Butler's Cole Baxter, right, is the No. 2 seed in the 171-pound weight class at the WPIAL/Southwest Class AAA Wrestling Championships, which begin Thursday.

Having captured a WPIAL championship two years ago, Butler's Cole Baxter came up short in the title bout in 2010.

At the WPIAL/Southwest Class AAA Wrestling Championships, which begin Thursday, he's the No. 2 seed in the 171-pound class.

But Baxter is eyeing a possible championship battle with top-seeded Nick Bonaccorsi of Bethel Park.

“Cole's been No. 2 all year,” said Butler coach Scott Stoner, who will have 10 wrestlers taking part in the WPIAL finals. “Bonaccorsi has placed two times at state and won at the Powerade Tournament.

“Cole wrestled him in elementary school, but they're no longer in elementary school,” the coach added. “Cole has a lot of respect for him, but it's a (bracket) we feel he can win out.”

Of course, for the two to meet, they'll have to win three matches apiece to reach the finals. Bonaccorsi has an unblemished 35-0 mark while Baxter is 38-1, with the lone loss to a New Jersey wrestler.

Having won the Tornado's first WPIAL crown at 145 pounds in 2009, Baxter lost in the finals at 171 a year ago. That's something Stoner believes will drive Baxter.

“Any good wrestler will want to be somewhere else than where he was last year,” the coach said.

Cody Houston (103), Blake Caudill (112), Zach Reges (125), Jesse Spohn (130), Zach Collins (135), Mike Crawford (145), Dakoda Collins (152) and Matt Pribis (160) all have first-round matches while Nick Sutton (119) will have a pigtail match.

Any pigtail match winner will advance to the first-round. Any wrestler that drops a pigtail match is eliminated.

Butler's big three of Mike Crawford (145), Dakoda Collins (152) and Baxter have a combined 95-13 record this year while Matt Pribis (160) is a three-time WPIAL qualifier as well.

Mars will have six wrestlers, led by Ronnie Dakan 171) and Shane Smith (189), who will open in the first round.

“If I were a betting man, those two would have the best chance,” said Mars coach Don Cooley.

Andy Selker (130), James Flinn (140), Ryan McMahon (145) and Chris Boggs (160) all have pigtail matches for the Planets.

Cooley, however, doesn't believe wrestlers should just give in, even if the odds are stacked against them.

“The cool part is, even though only three are going (to the PIAA Championships), there's always a chance,” said Cooley. “The pin is the great equalizer.”

Seneca Valley will be represented by three wrestlers, Nick Zoria (103), Anthony Latess (112) and Aaron Schettler (125), who are slated for pigtail matches.

If that wasn't tough enough, all three, should they win, will square off against the top seeds in their respective divisions, who are a combined 125-3: Colt Shorts of Canon McMillan (103, 42-1), Connor Schram of Canon McMillan (112, 40-2) and Nico Megaludis (125, 43-0) of Franklin Regional.

Knoch has two wrestlers — Joel Hixon (112, in his first season), and Steven Mowery (215, his second season) — who are both making their first trip to the WPIAL finals.

“We have two wrestlers in pigtail matches who are desperate to move on into the championship rounds,” said Knights coach Mark McLaughlin. “You can't afford to look past anyone. You have to stay focused and look at their match.”

Mowery had an impressive 26-9 record, but a win in the pigtail will send him against No. 2 seed Dante Nania of Hempfield.

<B>Pigtail matches</B>103: Nick Zoria (Seneca Valley, 24-9) vs. John Bernardinelli (Connellsville, 6-23)112: Anthony Latess (Seneca Valley, 18-12) vs. Will Valentine (Albert Gallatin, 15-15); Joel Hixon (Knoch, 16-17) vs. Michael Heasley (Waynesburg, 15-21)119: Nick Sutton (Butler, 7-5) vs. Josh Gudenburr (Ringgold, 23-15)125: Aaron Schettler (Seneca Valley, 24-9) vs. Aaron Layhue (West Mifflin, 6-14)130: Andy Selker (Mars, 17-16) vs. Deane Fiasco (Penn-Trafford, 14-20)140: James Flinn (Mars, 12-12) vs. Michael Ardeno (Trinity, 26-8)145: Ryan McMahon (Mars, 20-10) vs. Erik Rayman (Norwin, 22-14)160: Chris Boggs (Mars, 22-10) vs. Jordan Roberts (Trinity, 22-7)215: Steven Mowery (Knoch, 26-9) vs. Jaymar Parrish (Gateway, 23-13)<B>First-round matches</B>103: Cody Houston (Butler, 27-12) vs. James Harrison (West Mifflin, 24-4)112: Blake Caudill (Butler), 24-6) vs. Justin Alexander (Central Catholic, 24-1)125: Zach Reges (Butler, 29-9) vs. Christian Whipkey (McGuffey, 22-12)-Keith Berbach (McKeesport, 12-15) pigtail winner130: Jesse Spohn (Butler, 23-13) vs. Jake Vitolo (Hempfield, 30-7)135: Zach Collins (Butler, 16-11) vs. Patrick Slovonic (Thomas Jefferson, 30-6)145: Mike Crawford (Butler, 26-4) vs. Kyle Skelly (Kiski Area, 27-10)-Giancarlo Lies (Mount Lebanon, 20-13) pigtail winner152: Dakoda Collins (Butler, 30-8) vs. Zan Kail (Peters Township, 27-6)160: Matt Pribis (Butler, 23-9) vs. Tyler Haines (Albert Gallatin, 30-6)171: Cole Baxter (Butler, 38-1) vs. Craig Slepsky (Penn-Trafford, 13-19)-Don McWreath (Trinity, 20-11) pigtail winner; Ronnie Dakan (Mars, 28-5) vs. Austin Coniker (Central Catholic, 34-1)189: Shane Smith (Mars, 23-9) vs. Dylan Martin (Plum, 29-4)