During the annual Area VIII tournament being held at Maplewood High School, that phrase rang true once more as many young wrestlers attained their goal of qualifying for states and many more failed to realize their goals.

Youngsville’s Little Eagle and junior high wrestlers were no exception. Overall, the Eagles managed to qualify a new program-record 12 wrestlers for the PJW State Championships, but several more fell shy of qualifying.

At 8U 55 pounds, Levi Eger earned his first trip to the state tournament as he picked up pins in the quarterfinals and semifinals over opponents he had lost to earlier in the season. In the finals, Eger lost 10-0 to Cathedral Prep’s Garrett Wisniewski to finish in second place.

At 8U 110 pounds, Sam Hagg picked up a fall over Harbor Creek’s Ryker Langdon to advance to the finals and secure his spot at states. In the finals, Hagg lost by fall to Dominick Niebling of Iroquois.

Submitted photo Johnathan Sullivan was champion of the 12U 200-pound weight class.

In the girls 10U 70-pound bracket, Kinsley Dean upended Union City’s Blakelyn Eastman 9-3 to make the finals. Dean lost her finals match to Fort LeBoeuf’s Kasey Church 8-0 to finish in second place.

In the girls 12U 78-pound weight class, Maci Hodak was crowned champion. Hodak will be making her third consecutive trip to the youth state championship.

In the boys 12U 160-pound bracket, Brian Riel was in a three-person round robin. Riel fought hard, but ultimately lost both matches to finish in third place.

At 12U 200 pounds, Johnathan Sullivan provided a firework-filled finale to the youth tournament as he met rival Isaac Beebe of Maplewood to author another chapter in their exciting rivalry. Sullivan was down 3-1 in the third period of the finals match when he drove Beebe to his back and picked up the pin to hand Beebe his first loss of the year and take first place.

In junior high action on Sunday, the Eagles were able to qualify six wrestlers for the PJW Junior High State Championships in Johnstown.

Submitted photo Levi Eger flexes his muscles after finishing as the runnerup in the 8U 55-pound weight class.

At 110 pounds, Jacob Battko picked up a 15-0 technical fall in his first match over Fort LeBoeuf’s Conner Friend and a pin in 37 seconds in the consolation semifinals over General McLane’s Maximus Kuffer en route to a fourth-place finish. The win in the consolation semifinals secured Battko’s first-ever trip to the state championships.

Khloe Rulander was second in the girls 119-pound bracket. Rulander, just a first-year wrestler, fought hard, but fell in the finals to Girard’s Brianna Frawley.

Tucker Sanford had a good outing in the 132-pound bracket as he finished in second place. Sanford pinned Harbor Creek’s Ezra Cool and Cameron Folmar in his march to the finals.

Brenton Myers finished fourth in the 140-pound weight class. Myers, coming off a bout with the flu, fought hard as he worked his way into a return trip to the state championships.

Collin Havers reigned supreme at 147 pounds. Havers pinned Warren’s Noah Pape in 42 seconds before pinning Harbor Creek’s Tom Worth in 54 seconds in the finals to be crowned area champion for the second straight year.

Submitted photo Maci Hodak stands proudly atop the girls podium after winning her weight class.

Ryker Chase was the Eagles 12th state qualifier of the weekend as he finished fourth at 172 pounds. Chase opened his tournament with a loss by fall to Harbor Creek’s Michael Cieslak before rebounding with a 15-0 technical fall over Warren’s Preston Reuff to secure his second trip to the PJW state championships.

Also placing, but falling just short of qualifying were Miya Rotondelli, Blake Schick and Parker Drake who all finished fourth in the youth tournament.

“It was a pretty great weekend all in all for the junior high kids.” said junior high coach Tim Suydan, “Johnathan had a stellar win against a tremendous opponent. He gave up an early takedown, but remained patient and kept at it until he found the opportunity he was looking for and capitalized. Collin and Tucker put together good tournaments as they both continued to do what they have all year: show up ready to compete and wrestle their butts off. Ryker and Brenton have really helped each other get better the past couple of years and it’s showing. They worked their way into back-to-back state tournament appearances. Khloe continued to be undaunted by wrestling girls with more experience and her persistence and dedication paid off this weekend. Arguably the kid I’m the most happy for is Jake. He’s had nothing but setbacks the past two years. Two years ago he injured his shoulder right before areas and had to default out. Last year he tried to fight through a bout with mono, but couldn’t quite break through. This year, he’s battled a nagging knee injury that’s been hanging around since football season and he’s fought through several issues with his asthma. He made it very clear early on in the season that absolutely nothing was going to stop him from attaining his goal of qualifying for states this year. He battled his rear end off all year and achieved his goal. I couldn’t be happier for him.”

“It was a mixed day for us.” added Little Eagles coach Rusty Hodak, “Everyone battled hard, for some it didn’t work out, however we have five kids advancing to Harrisburg. Levi and Kinsley finally getting rewarded after falling short the past couple years was nice to see. Sam really started coming around late this season and got his ticket. Maci is returning for the third time in as many years and Brian will be going back for the second straight year. We will get back to work and get these kids prepared for the next step.”

Submitted photo Kinsley Dean was the runnerup in the girls 10U 70-pound weight class.

Submitted photo Brenton Myers was fourth in the boys junior high 140-pound weight class.

Submitted photo Ryker Chase was fourth in the boys junior high 172-pound weight class.