Quakertown's Mason Ziegler seeking elusive PIAA wrestling title; check individual rankings

When the whistle sounds, it's go, go, go.

Always has been and always will be for Quakertown senior wrestler Mason Ziegler.

"Sometimes we just have to tell Mason to slow down," veteran Quakertown head coach Kurt Handel said with a laugh.

"That's just the way he is. He never stops on the mat and that's one of the things that have made him so successful. You have to love that kind of aggressiveness and determination."

Ziegler's style has made him one of the area's all-time best and he has plenty of numbers to back that statement up.

A first for a Quakertown wrestler

Last weekend, Ziegler became the first Quakertown wrestler to win four district titles and he'll be going for his third Southeast Regional title this weekend in Oxford.

His 158 career wins are a school record and he'll likely finish as one of the top 100 for all-time wins in Pennsylvania. He needs to get to 165 to do that.

"I didn't really start thinking about that (the school record) until the end of last season," said Ziegler, who wrestles in the 121-pound weight class.

"I had 117 wins at the end of last year and thought that maybe I had a chance (at 2005 graduate Nate Nauroth's mark of 146 victories). It was cool to do it."

Quakertown's Ziegler out for PIAA gold

Plus, Ziegler already has two PIAA medals, including a runner-up finish in Hershey last season.

"My goal in wrestling since I was a little kid was to win a state title," Ziegler said. "And I haven't done that.

"I got to the finals last year, but I lost. I would love to win it now in my senior year, but if I give everything I have and it doesn't happen, it won't be the end of the world. The sun will come up the next morning."

He also likes to joke about the fact that the school records he's setting this season won't last long.

"Oh, yeah, Collin (Gaj) is going to pass me next year," Ziegler said with a laugh. "He and I are really good friends, and he likes to remind of that."

Gaj, a junior, went undefeated (49-0) in winning a PIAA title last season after placing fourth as a freshman. Gaj heads to regionals with 131 career wins.

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Quakertown's Ziegler will wrestle near home in college

While his illustrious high school career will end shortly, there's more to come for Ziegler as he'll head to Lehigh University to continue with the sport.

"There were so many things that just felt right about Lehigh," Ziegler said.

"The academics are tremendous, it's close to home and the coaching staff is great. I looked at some other schools, but Lehigh had everything I was looking for."

Individual rankings

Now that we know where all of the wrestlers are weight-class wise — thanks to the start of the postseason last week — it's time to figure out what all of the shifting has done to the rankings.

There has been plenty of movement as many of the area's top performers are no longer competing where they were during the season.

So let's take a look at how things have shaken out in the rankings as we head to the regional tournaments, which are just one step away from the PIAA tournament in Hershey.

Here we go (records through Feb. 27):

107 pounds

1. Joey Bachmann (31-0), Faith Christian, freshman

2. Dominick Morrison (39-3), Hatboro-Horsham, freshman

3. Alexander Diaz (35-10), Council Rock North, senior

4. (tie) Thomas Boyce (29-8), Conwell-Egan, freshman, and Justin Farnsworth (33-9), Germantown Academy, freshman

Notes: Farnsworth had a nice showing at National Preps last week by placing eighth. ... Bachmann is the area's only undefeated wrestler regardless of weight.

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114 pounds

1. Colby Martinelli (17-1), Pennridge, junior

2. (tie) Jack Baron (35-7), Germantown Academy, sophomore

Kole Davidheiser (5-7), Faith Christian, sophomore

4. Connor Lenahan (37-9), Council Rock South, senior

5. Jeff Spofford (25-6), Conwell-Egan, junior

6. Kyle Von Schmidt (31-7), Pennsbury, junior

Notes: Baron earned a bronze medal at National Preps last week.

121 pounds

1. Gauge Botero (21-1), Faith Christian, junior

2. Mason Ziegler (38-3), Quakertown, junior

3. Kevin Bagnell (24-6), Conwell-Egan, senior

4. Cole Coffin (33-8), Pennridge, senior

5. Luke Reitter (31-8), Council Rock South, senior

6. Charlie Arobone (22-11), Souderton, senior

Notes: Is there a tougher weight class than this one? You have a defending PIAA champ in Botero, a PIAA runner-up in Ziegler and three 100-plus match winners in Bagnell (who reached the milestone last weekend), Coffin and Reitter.

Vote in our football poll right here: Bucks County High School Football: Top 25 returning defensive players; vote in our poll

127 pounds

1. Anthony Mutarelli (31-3), Council Rock South, junior

2. Eren Sement (39-7), Council Rock North, junior

3. Pat Woloshyn (39-12), Council Rock South, sophomore

4. Quinn McBride (28-9), Pennridge, sophomore

5. Colin Walther (29-8), Conwell-Egan, freshman

133 pounds

1. Charlie Robson (23-2), Conwell-Egan, senior

2. Chris Dennis (28-3), Central Bucks West, sophomore

3. Kevon Griffin (25-5), Archbishop Wood, junior

Notes: Griffin claimed a PIAA District 12 Class 3A title with a pin in the finals.

139 pounds

1. Mason Wagner (22-8), Faith Christian, sophomore

2. Jake Neill (33-6), Central Bucks South, senior

3. Patrick Kelly (34-5), Central Bucks West, junior

4. Steven Harris (33-6), Conwell-Egan, senior

5. Jonny O'Brien (31-4), North Penn, sophomore

6. Ajay Bhatt (35-14), Council Rock South, senior

Notes: ​Neill beat both O'Brien and Kelly on the way to winning his second PIAA District One East Class 3A title last week. ... Harris heads to the PIAA Southeast Regional Class 2A tournament at Bethlehem Freedom one win shy of 100 for his career.

145 pounds

1. Chase Hontz (34-7), Faith Christian, junior

2. Gavin Carroll (41-6), Quakertown, junior

3. Christopher Staub (32-9), Hatboro-Horsham, senior

4. Ben Brillhart (18-7), Council Rock South, junior

152 pounds

1. Collin Gaj (41-3), Quakertown, junior

2. Max Stein (31-7), Faith Christian, junior

3. Sam Kuhns (40-6), Pennridge, senior

4. Beknazar Baiyshbekov (27-4), Neshaminy, junior

Notes: Gaj, a defending PIAA champ, has 90 wins in just the last two seasons with more victories likely coming.

160 pounds

1. Cael Weidemoyer (17-2), Faith Christian, sophomore

2. Nick Singer (17-8), Faith Christian, freshman

3. Luke Sugalski (39-14), Germantown Academy, junior

4. Daniel Haubert (35-6), Palisades, senior

5. Gavin Cole (42-7), Council Rock South, junior

Notes: Weidemoyer had three first-minute pins on the way to his second PIAA District One/12 Class 2A title last week.

172 pounds

1.  Adam Waters (36-4), Faith Christian, sophomore

2. Bek Sadriddinov (42-3), Council Rock South, senior

3. Talan Hogan (36-9), Pennridge, junior

4. Cormac Morrissey (38-7), La Salle High, senior

Notes: Waters, a defending PIAA champion and the only area freshman to win a PIAA title when he did it last season, is 80-5 already and has not lost to a Pennsylvania wrestler in his career.

Bucks County's PIAA wrestling champions: Gold standard: Here are all of the Bucks County area PIAA wrestling champions

189 pounds

1. Dante Burns (18-5), Conwell-Egan, senior

2. Cody Wagner (27-8), Faith Christian, senior

3. (tie) Kole Lester (30-10), Souderton, senior, and Ben Primich (31-2), Pennsbury, senior

5. Dylan Clair (17-4), La Salle High, junior

Notes: Burns returned to the mat for the first time since early January at last week's PIAA District One/12 Class 2A tournament.

215 pounds

1. Jason Singer (34-9), Faith Christian, sophomore

2. Reagan McCullough (34-3), Central Bucks East, senior

3. Riley Cullen (23-8), Pennridge, senior

4. John Wright (20-7), Abington, junior

285 pounds

1. Calvin Lachman (45-3), Quakertown, senior

2. Joe Collins (33-3), Central Bucks East, senior

3. Mark Effendian (35-8), Faith Christian, sophomore

4. Andrew Brennan (38-6), La Salle High, senior

Notes: Effendian hasn't lost since being edged 3-2 by Lachman in mid-January. ... After losing to Saint Joe's Prep's Maxwell Roy twice this season, Brennan turned the tables and knocked Roy off 6-4 in the PIAA District 12 Class AAA title match. Their three matches thus far this season have been decided by five total points.

Drew Markol: dmarkol@theintell.com; @dmarkol

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Quakertown Mason Ziegler seeking gold; individual wrestling rankings