10/09/2026
🦅 LEHIGH VALLEY ALL-TIME WRESTLING — NAZARETH BLUE EAGLES 🦅
Few programs in Pennsylvania wrestling can match the tradition, depth and sustained excellence of the Nazareth Blue Eagles. From the remarkable accomplishments of the Ray Nunamaker era to the championship teams of more recent generations, Nazareth has established itself among the state's premier wrestling programs. The Blue Eagles have produced generations of state champions, nationally recognized collegiate wrestlers and championship teams, including their 2026 PIAA Class 3A individual tournament team title.
Nazareth presented one of the most difficult selection processes in our Lehigh Valley All-Time Wrestling project. Its history is filled with state champions, multiple-time finalists and wrestlers who achieved tremendous collegiate success. With only 13 starting positions available, some truly extraordinary wrestlers had to be left out of the starting lineup.
Thanks goes to NazarethWrestling.com, especially its Champions & Placewinners, Individual Records and History sections, for helping document the Blue Eagles' remarkable accomplishments.
🏆 NAZARETH BLUE EAGLES — ALL-TIME STARTING LINEUP
106 — Brad Silimperi 🏆 — Three-time PIAA finalist: 1987 runner-up (98), 1988 champion (98), 1989 runner-up (112). Career record of 131-9-1; NCAA Division I qualifier at Lock Haven.
113 — Sean Pierson 🏆 — Three-time PIAA placewinner: 2017 4th (106), 2018 3rd (120), 2019 champion (120). Three-time regional champion; continued his career at Princeton.
120 — Zach Horan 🏆 — Four-time PIAA finalist: 2008 runner-up (103), 2009 runner-up (112), 2010 runner-up (125), 2011 champion (130). Career record of 169-12; four-time NCAA qualifier.
126 — Ryan Nunamaker 🏆 — Three-time PIAA placewinner: 1990 5th (119), 1991 runner-up (119), 1992 champion (130). Career record of 96-11-1.
132 — Tahir Parkins 🏆🏆 — Three-time PIAA placewinner: 2023 4th (127), 2024 champion (133), 2025 champion (139). Four District XI and three regional championships; undefeated 50-0 senior season.
138 — Joe Caramanica 🏆🏆 — Back-to-back PIAA champion: 2004 (135) and 2005 (145). Career record of 119-19; NCAA Division I qualifier at NC State.
145 — Sammy Sasso 🏆🏆— Four-time PIAA placewinner: 2015 runner-up (120), 2016 3rd (138), 2017 champion (138), 2018 champion (145). Four-time NCAA All-American and two-time NCAA finalist at Ohio State.
152 — Mike Miller 🏆🏆 — Three-time PIAA placewinner: 1988 4th (138), 1989 champion (145), 1990 champion (152). Undefeated 39-0 senior season.
160 — Tim Darling 🏆🏆🏆 — Four-time PIAA placewinner: 2004 3rd (112), 2005 champion (130), 2006 champion (145), 2007 champion (152). Career record of 169-14; NCAA Division II All-American.
170 — Travis Frick 🏆 — 2000 PIAA 4th (152), 2001 champion (171). Undefeated 42-0 senior season; NCAA Division I All-American at Lehigh.
182 — Sonny Sasso 🏆🏆 — Three-time PIAA placewinner: 2021 7th (172), 2022 champion (189), 2023 champion (215). Consecutive undefeated championship seasons; ACC champion at Virginia Tech.
195 — Rob Rohn 🏆 — Three-time PIAA placewinner: 1995 4th (152), 1996 runner-up (160), 1997 champion (189). Career record of 104-12; NCAA Division I national champion at Lehigh.
285 — Sean Kinney 🏆🏆🏆 — Four-time PIAA finalist: 2021 runner-up (285), 2022 champion (285), 2023 champion (285), 2024 champion (285). Career record of 125-5; four District XI and regional championships.
SOME INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT DECISIONS
Every wrestler in the starting 13 earned a state title; in fact in total they earned 23. There are another 9 state champs with 10 total golds on the All-Time team. At 113, Sean Pierson edged two-time state champion Tyson Klump on # of medals and win %. At 126, Ryan Nunamaker received an extremely close decision over Dan Tashner and Andy Cote.
Finding room and the Nazareth middleweights presented quite the challenge but we were able to place multi-time state champs from 132-160. At 182, Sonny Sasso edged Travis Stefanik in another exceptionally close comparison.
🏅 ALL-TIME TEAM MEMBERS
In addition to our starting lineup, the following wrestlers earned recognition by winning a PIAA state championship, reaching a state final or placing at the state tournament at least three times.
🏆 Harold Wilson — 1954 PIAA champion (120).
Lynn Morris — 1974 PIAA runner-up (HWT).
Jeff Tripp — 1978 PIAA runner-up (112).
Jim Albanese — 1982 PIAA runner-up (119).
Jim Karch — 1984 5th (167); 1985 runner-up (167).
John Renner — 1988 PIAA runner-up (185).
Mike Herceg — 1989 3rd (125); 1992 runner-up (135).
Dan Madson — 1991 PIAA runner-up (171).
Steve Herceg — 1991 5th (130); 1992 runner-up (135).
🏆 Dan Tashner — 1993 runner-up (125); 1994 champion (125).
🏆 Mark Getz — 1993 3rd (130); 1994 champion (135).
🏆 Travis Doto — 1995 champion (145).
Brian Tashner — 1995 runner-up (125).
🏆 Andy Cote — 1995 6th (112); 1996 runner-up (130); 1997 champion (130).
Chris Vitale — 1996 5th (112); 1997 runner-up (125).
🏆 Steve Itterly — 1998 3rd (275); 1999 champion (275).
Thad Frick — 2006 runner-up (160); 2007 7th (160).
David Crowell — 2006 runner-up (171); 2007 runner-up (189).
Mike Greck — 2006 7th (135); 2007 runner-up (135).
Ryan Krecker — Three-time placewinner: 2009 4th (135); 2010 4th (145); 2011 6th (160).
🏆 Aaron Bradley — 2012 runner-up (285); 2013 champion (285).
Chase Zemenak — Three-time placewinner: 2012 4th (120); 2013 6th (126); 2014 runner-up (132).
🏆 🏆 Tyson Klump — Two-time champion: 2015 and 2016 (106).
Brock Wilson — 2016 runner-up (145); 2017 3rd (145).
🏆 Travis Stefanik — 2016 3rd (152); 2017 champion (182).
Andrew Smith — Three-time placewinner: 2018 6th (120); 2019 7th (113); 2020 5th (120).
Dashawn Farber — 2019 runner-up (138); 2020 3rd (138).
Drew Clearie — Three-time placewinner: 2019 6th (132); 2020 3rd (182); 2021 3rd (189).
Jack Campbell — Three-time placewinner: 2024 5th (139); 2025 6th (133); 2026 3rd (145).
OTHER STATE PLACEWINNERS not already included above:
These additional wrestlers earned recognition on the PIAA state podium. Each wrestler is listed once, with all recorded finishes.
1988 — Ken Herceg — 3rd (145).
1991 — Todd Killino — 6th (125).
1995 — Dave Cote — 5th (135).
1995 — Justin Hoff — 6th (130).
1996, 1997 — Jarret Hoff — 4th (171) in 1996; 3rd (160) in 1997.
1996 — Eric Kelly — 5th (103).
2001, 2002 — Eric Frick — 3rd (112) in 2001; 3rd (119) in 2002.
2002 — Joe Provini — 6th (125).
2005, 2006 — Andrew Flegler — 6th (112) in 2005; 8th (119) in 2006.
2006 — Mario Giordano — 3rd (125).
2006 — Mike Mutch — 3rd (275).
2006, 2008 — Bobby Ward — 4th (112) in 2006; 7th (140) in 2008.
2007 — Andrew Ritchie — 4th (140).
2012 — David Wilke — 8th (215).
2013, 2014 — Tyrone Klump — 3rd (106) in 2013; 3rd (120) in 2014.
2013, 2014 — Nicolino Sevi — 8th (170) in 2013; 3rd (182) in 2014.
2017 — Andrew Cerniglia — 4th (106). (included on Notre Dame)
2017, 2018 — Cade Wilson — 8th (160) in 2017; 3rd (170) in 2018.
2018, 2019 — Nathan Stefanik — 6th (138) in 2018; 8th (145) in 2019.
2019, 2020 — Connor Herceg — 8th (160) in 2019; 3rd (160) in 2020.
2020 — Stephen Schott — 5th (220).
2021, 2023 — Dominic Wheatley — 7th (132) in 2021; 3rd (172) in 2023.
2022 — Charlie Bunting — 3rd (120).
2022 — Braxton Appello-Fries — 4th (126).
2022 — Nick Foster — 4th (145).
2022, 2023 — Jake Doone — 7th (138) in 2022; 5th (145) in 2023.
2022 — Ayden Rader — 8th (132).
2022 — Ryan Fairchild — 8th (160).
2025, 2026 — Cade Campbell — 5th (152) in 2025; 7th (152) in 2026.
2025, 2026 — Brayden Zuercher — 4th (189) in 2025; 3rd (189) in 2026.
2026 — Caleb Kosko — 4th (133).
2026 - Elijah Simak - 5th (172)
FINAL THOUGHTS
Nazareth's wrestling tradition is truly remarkable, combining sustained team excellence with an extraordinary collection of individual champions and state placewinners. The sheer number of outstanding wrestlers who could not fit into the starting lineup speaks volumes about the program's depth and history. Our starting selections are intended to assemble the strongest possible historical dual-meet team across 13 weight classes, while recognizing the many other wrestlers whose accomplishments helped establish the Blue Eagles' legacy.
