Nico Emili’s aggressive, bulldog personality does not lend itself well to being patient. But the Bethlehem Catholic freshman was just that in Friday’s PIAA Class 3A quarterfinal against Council Rock North’s A.

ALTOONA – Three-time 3A state wrestling champion Bethlehem Catholic and highly-regarded Nazareth not only reside in the East Penn Conference and in District 11, they appear to be on a collision course to meet Saturday in the PIAA Class 3A Team Wrestling Championships at Altoona High School.

But Nazareth, despite being ranked No. 2 in PIAA 3A by PaPowerWrestling (PPW), faced the toughest test, from 18-0 WPIAL champion, Franklin Regional, ranked No. 6 by PPW. The Panthers, the word had it, offered an extremely balanced lineup that would provide the Blue Eagles (19-1) the highest challenge.

Mikey Lewis, Tavion Banks, Landon Muth, Jacob Lance and James DeLuise. Those have been some of the under-the-radar heroes in Bethlehem Catholic’s recent runs to PIAA Class 3A team wrestling titles. As stellar as coach Mike Cole’s Golden Hawks are with Nico Emili,