Jake Williams and Eisenhower finished second at the Sharon Duals.

SHARON, Pa. – Eisenhower wrestling went toe-to-toe with the big boys at the Sharon Duals this weekend, earning a second-place finish.

The Knights rolled through their opening three matches, wins over Elizabeth Forward (45-27), Sharon (48-23) and Chartiers-Houston (65-16), earning themsevles a semifinal date with Peters Township, a school with a total enrollment of 1,463 in grades 9-12.

Eisenhower got the best of them, however, with a 48-34 victory to set up a match against Norwin in the finals.

Norwin boasts an enrollment of 1,614, making it the fifth largest high school in the WPIAL.

They clipped Ike for the title, 48-21, but the Knights nevertheless turned in quite the impressive performance against the type of competition that will help prepare them for the postseason battles ahead.

“It was a good weekend for our guys,” said Eisenhower coach Kris Black. “The first match against Elizabeth Forward, we didn’t really get much of a chance to talk strategy and went straight up. They (EF) started strong, but our middle and upper weights really won it for us. That got the ball rolling.”

It certainly did, as that win was followed by the victories against Sharon and Chartiers-Houston.

“Against Sharon and Chartiers-Houston, our guys really got after it,” Black said.

Their performance against Peters Township might have been the best of any of the matches.

“It was really back-and-forth,” noted Black. “I thought our guys were really gritty in that match. We didn’t give up much bonus and some of our upper guys got bonus points. Logan Jaquay had a pin that put it out of reach.

“Norwin, they just had too much firepower. They have a few kids that are really, really good. But our kids fought really hard.”

That list includes, but certainly isn’t limited to, Kurtis Phipps, a defending state runner-up last season who also won his weight class at the prestigious Powerade Tournament this season.

With the postseason right around the corner, Black liked what the Sharon Duals provided for his team.

“It’s nice as far as getting the guys a few matches in as a team,” he noted. “It’s a bonding experience for them and a nice warm-up for what’s coming. They backed each other … just went from one match to the next and just kept going.”

That postseason journey begins this week with the first round (wrestle-in) District 10 team duals against Harbor Creek on Wednesday at Eisenhower

Doors will open at 6:15 p.m., with wrestling getting underway at 7.

The winner advances to Saturday’s action back at Sharon. There, eight teams will be fighting for the three available spots into the state tournament.

“Harbor Creek has a lot of quality kids,” noted Black. “I’m interested to see how we match-up.