JEFFERSON HILLS, Pa.; March 9, 2024 – Thomas Jefferson junior Maddox Shaw captured his first PIAA state wrestling championship Saturday in Hershey as he defeated Central Mountain's Dalton Perry in overtime, to claim the title at 139 lbs.
The top seed at 139, Shaw (43-3) and Perry were tied, 1-1, heading into overtime and Shaw got a takedown to end the match. Shaw won (two) of his four PIAA bouts by fall. He becomes TJ's second PIAA Champion in the past three years and second all-time under Coach Michael Ladick. In 2022, Brian Finnerty was the PIAA champ at 215 lbs. Finnerty was the Jaguars' previous careers wins leader, with 121 from 2019-22.
A two-time WPIAL Champion, Shaw added to his school record victory total, which stands at 128 entering his senior season.
Thomas Jefferson junior Bode Marlow captured third place at 160 lbs. in the PIAA Championships. The No. 3 seed, Marlow (39-7) earned a 3-1 sudden victory decision over Pottsville's Nick Kunstek to grab the bronze medal. Marlow captured his first WPIAL title on March 2.
The Jaguars' third WPIAL Champion, Shep Turk (285 lbs.) was 1-2 at the Giant Center. He finished the season with a 34-9 mark.
At the WPIAL Championships, TJ was the only school that had multiple WPIAL 3A champions, doing so for the first time in program history. Shaw became the first Jaguar with multiple WPIAL titles. TJ has won at least one WPIAL title in each of the past three tournaments and six of the school's all-time total of 10 since 2019.
Ladick is just the second coach in PIAA history to direct state wrestling champions at three different schools, joining Dave Crowell.
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