There will be a new name added to the banners inside Pete Schneider Gymnasium as Trey Wagner completed an undefeated postseason by sweeping his four matches in Hershey to become the 25th wrestling state champion in Northampton history.

The sophomore 127-pounder freely admitted that coming into the season, a state title was not something he envisioned happening for him this year.

He said, “I was coming in here thinking, top 5 is my goal. But coming into the state tournament, it was like, ‘You know what, I can do this. There’s nothing to lose.’ I didn’t place last year, so what else do I have to lose. So I just went in here with a new mindset thinking I’m going to take it to everyone no matter who they are, no matter what they did in the season.”

His finals opponent, Dean Houser of Daniel Boone, had beaten Wagner at 4-2 states in 2023, but Trey turned the tables at this season’s opening Top Hat tournament, winning 8-2 to claim the title.

The final was a clinic in tough wrestling as Wagner scored an early first period takedown, followed it up with another in the second period, and rode Houser into submission over the final 3:05 of the match to record a 5-1 decision.

The championship bout was a microcosm of the entire tournament for Wagner. He was never taken down as he grinded out decision after decision. 5-2 in the round of 16. 3-1 in the quarterfinals with 3:24 of riding time. 1-0 in the semifinals with a second period rideout. It was a masterclass in how to win tight matches in the postseason.

Head coach Joe Provini summed up Wagner’s accomplishment, “What’s so amazing about it is that he struggled all year. And I coached state champions like that before, when a guy is struggling to break through but he continues to train hard and he believes in his coaches and his teammates and what we’re doing and then to watch him succeed at the end of the year, it says something. Trey is as nice of a kid and as good of a teammate as you could ask for. I’m thrilled that he’s my first state champion (as head coach).”

As his post-match interview drew to a close, the topic turned to an anticipated call with his brother Carson, a 4-time state medalist for the K-Kids and state runner-up in 2023. “I’ll just say, ‘Thank you man.’ He trained me so much through last year. That definitely helped me this year.”