NTWSR TOP 20 TIOGA COUNTY STORYLINES OF THE 2025-26 SPORTS' SEASONS .. #2 and #1 (August 18, 2026)

Northern Tier West Sports Report
TIOGA COUNTY — NTWSR completes the countdown of the Top 20 storylines of the 2025-26 school sports year in the West with #2 and the #1 top story.#2 .. Williamson Wrestlers Collect Sectional, District & Regional Titles, State Medals

The Williamson wrestling team had a successful 2025-’26 season, both as a team and individually, culminated with a pair of State medals won by senior Luke Sottolano and sophomore Zander Wilson.
“I’m happy with the way the team performed this season,” says Head Coach David Wilcox, “also individually .. I’m very proud of the work they are putting in .. success isn’t by chance.”
The Warriors cruised through their dual meet schedule, falling only to Towanda .. on criteria .. and having a pair of lopsided wins over Troy (45-18) and Athens (44-29) overturned on a rules violation.
The Warriors placed 4th at the North Section Championships while crowning three champs in sophomore Zander Wilson (114), senior Hunter Simonds (127) and senior Luke Sottolano (285) and qualified seven wrestlers for Districts. In addition to their champs, Williamson advanced sophomore Walker Hyde (3rd, 121), sophomore Kohen Vandelinder (3rd, 139), sophomore Steven Olson (4th, 189) and junior Riley Rall (4th, 215).
Olson (31-11), Vandelinder (22-13), Rall (20-17) and Hyde (8-4) saw their seasons come to an end at Districts, while Sottolano and Wilson won District IV titles and Simonds placed 5th to give the Warriors three wrestlers at the North East Region Championships. Simonds just missed qualifying for States by finishing 5th while Sottolano and Wilson continued their run of titles in the postseason.
Wilson, in his second trip to Hershey, placed 7th at States and finished the season 41-6, while running his two-year varsity record to 84-9.
Sottolano gave Williamson their second State medalist in the same season for the first time ever, also placing 7th.
“I’m very proud of the boys,” says Wilcox, “We always set goals .. both as a team and individually. They’re very competitive .. as they need to be. If you were to ask them, I’m sure more than a couple would say they came up short of their goals. That’s what it’s about though .. pushing yourself to a level that might be unachievable while also whole-heartedly believing you can achieve it."

#1 .. Piper Hoprich Leads Wellsboro Track & Field to Banner Season With Pair Of State Titles

It was a banner year for the Wellsboro Track & Field teams, as the Lady Hornets won the  NTL Championship, the teams combined for three golds and 18 District IV medals and six medals at the PIAA Championships, led by Piper Hoprich earning two State titles.

Hoprich and Lauren Kosek led the Lady Hornets to their first NTL title since 2014 with three event wins each. Kosek won the 800, 1600 and 3200 meter runs while Hoprich took the 100 and 200 meter dashes and was on the winning 4x100m relay squad, along with Luna Moyer, Sophia Yoder and Paige Rush. 

Isla Twoey added a title in the 300m hurdles for the Lady Hornets, while the boys, who finished a close second at the league meet, were led by Jonathan Carl’s wins in the 200, 400 and triple jump, David Seeling’s wins in both the 110 meter and 300 meter hurdles and Jude Cuneo’s first place finish in the 800.

At the District IV Championships, the Lady Hornets earned 11 medals .. led by Hoprich’s golds in the 100 and 200, Kosek’s silvers in the 1600 and 3200 and 4th place finish in the 800 and the 4x100m relay’s bronze.

Moyer placed 5th in the 100 and 7th in the 200, Twoey was 6th in the 300m hurdles and 7th in the triple jump and Kristina Belz rounded out the Lady Hornets’ medal haul with a 7th place finish in the long jump.

For the boys’, Carl won the 400 while Seeling took 3rd in the high jump, 5th in the triple jump and joined Cuneo, Max Macias and Henry Whitney to place 6th in the 4x800m relay. Whitney took 6th in the 1600, Cuneo was 7th in the 800 and Brayden Benjamin took 7th in the 110m hurdles. 

Hoprich completed her run through the league and the District with a pair of gold medals at the State Championships, winning both the 100 and the 200 meter dashes. Her 11.90 in the 100 was a new personal best and while the 4x100m relay was winning a 3rd place medal, they set a new school record (49.48).

Kosek added two medals for the Lady Hornets, taking 2nd in the 3200 and 5th in the 1600, while the boys’ 4x800 meter relay also earned State hardware, placing 6th.


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