Quaker Valley wrestler Matt Danna joins 100-win club

By: Ray Fisher
Sunday, February 1, 2026 | 11:01 AM

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Call it a moon landing.

This year’s Moon Duals were unforgettable for Quaker Valley wrestler Matt Danna.

The 160-pound senior registered his 100th career victory Dec. 13 at Moon by pinning Liam Hulton of Laurel Highlands in 14 seconds.

“I was happy to reach 100 career wins,” Danna said. “By missing out on my entire freshman year, reaching the milestone was uncertain, but having 51 wins last season really helped me get back on course in the win column.

“My expectations for this season are to constantly improve on my technique and find my momentum rolling into the postseason. I do not want to get too ahead of myself and just focus on getting better one day at a time. I expect to see progression and growth from this point until the end of the season.”

Danna was forced to miss his freshman season due to a painful pectus carinatum condition, also known as pigeon chest.

“The sternum grows outward due to excess cartilage,” Danna said. “It was very painful when I would do any type of exercise. It’s completely healed now.”

Danna was 38-11 as a sophomore, 51-10 as a junior and stood at 34-9 so far in 2025-26, making him 123-30 overall.

“Matt is a tenacious shooter and always looks to score as many takedowns as he can,” QV coach Austin Heinl said. “He’s also really strong on top, controlling wrists and using them to leverage his opponents for back points and pins.

“We try not to place expectations on our wrestlers as a staff. We prioritize individual and team goal setting. They lay the target, and we just try our best to support and help them achieve those goals. I know Matt’s goal is to keep getting better and finish higher than he did last season.”

Danna, 18, is the ninth athlete in QV’s 10-year grappling history to reach the century mark in career wins, joining Jack Kazalas (2024, 151-28), Patrick Cutchember (2022, 141-31), John Rocco Kazalas (2019, 134-33), Connor Redinger (2021, 112-20), Logan Richey (2023, 112-50), Jack Diemert (2025, 110-58) and Justin Richey (2022, 107-41).

QV senior Bruce Anderchak (2026) and Diemert both attained the coveted milestone last season. Anderchak, at 121 pounds, is a near-perfect 26-1 this season and 145-29 for his career.

Anderchak posted 31-13, 40-8 and 48-7 marks the three previous years.

Danna is in his third season on the QV wrestling team.

“Matt set the tone when he started as a sophomore winning a lot of matches and scoring a lot of points,” Heinl said, “so we knew early on that it wasn’t going to be a challenge for him to hit this milestone within three years.”

A large majority of Danna’s career victories — 87 — have been by fall (55) or technical fall (32).

Competing previously at 139 pounds, Danna has won two section titles and last year placed third in the district.

He is a member of the Key Club and chess club at his school and has a 4.1 GPA. He plans to major in finance/business in college then attain an MBA as a post-graduate.

“I would like to thank my parents and coaches for helping me get to where I am today,” Danna said.

Quakers win section

Quaker Valley defeated Keystone Oaks, 41-34, on Jan. 21 in Section 6-2A action as Jake Neff, a 189-pound freshman, recorded a first-period pin to give the Quakers the lead for good.

Junior Trey Dunlap (285) and sophomore Damien McClay (133) also had pins and junior Harper Sipes (152) won by a technical fall for the Quakers.

QV ended up in a three-way tie for first place with Keystone Oaks and Avonworth but won the tiebreaker criteria to claim the section championship. The Quakers have won the section title for eight consecutive years.

Along with Anderchak and Danna, QV has been sparked this season by the likes of Dunlap, Sipes and Neff.

Tags: Quaker Valley