Brenda Banks had a memorable sendoff and an unforgettable return.

The Panther Valley freshman was treated to a champion’s welcome Sunday after her title-winning performance at the 2023 MyHouse PA Girls State Wrestling Championships.

She knew she had the support of her coaches, teammates, school and community with the band and cheerleaders guiding her through the halls at Panther Valley on Friday before she left for Central Dauphin High School.

Banks couldn’t believe the reception she received upon her return, with firetrucks and a parade welcoming her home.

“It was amazing,” Banks said. “That so many people cared that much to come out and tell me that they hope I do well, or that I did a good job and everything. People that I don’t even know, making signs and standing out on the street just to be able to see me wave to them was something insane.

Banks admitted she was caught off-guard by the celebration. But her performance was anything but a surprise.

After a dominant run to the East Regional title the week before, Banks rolled to the 235-pound title at states with pins in three of her four matches.

Her third fall of the tournament came in 2:27 against South Western’s Kayla Henderson to secure the title.

“Obviously, a state championship is what you’re shooting for every year. You never expect to get it the first year,” said Panther Valley wrestling coach Kris Nalesnik. “It’s been a lot of hard work put in by Brenda, all of her teammates, and they’re working together to get to this point. The whole coaching staff has worked really hard to get her to this point.

“We all knew she had it in her. It was just about actually executing and getting it done. That just shows what a hard worker she is.”

Growth on the Mat

The accomplishment comes in Banks’ first season as a wrestler, and the first year for the Panthers’ program since the 2019-20 campaign.

“On the mat, it’s unbelievable the amount of growth seen in her,” said Nalesnik. “From the first day of practice, you knew she had a lot of physical talent, but the technique just wasn’t quite there yet. And if you watch her matches, yes, a lot of it was physical. But there were a lot of very technical moves she was doing. She learned how to actually wrestle and not just be a bruiser.”

Banks - who had previously played football and basketball - has embraced the sport and thrived within the Panthers’ revitalized program.

“Wrestling definitely taught me a lot when it comes to discipline and responsibility I’d like to think,” she said. “As well as the fact that I feel like I’ve grown as a wrestler, from square one, a lot. I know things now that I didn’t before. But I’ve also perfected techniques and really learned how to connect with the sport.”

Banks compiled an 8-1 record in girls’ competition this season. Her only loss was a 2-1 setback to Cumberland Valley’s Aja’nai Jumper in the championship match at the Coal Cracker Tournament in January.

She avenged that loss in the semifinals on Sunday, pinning Jumper in 1:20 to reach the finals.

“It showed me just how much I grew since I first started,” said Banks. “When I faced her the first time, she seemed like a very hard opponent, and I lost to her by points, and I was mad at myself, heartbroken, because I knew I could have won that match.

“But when I got to the semifinals (at states) and saw that I was going to be facing her, I was ecstatic. I couldn’t wait to get on the mat, because I wanted to win so bad. When I did, it truly showed me how far I’ve come from the beginning and how much I’ve learned. It was a great feeling.”

It felt even better after her next match against Henderson.

“In the finals of states, it was definitely a different feeling,” Banks said of the pin to seal the title. “It wasn’t an easy match. But it was nice to have an opponent like that, so when I did pin her, we shook hands and everything and got off the mat, I wasn’t really feeling like I just won a state championship. I was just like, ‘That was a good match.’

“But everybody was so happy, and I realized, ‘Oh yeah, that was something a little more important than what it used to be.’”

Banks had a pair of pins in under a minute en route to the East Regional title a week earlier, where the Panthers also had Haylee Fessler place sixth at 148 pounds.

For the first time ever, the girls had to qualify for states in one of the four regional tournaments. The state brackets featured 20 wrestlers per weight class with the top eight receiving medals.

Seven of her eight wins this season came by way of pinfall.

“The coolest thing about Brenda is, she’s a completely different person off the mat than she is on the mat,” said Nalesnik. “She is one of the nicest, sweetest most even-keeled, happy-go-lucky people you will ever meet off the mat. But when she steps on the mat, she just becomes a machine. It’s a totally different personality between those two. It’s hard to see somebody who is that genuinely sweet and such a nice person, who can just throw people around like there’s nothing to it.”

Banks compiled a record of 19-6 this season competing against both boys and girls.

The Future

Girls wrestling is continuing to flourish across both the region and the state.

Pennridge became the 100th school to officially approve a girls wrestling team in February, fulfilling the standard previously set forth by the PIAA to qualify the sport of girls wrestling for consideration for full sponsorship. Among area schools, both Tamaqua and Lehighton have approved girls wrestling teams, and Nalesnik hopes Panther Valley will join them soon.

For Banks, her first girls tournament came at the Coal Cracker.

“About a month before (Coal Cracker), my coach told me that it was a thing, that it was an all-girls tournament and that I could participate in it,” Banks said. “And I thought that was amazing. So when we went there, and seeing all these girls doing the same thing I did, and they’re all good at it, too, that was such an amazing thing to see. And I couldn’t wait for my next girls tournament because I loved seeing girls wrestle. It’s my favorite thing about the sport. Girls wrestling is awesome.”

So is Banks.

“It’s not just the girls, and it’s not just the team, it’s the entire school. It’s hard to explain really the feeling, but everybody is just so proud of her, so happy for her,” said Nalesnik.

Banks - who is currently a member of the Panther Valley track and field team competing in the discus, shot put and javelin - hopes it’s not the last time the program is celebrating a title.

“My teammates are definitely my biggest supporters. I love them,” said Banks, who acknowledged she might try football again next fall. “And we’ve really become family since the beginning of the season when we didn’t really know each other that well. It’s been a great experience, and I’ve loved seeing them support me so much throughout the entire season, whether they were wrestling or not. They were just happy to see me win as if it was one of them. It’s for all of us.”

One shared by a district that welcomed back the sport this season. And a community that celebrated a champion on Sunday.

“It’s been an amazing feeling to have this program back and be so supported by the whole community, the faculty, the administration,” said Nalesnik. “Everybody has been getting behind this program and really doing everything they can to make it successful. It’s just amazing to see.

“We had the parade for her after she won, and there were probably a total of 200 people between the Panther Valley boroughs that were out cheering her on as she was riding through. It’s just nice to see something like that happen, to see a community really come together.”