BEST OF THE BEST Greater Latrobe's Luke Pletcher and Waynesburg's A.C. Headlee at PIAA Wrestling Championships at Hershey's Giant Center. (Photo by Sean Simmers, PennLive staff)

72 hours at Pennsylvania's wrestling championships

High school wrestling in Pennsylvania is often recognized as the best in the nation. And for three days, the state wrestling championships at Hershey's Giant Center was a chance for nationally ranked talent to showcase their abilities.

Greater Latrobe's Luke Pletcher and Waynesburg's A.C. Headlee (above) exemplify this tradition. These wrestlers put on an epic overtime period that was talked about across the country and will be remembered by wrestling enthusiasts for years to come.

But there’s so much more to this tournament than what happens on the mats. In the these 19 photos, PennLive photographers take you behind the scenes and put you on the stage to show the emotional ride in this battle for state supremacy.