CONWELL-EGAN 2026 PHILADELPHIA CATHOLIC LEAGUE CHAMPIONS
Conwell-Egan Wrestling poses with 2026 Championship plaque after defeating St. Joe's Prep
BY JOSH ABRAMS
North Philadelphia - Revenge? Not quite. Redemption? One could certainly argue...
Wednesday night's wrestling championship match in the Philadelphia Catholic League was nothing short of thrilling, even with Conwell-Egan Catholic getting out to a rather daunting lead against host school St. Joseph's Prep. The visiting Eagles held on by a final score of 37-27, securing their fourth PCL title in five years.
In addition to such a monumental feat, Egan was making their sixth consecutive appearance in the PCL title match. Whether if it's the Prep or La Salle (like previous years), they are never easy - this one, especially, had its obstacles.
Okay, fine. Revenge was exacted; Egan made sure of that in a 54-13 semifinal win over La Salle before the weekend snowstorm. But then came a rather treacherous trek down to Girard Avenue to take on the top-seeded Hawks, a team the Eagles hadn't faced all season long.
Ultimately, it did not matter. A theme that has remained constant over the previous four title matches, Conwell-Egan used lightning-fast starts from their light and middleweights to get out to virtually insurmountable leads, leaving no doubts behind who deserved to be called PCL champs.
After losing a heartbreaker at home to La Salle in last year's clash, they got their redemption this time around.
Conwell-Egan's MJ Gorrell pins St. Joe's Prep's Jaxon Rosenblatt during 145-lb bout, midway through title match (Video by Josh Abrams)
Egan sophomore Tobias McIntyre records pin victory over St. Joe's Prep's Brendan Swift in 121-lb clash (Video by Josh Abrams)
Prep got off to a quick 6-0 lead after a forfeit in the 107-lb weight class. From there, Egan's lightweights rattled off four consecutive victories: technical falls by sophomore Hunter Webster (114) and junior Tommy Boyce (127), a pin victory for Toby McIntyre (121) and decision win for senior Lukas Grodzki (133). Prep senior Maddox Rosenblatt recorded the Hawks' first victory on the mat via decision in the 139, but Egan's middleweights took the torch and continued to pile on wins.
Even with the early wins, Egan head coach Chuckie Connor still had to give props to St. Joe's Prep for the way they fought in every match.
"Every match, they were fighting, they didn't quit," said Connor. "They out-toughed our kids a little bit tonight but luckily we're really talented. A couple matches went our way. I thought it was a great match. (The Prep) are a tough team."
With a 25-9 lead going into the 145-lb clash between Egan sophomore MJ Gorrell and Prep junior Jaxon Rosenblatt (brother of Maddox) and just seven weight classes remaining, all the Eagles had to do was secure a few more victories. They wasted no time in doing that; Gorrell starting things off with a pin of the younger Rosenblatt. Egan took a victory in the 152 via forfeit, and afterwards senior Jaiden Goffman won a hard-fought battle in the 160 versus Prep sophomore Rocco Lukash.
For Goffman, it didn't seem to matter how he won; just as long as he could avenge his own personal setback from last year - and help his team win, of course.
"This means a lot," expressed Jaiden after the match. "Last year in the PCL playoffs I went 0-and-2, wasn't really focused on wrestling... this year I started focusing on wrestling. (My team) has had a lot of belief in me, and it has really helped me."
The senior's victory expanded Egan's lead to 34-9 heading into the final four weight classes. The prize was right in front of the Eagles, but everybody knew it was far from over.
Conwell Egan Wrestling head coach Chuckie Connor reflects on his team's 37-27 victory over Saint Joe's Prep in PCL Title match (Video by Josh Abrams)
Egan senior Jaiden Goffman discusses what victory over the Prep means for him after coming up short in last year's final (Video by Josh Abrams)
"Their heavyweight kids are really tough," added Connor.
So tough that three of the last four matches resulted in pin victories for the Prep; senior Keegan Swift (172), junior John Boggs (215) and senior Colton Anderson (285) in just 10 seconds. The lone heavyweight victory for Egan came from a 7-5 decision win for senior Jacob Stout in the 189.
Egan was able to hold off the Prep's ferocious late comeback, and could officially celebrate with their faithful fans who traveled the near-45 minutes down I-95 south.
Connor was more than content with the victory, and even hinted at the possibility of a rematch given how young and talented both programs are.
"It's nice to get the trophy back to our school," said Chuckie. "It's the first time we saw (the Prep) in the finals, and they're going to be tough again next year. They're a young team, and we're (going to be) pretty good next year as well."
Goffman and his teammates knew that what happened last year against La Salle was not characteristic of a program that has made it a routine to not only get to the PCL finals, but win it as well.
"This means a lot to us," said Jaiden. "After last year's upset loss, we knew ever since then that we would be back (in the finals). St. Joe's (Prep) is a tough team. We knew it was going to take all of us."