Can Marsteller make history?
This could end up being a memorable few weeks for freshman wrestling phenom Chance Marsteller. The 152-pounder from Kennard-Dale rolled to a District 3 Class AAA championship on Saturday, earning a 16-5, major decision victory against Hamburg's Jackson Stabile. It was a fittingly dominant result for Marsteller, who improved his perfect record to 38-0. Marsteller will be the favorite to win the state title at the PIAA Wrestling Championships, which start on March 10. Most websites -- including thepapowerrankigns.com -- rank Marsteller as the top 152-pounder in the state. Should he win gold at the Giant Center, the Rams standout would be making history. Marsteller has a chance to become the heaviest freshman ever to win a PIAA Class AAA title. Since the PIAA split up its state tournaments into Class AAA and AA in 1976, only five freshman have won Class AAA state titles. All of them have come at the lightest weight class, 103 pounds or below.* The heaviest freshman to win a PIAA championship was Bald Eagle-Nittany's Terry Williams, who won the 155-pound Class AA title in 1977. It would be quite the feat for Marsteller. Then again, his reputation is already well-known in wrestling circles. Intermat, a wrestling website that covers the sports nationally, ranks Marsteller the No. 6 152-pounder in the entire country -- and the five wrestlers in front of him are all seniors. In other words, Marsteller should have quite the few years in front of him. He'll try to take that first, big step in two weeks. * -- This is according to last year's PIAA wrestling program, which lists all of the past state champions.