In a weekend that featured many hard-fought and exciting battles, two Eagles returned home with podium finishes: McKenzie Hodak finishing fifth at girls 11/12, 72 pounds and Jonathan Sullivan finishing sixth at boys 9/10, 150 pounds.

“Having talked with Coach Myers and Coach Sullivan throughout the season, I can say with confidence that we’re excited about the future of our program,” junior high coach Tim Suydan said. “As Coach Sullivan has pointed out, our program numbers have improved year over year. That’s a testament to the hard work the kids and coaches have been putting in. The kids are buying into our family atmosphere and they’re excited about getting better and getting back to the state tournament next year.”

Kicking off the weekend for Youngsville were Maci Hodak, Ronnie Shellhouse, Parker Cressley and Jonathan Sullivan.

Shellhouse started off his first state tournament against Braxton Wensel of Union. Shellhouse was unable to overcome Wensel despite his best efforts and lost by fall. Shellhouse then received a bye and matched up with Brady Eichelberger of Northern York in his consolation bout. Shellhouse fell behind Eichelberger 10-0 before losing by fall.

Youngsville junior high coach Tim Suydan, center, is pictured with Mason Fleming and Ayden Dean at the PJW Youth State Championships this past weekend at the University of Pittsburgh’s Petersen Events Center. Submitted Photo

Next up for the Eagles was Cressley, who opened his tournament against Carter Rudish of Slippery Rock. Cressley was overwhelmed by the eventual champion’s early offensive barrage and lost by fall. Cressley then matched up with Tucker Bachert of Manheim Central in the consolation round. Cressley fought his hardest, but ultimately lost to Bachert by fall.

Sullivan began his return trip to states with a first-round bye, then matched up with Owen Smith. Sullivan and Smith had faced off last weekend at the Keystone State Tournament in the 7th-8th-place match with Smith emerging the victor by a 4-1 margin. Smith once again came out on top against Sullivan, this time by a score of 6-0. Sullivan rallied, however, and posted back-to-back first-period pins over Scott Feather of Bedford and Patrick Gallo of Owen J. Roberts, respectively. Sullivan then matched up with Isaac Beebe of Maplewood, who had topped Sullivan in recent matchups, in his third consolation match. Sullivan was able to make a second-period takedown hold up and edge the Tiger by a 2-1 score to advance to the blood round against Keegan Swanson of Edinboro. With a win, Sullivan would secure a spot on the podium. Sullivan was able to get out to an early 2-0 lead before picking up the pin over Swanson with just 23 seconds left in the match. Sullivan went on to top Colt Witman of Berks Catholic 4-1 before losing by fall to Benjamin Colvin of Southmoreland in the consolation semifinals to drop to the 5th-6th-place match. There, Sullivan squared off with Trent Kenny of Belle Vernon. Sullivan went the distance with Kenny, but ultimately lost by 7-0 decision.

Finishing off the morning session for the Eagles was young Maci Hodak. Hodak began her tournament by facing off with Aubrey Kokinda of Tamaqua. Hodak was unable to overcome Kokinda, who went on to finish second, and lost by fall. Hodak then received a bye and matched up with Madison Sundo of Avonworth on Sunday morning. Hodak battled hard, but lost by fall to Sundo.

Wrestling in the afternoon session were McKenzie Hodak, Mason Fleming and Ayden Dean.

Dean began his tournament by facing Knourth Drury of Ligonier Valley. Dean was able to secure the first takedown, but gave up a reversal. Dean was able to escape Drury and cause Drury to drop to his knees after he lost his balance during the escape. Dean charged in to try to secure another takedown, but Drury was able to get back to his feet no more than a half-second before Dean made contact and tossed the Eagle to his back, collecting the fall with 10 seconds remaining in the first period. In his consolation bout, Dean faced Cameron Shaw of Chartiers-Houston. Dean and Shaw fought back and forth throughout the match, but Dean made some small fundamental errors that made the difference in the 9-2 loss.

Fleming was up next for the Eagles. Fleming began his tournament by facing Colby Hoffman of Parkland. Fleming and Hoffman came very close to taking each other down at various points in the match, but it was Hoffman who was able to make a second-period escape hold up in the 1-0 decision. Fleming looked to rebound in his first consolation bout against Parker Nye of Penns Valley. Fleming came out firing and scored the first points via a dynamic double-leg takedown that elicited a roar of cheers from the Youngsville parents, coaches and wrestlers watching the match from their seats. After coming close to scoring near-fall points in the second period, Fleming secured an additional takedown in the third period to put the match away and advance to the next round. In his second consolation matchup, Fleming faced Trevor Hess of Lampeter-Strasburg who placed fourth at PJW states a year ago. Fleming controlled Hess throughout the match, scoring an escape and a takedown with near-fall to advance to the next round of consolations. In his fourth bout of the afternoon, Fleming faced James Allen Jr. of Penn Hills. An early takedown by Allen proved to be the difference as Fleming failed to score in the remaining two periods of the match.

Rounding out the trio of Youngsville wrestlers was McKenzie Hodak. Hodak had to wait and watch her teammates compete most of the day before getting her chance to show her abilities. When it finally came time for her first match, she proved she was ready. Giving up an early takedown did not deter Hodak as she scored eight unanswered points against Poppy Yendell of McGuffey to advance to the semifinals. Hodak dropped a pair of close decision losses to Gianna Allen of Penn Trafford and McKenzie Astorino of Curwensville to drop into the 5th-6th-place match. Hodak once again faced off with Yendell of McGuffey. This time, however, the bout required overtime to decide the winner. Hodak proved her mettle and secured the winning takedown with 22 seconds remaining to finish fifth.

“Each of the wrestlers proved they can compete with the toughest wrestlers in the state at their age and weight class,” Suydan said. “I believe with the exception of Jonathan, none of the other six wrestlers had ever qualified for PJW states before. For them to go out and be competitive, shows the ever improving health of our program.

“In both of the matches Mason lost, he lost by a combined three points. Mason is a first-year wrestler and he held his own against some of the best Pennsylvania has to offer,” Suydan added. “McKenzie Hodak is a first-year wrestler as well and she was able to place at Keystones and PJWs as an 11-year-old. Ayden took his second loss hard, but he’s improved so much as the season has gone by. His goal coming into the season was to qualify for states and he attained that goal by remaining focused and working his tail off every day. I leaned on him and Carsyn Branstrom to be leaders in the junior high room this year. They stepped up and helped to set the tone for our less experienced guys each day.”