Two of Pennsylvania's biggest names in high school wrestling have made bombshell announcements recently regarding Penn State's national championship program, albeit for different reasons.

Chance Marsteller, a senior at Kennard-Dale High School in York County, and Thomas Haines, a senior at Solanco High School in Lancaster County, are among the top-ranked wrestlers in the nation.

Last week, Marsteller announced that he will attend Penn State University, ending years of speculation about where he would attend college. "Years" is accurate: the state's fans have been speculating about his college future since Marsteller won the 2011 PIAA Class AAA 138-pound championship as a freshman.

Just a few days after Marsteller's announcement, Haines, who verbally declared this past November that he would go to Penn State, publicly revealed that he has re-opened his college recruiting.

The dual announcements are major news in the high school and college wrestling world.

Both Marsteller, ranked first nationally among all seniors by Amateur Wrestling News, and Haines, ranked 16th nationally, have the opportunity to become Pennsylvania's 11th and 12th four-time PIAA wrestling champions in March.

Marsteller is 125-0 and, pending good health, is on track to set the record for the best unbeaten wrestling record in PIAA history. The current mark of 137-0 is held by Marsteller's mentor, Cary Kolat, who was an undefeated four-time PIAA champion from 1989 through 1992 for Jefferson-Morgan High School in Washington County.

Marsteller will not get near the state record for overall career victories. Upper Perkiomen's Zack Kemmerer won 199 matches from 2004-2007.

Marsteller will join Penn State's now-dominant program - the Nittany Lions have won the last three NCAA Division I wrestling championships - and presumably was coming in with Haines, who has a 132-5 career mark.

But Haines reversed his verbal just recently when upper weight Nick Nevills of Clovis, Cal., made a verbal declaration to the Nittany Lions. According to Haines' father David, that was enough for Thomas to reopen his recruiting.

Haines is projected to be a 285-pounder even though his state championships have come at 215 pounds and twice at 220 pounds. Nevills is a true heavyweight, having wrestled his entire career at 285 pounds.

NO HARM, NO FOUL IN PREP CHARTER ELIGIBILITY

One of the oddest eligibility cases in recent memory occurred in the spring when it was discovered that two girls basketball players from District 12-AAA champion Prep Charter had commuted daily from their residence in Coatesville to the Philadelphia city charter school this past season.

The School District of Philadelphia conducted a two-month investigation following a complaint from a Coatesville resident that she had seen Prep Charter players Hannah Timmons and Martianna Wilson use the SEPTA train to commute to Philadelphia. She had recognized the girls from a game they played against her goddaughter's team, a Philadelphia Public League school.

The SDP found that the two girls had falsified their residential address, using an address with the city of Philadelphia rather than their Coatesville addresses, in order to enhance their chances of attending Prep Charter.

While students who live outside of Philadelphia are eligible to attend a city charter school, those within the city receive a higher priority on the admissions waiting list. Falsifying one's address for the purpose of attending another school for athletics is one of several transfer infractions that can result in PIAA ineligibility and possible forfeiture of games.

But after the investigation was concluded, District 12 decided that neither the girls nor Prep Charter would suffer any punishment. District 12 cChairmanRobert Coleman said the girls had signed transfer waiver forms from Coatesville and thus were academically eligible at Prep Charter.

"They won't be rescinding any trophies," Coleman told philly.com

Prep Charter advanced to the PIAA Class AAA quarterfinals this past season before losing to eventual runner-up Bethlehem Catholic.

PIAA NOTES

The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), the governing body of interscholastic athletics nationwide, is investigating a television network a la the Big Ten Network, according to PIAA executive director Dr. Robert Lombardi.

The network is still in the early planning stages and NFHS is not releasing details yet, but the basic idea for content is similar to the college networks, primarily broadcasts of championship events and features. But there are several hurdles, including licensing arrangements with each state association.

For instance, Pennsylvania Cable Network currently has the exclusive television rights to PIAA championship events. At this point, no one knows what arrangements would have to be made between PCN, PIAA and NFHS if the latter desired to broadcast a championship event. …

Two-time PIAA girls' golf champion Erica Herr, a senior at Council Rock North High School in Bucks County, qualified for the 2013 Women's U.S. Open at Sebonack Golf Club in Southampton, NY. Herr shot a 77-85 to miss the cut. She qualified for the Open by shooting the low qualifying score at Butler Country Club in May. …

District 7's famed football championship day at Heinz Field will have a soccer counterpoint this year. The WPIAL soccer championships will move to Pittsburgh's Highmark Stadium on Nov. 1-2. The stadium, completed this year, is the home of the MSL's Pittsburgh Riverhounds. … Bob Thomas, the baseball coach at Chambersburg Area High School, became the first Pennsylvania baseball coach to reach 800 career victories this spring.