In the gym that Youngsville head coach Dave Myers once called home, the Little Eagles saw breakthrough performances from several wrestlers and also watched some of their wrestlers fall just short of qualifying for the state tournament.

In all, the Little Eagles qualified a program-record 11 wrestlers for the PJW state tournament.

Leading the way for the Little Eagles were Collin Havers, who captured the championship at 11 & 12, 135 pounds, and Maci Hodak, who was champion of the girls 11 & 12, 72-pound weight class.

The Little Eagles also featured five wrestlers who finished with silver medals: Parker Drake (7 & 8, 110 pounds); Brian Riel (9 & 10, 150 pounds); Tucker Sanford (11 & 12, 125 pounds); Brenton Myers (11 & 12, 135 pounds); and Ryker Chase (11 & 12, 160 pounds).

Submitted photo Ryker Chase, left, finished second in the 11 & 12, 160-pound bracket.

With the exception of Sanford, who qualified last year, all of the silver medalists are first-time state qualifiers.

Also qualifying for the Little Eagles were: Ronnie Shellhouse, third at 11 & 12, 65 pounds; Brayden Patch, third at 11 & 12, 115 pounds; Johnathan Sullivan, third at 11 & 12, 200 pounds; and Ayden Dean, fourth at junior high, 103 pounds.

Because the youth tournament only takes the top three wrestlers and the junior high tournament only takes the top four, a few wrestlers came ever so close to qualifying.

Area 8 Futures champion Sam Hagg finished fourth at 7 & 8, 110 pounds; Blake Winkels was fourth at 9 & 10, 95 pounds; McKenzie Hodak was fourth at girls 11 & 12, 92 pounds; Jacob Battko lost his true fourth-place bout in double overtime to finish fifth at junior high, 96 pounds; and Mason Fleming finished sixth at junior high, 132 pounds.

A number of other Little Eagles wrestlers left it all on the mat even though they did not place: Kole Renwick, Levi Eger, Angelo Rotondelli, Caleb Baxter, Evan Sullivan, Luke Baxter and Brantley Coleson.

Submitted photo Ayden Dean, left, finished fourth in the junior high, 103-pound bracket.

“This weekend was the definition of a roller coaster. We went from the highest of highs when we qualified 10 wrestlers on day one, to some soul-crushing lows when we had a few key moments not go our way on day two.” said junior high coach Tim Suydan, “Speaking for myself, I feel like we really represented ourselves well as a program this weekend. Every one of the kids I saw competing wrestled their rear ends off win or lose. Dan and his staff seemed pleased with the effort the kids gave as well. Personally, I’m truly heartbroken for Jake and Mason because I’ve seen the adversity they’ve had to overcome this year and I know the amount of time and effort they’ve dedicated to improving themselves. They both have improved so much and they gave it absolutely everything they had. As a coach, that’s really all I can ask for.”

The Little Eagles will now turn their attention to the PJW state championships. The PJW Junior High state championships will be held at the Cambria County War Memorial Arena in Johnstown on March 1-3. The PJW Youth state championships will be held at the Peterson Events Center in Pittsburgh on March 23-24.

WARREN LITTLE DRAGONS/KINZUA WRESTLING CLUB

At 12U, 70 pounds, Ethan Gustafson faced off against Edinboro’s Ben Brennan in his first match. Brennan scored a quick takedown and turned Gustafson to his back for an eventual 8-0 score. In the second period, a locking hands penalty by Brennan earned Gustafson 1 point. Gustafson wrestled hard, keeping it a scoreless second period. Starting on their feet in the third period, Brennan got an early takedown and was held scoreless the rest of the match. Gustafson lost by a 10-1 decision.

In Gustafson’s second match, he faced off against Sheffield’s Lucas Sorensen. Gustafson imposed his will early, leading to a quick stall warning against Sorensen. A strong takedown by Gustafson was followed by two near-falls to end the first period up 6-0. The second period was scoreless. Gustafson won by fall at the 2:54 mark to secure the win. Gustafson’s third match came against the Ragin’ Raisins’ Jake McGuigan. McGuigan secured a first-period takedown to make the score 2-0, eventually ending Gustafson’s day with a 4-1 win. Gustafson wrestled hard all day and certainly didn’t make it easy for his opponents.

Submitted photo Warren’s Caleb Fralick and Evan Wellner earned third-place medals at last weekend’s PJW Area 8 state qualifier.

Another 12U, 70-pound wrestler, Caleb Fralick opened his day against Edinboro’s Coltt Williams. Williams secured a takedown to make the score 2-0 in the first. After an escape and a takedown, Williams led 5-0 after two periods. Fralick kept his head in the match and earned a reversal late and quickly rolled Williams over for the fall at 3:12.

Fralick faced McGuigan in his second match. Fralick got the early takedown, but gave up a reversal in the first period. In the second period, Fralick scored a reversal to pull ahead. In the third, Fralick again remained resilient in overtime, scoring the first takedown to earn a spot in the championship match versus Brennan.

In the championship round, Brennan came out aggressively and scored a quick takedown before locking in a tight cradle for a fall at the 52-second mark of the first. Even with this loss, Fralick was still able to secure his spot for the PJW championship in Pittsburgh. Fralick finished his day placing third overall after a loss for second place.

At 10U, 65 pounds, Evan Wellner started his day against the second-seeded Blake Johnson of Girard. In a low-scoring match, Wellner was able to score with two takedowns for a 4-2 win.

Wellner’s second match was against the eventual champion, Jace Cote of Union City. The first period yielded zero points, but by the second period Cote was able to score with a switch taking a 2-0 lead. In the third period, Wellner shot a double leg and scored to tie 2-2. Wellner was able to keep his opponent down until the last seconds of the match, when Cote scored an escape for a one-point victory.

Wellner’s third match was against Eisenhower’s Leyton Curtis. Wellner started off by scoring a takedown in the first to take a 2-0 lead. In the second period, Wellner fought off a continuous barrage of attacks by Curtis to keep the score 2-0. In the third, Wellner was able to score on a switch to take a 4-0 lead and the win.

Wellner’s fourth match was in the consolation finals against the Ragin’ Raisins’ Troy Lemke. In another low-scoring match, Wellner was able to secure a first-period takedown for a 2-0 lead. These would be the only points scored for a 2-0 victory and a third-place finish, qualifying him for PJW championships in Pittsburgh. Wellner would finish the day third overall after a loss for second place.

Another 10U, 70-pound wrestler, Jaxson Boozer started his day facing Dameyon Massey of ECSD. Boozer scored a quick takedown. In the second period, Boozer turned his opponent to his back, but was unable to keep him there. Finally at the 45-second mark of the third, Boozer was able to turn and keep his opponent on his back scoring the pin.

Boozer’s second match was against Maplewood’s Camden Zdarko. Zdarko scored a quick takedown in the first period that eventually led to a pin with 3 seconds remaining in the period.

Boozer’s third match was against another Maplewood opponent, Brian Groger. Boozer was able to score a few takedowns along with an escape during the match that led to a 7-1 decision.

Boozer’s fourth and final match started and ended with some confusion, which unfortunately resulted in Boozer having his day end with a takedown and a pin at 29 seconds in the first period.

At 12U, 95 pounds, Owen Damcott’s first match came against the Ramblers’ Jack Cunningham. After allowing a takedown in the first period, Damcott was able to escape and nearly secured a last-second takedown before running out of time. Damcott locked in a perfect cradle to win by fall at 2:11.

In his second match, Damcott faced the eventual first-place finisher, Kash Simmons of MYAA Riptide. Simmons took down Damcott with a go behind early in the first and raced to a 9-0 lead with a series of tilts. As time ran out in the first, Simmons secured the victory by fall at 1:30.

Moving to consolations, Damcott faced the Ragin’ Raisins’ Brayden Lemke. Damcott stuffed an early takedown attempt by Lemke and got the early go-behind takedown. Damcott again secured the pin by cradle at the 58-second mark in round one.

Damcott’s final match came against Edinboro’s Maximus Kuffer. Damcott scored first with a double-leg takedown and was able to get Kuffer into a cradle. Despite holding Kuffer in the cradle for the final 15 seconds of round one, he was unable to obtain near-fall points. In the second period, Kuffer was able to get the reversal and three near-fall points. Damcott chose neutral to start the third period where he quickly got a double-leg takedown and let Kuffer back up. Damcott quickly shot again, but was unable to get the takedown and fell to a 6-4 decision.

Fralick and Wellner will move on to the PJW championships March 23-24 at Peterson Event Center at University of Pittsburgh.