The mountain's top boys' wrestlers prepare for return trip to state tournament

When the PIAA Class 3A boys state wrestling tournament kicks off on Thursday, the mountain will be represented by the top two wrestlers in the area - Pocono Mountain East's Keegan Demarest and Pocono Mountain West's Brandon Stiehler.

Both wrestlers are returning to Hershey after participating in last year's tournament, but Demarest's second crack at a state title will be different than in 2023. As a junior, Demarest was in the 133-pount weight class and won his first match by decision, but lost his quarterfinal match by major decision to eventual state runner-up Maddox Shaw from Thomas Jefferson.

Demarest then lost his consolation match to Wallenpaupack's Gunnar Myers 2-1, but Myers did receive two warning during the match, including a stall warning late in the third period. All of that is in the past, however, as Demarest expressed his gratitude for being about to compete again, this time in the 152-pound weight class.

"I feel blessed," Demarest said about returning to the state tournament. "I'm happy that I got there. It's my last year in high school so I'm just gonna go out there and have fun."

Demarest finished as a runner-up in the regional tournament, losing to nationally-ranked wrestler Kollin Rath by decision. While it wasn't the result he wanted, Demarest was happy with how he performed, which boosted his confidence. And after preparing this week with his coach Cio Cuevas and teammate Xander Gonzalez, he's ready to leave it on the mat.

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The same goes for Stiehler, who's returning after not placing in the state tournament. He won his opening match by decision last year before losing by major decision to state-runner up Dillon Bechtold, who's currently committed to Bucknell.

A big difference, though, is Stiehler is entering the tournament with a little more hardware - a District 11 tournament title and a second-place finish at regionals (he placed third in both last year).

"It feels good to be heading back to Hershey for the second year in a row," Stiehler said. "Since I was there last year, I have a better understanding of how it's going to be when I get there."

Stiehler lost his regional championship match to Caleb Marzolino 9-2, which served as a humbling point after the success, and the attention that comes with it.

"With all of the coverage over the last couple of weeks, winning districts, being interviewed and all that stuff, it feels like you're on top of the world," Stiehler said. "Losing is humbling; it shows that we have more to get better at so we can be successful at states."

At the state level, Stiehler has devoted more time to watching film to get familiar with top wrestlers from other regions, but he's still taking it one match at a time.

It's likely that Demarest and Stiehler will cross paths at some point, whether it's at Sky Zone, eating dinner or enjoying the free chocolate milk, but both guys will be ready to compete in the Giant Center this weekend.

This article originally appeared on Pocono Record: Boys' State Wrestling Preview