HERSHEY — Brenda Banks is inevitable.

It’s not a matter of if, but when the Panther Valley junior will assert her dominance.

And it didn’t take long for Banks to make a statement and punch her ticket to another state final Friday night at the PIAA Wrestling Championships.

Banks maximized her mat time in the girls 235-pound bracket with an emphatic 10-second pin against Esther Reed of Big Spring.

Before Reed — or anyone knew it — the match was over and Banks was on her way to a third straight state final.

“This is going to be hopefully my third state title, second PIAA,” said Banks. “Every year counts. It’s always something new, with competition and girls wrestling growing each year. To be able to come this far as the sport is growing as a whole means a lot to me.

“This year, I really just feel like I’m a lot more confident in my technique. From last year to this year, I’ve seen a lot of improvement within myself, especially with broadening my technique because I don’t want to get too complacent. People can watch that, especially being ranked No. 1 in the state, everybody’s looking at me. So it’s good to have a large variety of things that I can be good at.”

And Banks has mastered nearly everything she has put her mind to, showing she can win — and dominate — in a variety of ways.

On Friday, she needed 1:10 combined in her two matches to advance to the finals.

Banks was undeniable in her quarterfinal matchup with Leah Nason of Athens Area.

The junior scored a takedown in the first 30 seconds before finishing the match with a pin in 1:00 to reach the semis.

“I’m always impressed with how humble she is and how hard she works,” said Panthers coach Hannah Mordaunt. “She doesn’t like all the attention, she is very timid about it. But she likes to have fun and be goofy along the way, and that’s all you can ask for as a coach.”

It’s the way Banks approaches wrestling, that makes her a great ambassador for the sport and a leader for her teammates.

That can be seen with teammate Alisa Williams, who qualified for states for the first time this season.

“Brenda approaches things in a different way than coaches,” said Mordaunt. “For Brenda, wrestling is as easy as breathing. She reminds the other girls that it might take some time, and the kids really listen to her and respect her. But Brenda and Alisa constantly push each other and notice little things that can make them better.”

Those little things have gone a long way, as Banks has managed to continue to evolve as a wrestler and raise her ceiling despite operating a level most will never approach.

And her opponents never know what’s coming next.

“That’s the whole point,” Banks said with a laugh. “Just to be able to have such a large variety of things that I can do, being able to finish in a bunch of different ways, just makes me feel really accomplished in myself that I’ve come so far and learned so much.”

Banks will wrestle Zoey Murphy of Southmoreland in the final.

“Tomorrow I’m just extremely excited for the finals,” said Banks. “I really can’t wait. I like being able to go match after match after match, but it’s good to have a break in between to gather myself back up. But I am excited for tomorrow. I’m just going to wrestle my hardest and show everybody hopefully why I placed first last year and will be able to do it again this year.”

Fighting back

Northwestern’s Luke Fugazzotto fought back to secure his spot on the podium.

The junior bounced back from a 172-pound quarterfinal round loss by pinning Mason Savitz of Corry in 2:40 in his third round consolation bout.

Fugazzotto dropped his fourth round consolation bout to Jayden O’Farrill of Bishop McCort 10-3.

The pair were scoreless after the first period, but O’Farrill got two takedowns in the second period to build a 7-2 lead, with Fugazzotto getting points on an escape and when O’Farrill was hit with a technical violation.

Fugazzotto got an escape early in the third period but couldn’t close the gap, as O’Farrill got another takedown in the final seconds to finish the match.

Fugazzotto will wrestle Frazier’s Jackson Angelo for seventh place.

In his quarterfinal match against Brady Collins of Clearfield, Collins scored the first takedown in the final 20 seconds of the first period, but Fugazzotto got a reversal with five seconds left to cut the deficit to 3-2 heading to the second period.

After an escape early in the second period, Collins used a takedown with 0:28 left to push his advantage to 7-2.

Fugazzotto got an escape early within the first 15 seconds of the third period to make it 7-3. But Collins secured another takedown with 0:27 left to seal the 10-3 win.

Solid seasons

Four area wrestlers saw their season come to an end in the consolation round Friday inside the Giant Center.

Palmerton’s Dillon Lombardi, Mahanoy’s Rory Dixon, Pleasant Valley’s Juliette Trout and the Panthers’ Williams each fell in the consolation bracket.

After a scoreless first period in his 172-pound second round consolation against Moshannon Valley’s Rocco Reifer, it was Reifer who got an escape to take a 1-0 lead. Lombardi got out early in the third period to tie it at 1-1.

Reifer used a takedown near the edge of the mat with 0:16 left to take a 4-1 advantage. Lombardi got a point when Reifer was called for locked hands with 0:03 left followed by an escape to make it 4-3. But Reifer got a takedown and two back points as time expired to finish off the 9-3 win.

“He does everything right. Obviously, the end sucks. There’s always going to be an end, but you always hope to end it on a win,” said Palmerton coach Justin Petersen. “It sucks. But I reminded him of all the accomplishments. If we went back to when he was a freshman, coming into his freshman year, I highly doubt ... he thought his career (would) end up (like it did). And the relationships and moments, those don’t go away because of a loss. He represented us really well.

“He’s a leader, and he’s going to be missed. But everything he did is going to stay. A guy like Dillon Anthony is out here working out with him. He’s a sophomore, and he has a new, added motivation. He talks about how he wants to do what Dillon did. That’s what you want your leaders to do.”

After qualifying for regionals for the first time last year, Lombardi built on that success his senior season, which also included his 100th career win.

“It wasn’t a dream anymore, it was what he knew he could do, and what he knew he wanted,” said Petersen. “It’s been a great ride, and I’m going to miss him.”

Dixon and Central Clarion’s Mason Gourley were scoreless through the first period in their 160-pound second round consolation match. Gourley got an early escape in the second period, and used a takedown a little more than 10 seconds later to go ahead 4-0.

That is how it stayed until Gourley got his second takedown of the match to finish off a 7-0 win.

In the girls bracket, Trout fell to York Suburban’s Alysiana Ierley 12-0 in her 112-pound consolation match, bringing an end to the sophomore’s second state tournament.

Trout built a 7-0 lead in the first period against Conneaut’s Daylee Watson in the quarterfinals, scoring a takedown and four back points.

But Watson rallied with a reversal in the second period, and stacked eight back points to take a 10-7 lead.

Watson added to her advantage with another takedown in the third period to claim a 13-7 win.

Williams saw her tournament come to an end with an 8-2 loss to Cumberland Valley’s Emma Beaven in her 170-pound consolation match.

The pair were scoreless after the first period before Beaven got four back points in the second period.

Williams got an escape in the second, but Beaven added four more back points in the third period.

It was a remarkable season for Williams, one that saw her end with a 33-10 record.

“I’m incredibly proud of her,” said Panther Valley coach Kris Nalesnik. “Any time you have a wrestler go from around a .500 season one year to winning 30-plus matches and being a state qualifier, winning your first round match at states, any time you have that, you are always going to be incredibly proud.

“She definitely wrestled hard all three matches she had. I’m very, very pleased overall with how she did.”

In her quarterfinal match, Williams and Central Mountain’s Kendall Wagner were scoreless through the first two periods. Wagner got an escape in the third and got another point when Williams was hit for stalling to go ahead 2-0 with 1:11 left.

A takedown by Wagner with 0:08 left helped Wagner secure a 5-0 win.

COMING BACK … Action will resume Saturday at 9:30 a.m. with 2A boys and 3A boys fifth round consolations along with girls fourth round consolations. The 2A and 3A boys and girls 3rd, 5th and 7th place matches will take place at 11:30 a.m. The parade of champions for all three will take place at 3:40 p.m. Finals in each will begin at 4 p.m.