinned Mahanoy’s Kyler Quick in 1:53. Quick owns a 33-3 record, had qualified for states the previous two seasons and had not been pinned all year.

“I’m way more confident now,” Gillespie said. “If there’s a state qualifier, it’s just, ‘Oh, he’s a state qualifier.’ It’s not like, ‘Oh my God.’ I know I can beat these guys.”

That confidence wasn’t accidental.

“I went to Fargo, NHSCA, a lot of high-level tournaments,” Gillespie said. “I just did about everything I could. That helped a lot.”

Now he carries that belief into the rugged Class 3A postseason.

“I know I can place at states,” he said. “I’m pretty confident I can.”

Gillespie, who recently committed to Castleton University, said the biggest shift has been mental.

“I don’t worry about what the other guy’s doing. I know what I’m going to do.”

Croizier, Dixon grow through the grind

Lehighton’s Lukas Croizier and Mahanoy’s Rory Dixon — who attends Marian and wrestles for the Golden Bears through a co-op between the schools — both walked away with fourth-place finishes — and perhaps even more important, a boost in belief against elite competition.

Croizier’s result marked a milestone. After wrestling at 152 and 145 pounds earlier in the season, he dropped to 141 for the Coal Cracker and found his rhythm, finishing fourth in a deep bracket. A year ago, Croizier placed sixth at regionals and came into this weekend focused on clearing the next hurdle.

“My goal before the brackets even came out was just to place,” said Croizier, who fell to Adam Seidman (Germantown Academy) 13-3 in the third-place match. “Last year I lost in the blood round, so cracking the podium was big for me.”

Freed from pressure, he wrestled differently.

“I didn’t feel a ton of pressure. I just went out there and wrestled more confident.”

Now 25-11 on the season, he said the experience sharpened him for the stretch run.

“I think I made a lot of improvements at this tournament alone,” Croizier said. “Just seeing that high level of competition helps prepare you for the postseason.”

Dixon’s fourth-place finish at 154 pounds came in similarly demanding fashion. Now 33-4 on the season with 93 career wins, Dixon entered Coal Cracker with a resume that included qualifying for states for the first time last year after placing fourth at regionals.

“It’s just wrestling at the end of the day,” said Dixon, who dropped a 4-2 decision to Ian Longenberger of Boiling Springs - who was the top seed in the bracket and is now 34-1 - in his third-place match. “Going toe-to-toe with some of the best kids in the state — that’s a blast. It’s chess, not checkers.”

Tight, late-match positions — the kind that define postseason medals — shaped his bracket.

“There’s no better place to figure that out than here,” Dixon said.

Koehler’s reset

shows maturity

Northwestern’s Nolan Koehler’s tournament told a story of response — and growth.

The sophomore, now 24-7 on the season, rebounded from a quarterfinal loss to Hazleton Area’s Tyler Youngcourt by working back through consolations and defeating Youngcourt 13-6 in their rematch to place fifth at 162 pounds. Like teammate Sukanick, Koehler was part of Northwestern’s football team that reached the PIAA state championship game, meaning he entered wrestling season coming off a long fall campaign.

Koehler also qualified for states last year with a fifth-place regional finish, and said the biggest difference now is how he handles adversity.

“Finishing with a win was big,” Koehler said. “I’ve improved a lot in taking losses and turning them into me wanting to wrestle those matches again.”

“I was more aggressive and kept it at my pace,” he added.

Depth across the area

Additional medalists included Northwestern’s Weston Killar (sixth, 129). Vinnie Fugazzotto (seventh, 174) and Trent Croll (eighth, 147), Lehighton’s Asher Traylor (seventh, 217) and Tamaqua’s Rylan Reitz (seventh, 116).

Three-time defending PIAA 2A champion Faith Christian won the team title with 265.5 points, well ahead of Germantown Academy (166.5) and Central Dauphin (162.5) in second and third, respectively. Northwestern (113) and Lehighton (108.5) earned top-15 finishes, with the Tigers finishing tied for 12th and the Indians 14th.

In a tournament this deep — and on a weekend that capped two straight elite Coal Cracker showcases in the region — reaching the podium required toughness, composure and belief.

And for several area wrestlers, the biggest takeaway wasn’t just medals, but momentum as February approaches.