HERSHEY — Thousands of fans and 280 of Pennsylvania’s best high school wrestlers will descend upon the Giant Center in Hershey this week for the PIAA State Championships, with eight Allegheny Mountain League contenders vying for a shot at bringing home some hardware from one of the most competitive tournaments in the country.

Regional champions Dillon Keane (Bradford) and Alec English (Kane) headline the local contingent, along with two-time qualifier Eli Ayers (Coudersport), promising sophomores Ethan Finch (Sheffield) and Braedon Johnson (Port Allegany/Smethport), and English’s Wolves teammates Cameron Whisner, Noah Blankenship, and Teddy Race.

Action in the three-day event begins with this morning’s Class AA preliminary round at 9 a.m., with the Class AAA session getting underway at 4 p.m., and continues all day Friday and Saturday. The Class AA medal round is slated for 2 p.m. Saturday afternoon, followed by the Class AAA placement matches at 7 p.m.

CLASS AAA

Dillon Keane (Bradford, sr., 35-0, NW-1)

First-round opponent: SW-3 Nick Delp (Kiski Area, jr., 42-5)

Regional recap: The District 4/9 Class AAA Most Outstanding Wrestler kept his perfect 2018-19 record intact with a run to the 170-pound Northwest title in Altoona, beating D-4/9 runner-up Coy Bastian (Selinsgrove) in the final for the second week in a row. Already a two-time Big 30 All-Star and just the fourth 100-match winner in BAHS history, joining Mark Havers, Kyle Keane, and Tyler Thompson, Dillon Keane enters states with a 106-18 career record.

Owls at states: Havers, a four-time state qualifier and two-time runner-up, and Kyle Keane, Dillon’s uncle who went onto an All-American career at Pitt-Johnstown, are the only medalists among Bradford’s 12 PIAA qualifiers.

CLASS AA

Alec English (Kane, sr., 32-1, NW-1)

First-round opponent: The No. 2 overall seed at 160 pounds, English will face the winner of the prelim between SE-4 Nick Kostyak (Boiling Springs, sr., 39-11) and SW-5 Jacob Sabol (Richland, so., 22-11).

Regional recap: A year after downing Peyton Hearn (Conneaut) in the Northwest 152-pound final, English did it again, this time with an 8-5 win to claim the gold at 160. He’s unbeaten against Class AA competition this season, his only loss coming after bumping up to 170 to face Keane in the Bradford-Kane AML dual meet.

Wolves at states: English went 1-2 last year in his first trip to Hershey to finish his junior season at 36-4. Kane’s ninth multiple-time state qualifier earned his 100th victory earlier this year, and currently owns a 108-21 mark.

Braedon Johnson (Port Allegany, so., 33-2, NW-2)

First-round opponent: NE-3 Noah Hunt (Warrior Run, jr., 27-7)

Regional Recap: Johnson, the Smethport sophomore wrestling for Port as part of the schools’ co-op agreement, battled three-time defending Northwest champ Beau Bayless (Reynolds) into the second period of the 120-pound title bout before Bayless, already a three-time PIAA medalist and the 2017 state 106-pound champ, got the pin.

Gators at states: Dale Budd (1988) is the lone PAHS state champion of nine medalists and 18 total qualifiers, going on to become a Division 1 All-American at Lock Haven. Nick Budd (2013), now a volunteer coach for Port following his own All-American career at Gannon, and current Gannon freshman Jake Kallenborn (2018) each placed second. It’s the fifth year in a row the Gators have sent at least one wrestler to Hershey.

Hubbers at states: Another Port volunteer coach, four-time Big 30 All-Star Nate Schwab, is one of seven Smethport state medalists among the Hubs’ 22 qualifiers, placing eighth in 2010 and sixth in 2012. Two-time Big 30 Wrestler of the Year Jimmy Duffy boasts the highest finish, taking silver at 145 pounds in 2016.

Ethan Finch (Sheffield, so., 28-9, NW-2)

First-round opponent: SW-3 Derek Brown (Penn Cambria, sr., 34-4)

Regional Recap: A week after stunning the 170-pound field to win the District 9 Class AA Most Outstanding Wrestler award, Finch almost repeated that performance in Sharon, advancing to the gold-medal match before falling 14-7 to Brady Gentile (Greenville).

Wolverines at states: Finch is just the sixth Sheffield wrestler to head to Hershey and the first since 2006, with Chuck Grinnen (6th in 1985), also a Northwest runner-up, and Terry Schraeder (5th in 1992) the only medalists.

Cameron Whisner (Kane, jr., NW-3)

First-round match: SW-2 Christian Clutter (McGuffey, sr., 40-3)

Regional Recap: After losing his regional opener in overtime, Whisner went 4-0 the rest of the way, avenging that first-round loss to Matt Petrilla (Corry) in the blood round, then outlasting D-10 No. 3 seed Cole Toy (Reynolds), 4-3, to earn the bronze medal at 170.

Wolves at states: Kane tied its 1986 program record this year with four state qualifiers. Of the Wolves’ 24 entrants, 15 have medaled at least once.

Eli Ayers (Coudersport, sr., NW-4)

Preliminary opponent: SE-5 Jack Files (Pope John Paul II, sr., 23-10), with the winner facing NE-1 and No. 1 overall seed Gaige Garcia (Southern Columbia, jr., 43-0).

Regional recap: Despite battling illness last weekend, Ayers went 3-2 to secure his second-straight trip to states, dropping the 195-pound third-place match, 9-5, to D-9 champ Eric Johnson (Brockway).

Falcons at states: Coudy has crowned three PIAA champs among its seven medalists and 16 state qualifiers. Ayers’ coach Tom Storey won his title in 1989 before becoming a two-time NCAA qualifier at Navy, followed by back-to-back winner Dirk Cowburn (2008-09) and Kyle Bova (2014), both two-time Big 30 Wrestlers of the Year. Ayers, the eighth Falcon to earn multiple state berths, gives them a presence in Hershey for the fourth year in a row and the 11th time in 13 seasons. He went 1-2 last year, winning his 182-pound preliminary-round match before losing by decision to two eventual medalists.

Noah Blankenship (Kane, sr., 28-8, NW-4)

Preliminary opponent: SW-6 Cooper Warshel (Bishop McCort, so., 19-8), with the winner facing SE-1 and No. 3 overall seed Marckis Branford (Wilson Area, sr., 37-4).

Regional Recap: Blankenship went 2-2 in Sharon, dropping a 5-2 decision to D-10 champ Alex Chess (Mercer) in the 138-pound third-place match.

Wolves at states: Like the Keanes, wrestling is a family affair for the Blankenships. After placing third as a junior in 1985, Duane, Noah’s father, won Kane’s first state title with a perfect 35-0 record in 1986 — also at 138 pounds — to earn the Class AA Outstanding Wrestler award. Older brother Cody was also a state medalist, taking third in 2014, as were uncles Darryl (3rd in 1977), Larry (3rd in 1981), Roger (2nd in 1987), and Tim (5th in 1990).

Teddy Race (Kane, jr., NW-4)

Preliminary opponent: SE-5 Dan Lawrence (Mahanoy, jr., 38-7), with the winner facing SW-1 and No. 3 overall seed Dayton Pitzer (Mount Pleasant, fr, 39-1).

Regional Recap: Race went 4-2 in the 182-pound bracket, with his only losses a pair of close decisions to D-10 runner-up Kaleb Kamerer (Slippery Rock) in the quarterfinals and again in the bronze-medal match.

Wolves at states: Three-time PIAA medalist Evan DeLong, now wrestling at Clarion, is the school’s other state champ, going 36-0 in 2014.