Newly crowned state wrestling champion Ryan Diehl of Trinity High School will compete in the prestigious Dapper Dan Wrestling Classic Sunday at the University of Pittsburgh's Fitzgerald Field House.
Pennsylvania's best seniors will square off against a team of highly recruited all-stars from around the country. The match, which begins at 6 p.m., will be preceded by a 4 p.m. match between a team of all-stars from Virginia against a squad from the WPIAL.
Diehl has won four state titles, two in West Virginia as a freshman and sophomore, and the last two in Pennsylvania in Class AA.
A University of Maryland recruit with a 174-5 career record, Diehl will wrestle at 132 pounds against Dean Heil, a four-time Ohio champion from wrestling power St. Edwards who will take a 126-7 career record to Oklahoma State.
Heil is ranked third in the country at 132 while Diehl has been ranked sixth nationally at 126. Diehl won a PIAA crown on Saturday at 126 pounds.
Two Penn State recruits also were selected for the Pennsylvania team. Zain Retherford of Benton will wrestle at 138 against Anthony Ashnault, a four-time New Jersey champ from South Plainfield who is unbeaten in 170 career matches and headed to Rutgers.
Retherford is 130-3 in three years of high school competition. He sat out his junior season after transferring from Line Mountain to Benton.
Future PSU teammate, Cody Law of Forest Hills, was a Class AA champ at 160 and will face Isaiah Martinez, a three-time champ from California with a gaudy 207-7 career slate. Martinez will attend Illinois.
Classic officials also went the prep school route this year and selected Eric Morris of Wyoming Seminary. Morris is from Mechanicsburg and will attend Harvard. He compiled a 171-15 career record and won two national prep titles, and last summer won a gold medal at the Pan Am Games.
Another Pa. product will wrestle for the U.S. team. Brooks Black of Dover has had an impressive career at Blair Academy, winning four national prep titles while building a 145-8 career mark.
Pennsylvania's wrestlers have 22 state titles among them and combined have rolled up more than 2,000 wins.
Here is the lineup, with Pennsylvania wrestlers listed first:
113: Zach Fuentes, Norristown, 181-36 vs. Paul Mascarenas, Cleveland, N.M., 175-3.
120: Darian Cruz, Bethlehem Catholic, 153-8 vs. Nathan Tomasello, Cuyahoga Valley, Ohio, 178-5.
126: Connor Schram, Canon-McMillan, 159-11 vs. Joey Dance, Christianburg, Va., 186-14.
132: Ryan Diehl, Trinity, 174-5 vs. Dean Heil, St. Edward, Ohio, 126-7.
138: Zain Retherford, Benton, 130-3 vs. Anthony Ashnault, South Plainfield, N.J., 170-0.
145: Michael Racciato, Pen Argyl, 186-8 vs. Benjamin Whitford, St. Johns, Mich., 165-1.
152: Austin Matthews, Reynolds, 184-17 vs. Jake Short, Simley, Minn., 237-20.
160: Cody Law, Forest Hills, 112-26 vs. Isaiah Martinez, LeMoore, Calif., 207-7.
170: Cody Wiercioch, Canon McMillan, 167-5 vs. Zachary Beard, Tuttle, Okla., 163-9.
182: Eric Morris, Wyoming Seminary, 171-15 vs. Domenic Abounader, St. Edward, Ohio, 135-8.
195: Jake Hart, Hampton, 143-20 vs. Broc Berge, Kasson-Mantorville, Minn., 177-9.
220: Ryan Solomon, Milton, 142-14 vs. Frank Mattiace, Blair Academy, N.J., 160-16
285: Aaron Bradley, Nazareth, 113-19 vs. Brooks Black, Blair Academy, N.J., 145-8.