Four local wrestlers have qualified and will be competing at the PIAA Class AA state tournament beginning Thursday.

Muncy’s Troy Hembury will be making his second consecutive trip to Hershey this week after he won the 170-pound weight class defeating Brett Przekop, Mount Carmel, 5-2, at the regional championship this past Saturday. The Muncy junior will enter the tournament with a 39-1 record and is ranked second in the state. Hembury defeated Montgomery’s Garrett Shnyder during their quarterfinal match Friday, 7-1. He then pinned Western Wayne’s Garrett Enslin in the semifinals before beating Przekop.

Hughesville’s Kyle Barnes and Derek Earnest will be making their first trip together to Hershey as they both finished in the top three in their respective weight class this past weekend in Williamsport. Barnes captured the 145-pound title defeating Adam Kritzer of Line Mountain, 4-2, sv. Teammate Earnest finished third at heavyweight after beating Midd-West’s Jake Heintzelman and District 2 champion Mike Galantini of Valley View to earn his first trip to Hershey. This is the first time since 2008 when Ammon Swisher earned his way to the state championship.

Montgomery’s Garrett Shnyder will make his first trip to Giant Center this Thursday. With four seconds left in the 170-pound bout for third-place at the regional tournament the Red Raider senior gave a fist pump knowing he just secured his spot at the state championship defeating Line Mountain’s Erik Smeltz, 2-0. He became Montgomery’s first state qualifier since Shawn Rupert and Kevin and Kyle Mowery all qualified in 2005. He was one of only two District 4 fifth-place finishers from the previous week to qualify for states. Shnyder lost his quarterfinal bout to Muncy’s Troy Hembury on Friday night before winning three consecutive matches on Saturday.