Submitted photo Johnathan Sullivan and Collin Havers were both medalists at the Keystone State Championships in State College.

STATE COLLEGE — Eight Little Eagles wrestlers made the trek down to State College to compete in the Keystone States Championships over the weekend.

Of those eight, two left the Bryce Jordan Center with podium finishes.

Johnathan Sullivan was the highest place winner for the Little Eagles as he finished third in the 12U 200-pound division. Sullivan went an impressive 6-1 on the weekend with his only loss coming in the quarterfinals to eventual champion Ben Corvin of Southmoreland by a 6-1 score. Sullivan’s six wins were highlighted by four pins with the last one coming in 50 seconds in the consolation finals over Burgettstown’s Jed Watson.

Collin Havers was the other place winner for the Little Eagles as he topped his eighth-place finish at the PJW tournament by placing seventh in the 14U 147-pound bracket. Havers went 5-2 for the weekend as he fought through a bracket with several wrestlers who had varsity experience under their belt. Havers’ victories were punctuated by a redemptive, come-from-behind 11-10 win in the seventh-eighth-place match over Palmyra’s Evan Andrew. Andrew had beaten Havers by 18-2 technical fall earlier in the tournament before the two met up for a rematch. Havers’ win over Andrew wasn’t his only taste of redemption as he also avenged a loss from three years ago to former PJW state champion Vincenzo Ierubino of Central Bucks by a 1-0 margin to reach the blood round.

In the girls 6U 55-pound bracket was Youngsville’s Kendall Mosher. Mosher’s first match was an exciting one as she traded points with Redbank Valley’s Haven Laporte in a high-scoring bout before Laporte picked up the fall in 2:27. Mosher then received a bye that sent her into the Sunday morning blood round where she met Mercer’s Maya Campbell. Mosher fought hard throughout the match as Campbell raced out to an early lead. Despite Mosher’s best efforts, Campbell picked up the technical fall victory with 8 seconds remaining in the match.

In the girls 8U 55-pound division was Miya Rotondelli. Rotondelli’s first match against Peters Township’s Cora Brine came right down to the end. Rotondelli held a 5-2 advantage before Brine hit a feet to back takedown for 7 points with 19 seconds left. Rotondelli was able to collect a reversal as time expired, but Brine was declared the winner by a 9-7 score. Rotondelli later bowed out with a loss by fall to Owen J. Roberts’ Fiona Wade.

In the boys 8U 110-pound bracket was Sam Hagg. Hagg opened his tournament with a loss by fall to Altoona’s Brockton Butterbaugh. Hagg rebounded with a resounding 20-3 technical fall over Armstrong’s Parker Shearer. Hagg then collected a dominant 11-0 major decision over Midd-West’s Bode Kuhns to move into Sunday morning. Hagg’s final match was a back-and-forth affair as he and Gabe Ream of United traded points before Ream collected the fall in 2:50 to end Hagg’s tournament.

In the girls 12U 75-pound bracket was Maci Hodak. Hodak opened her tournament with a pinfall loss to Canon-McMillan’s Ella Saussol. Hodak’s consolation match came against Derry’s Ava Vought. Vought held a 6-0 lead going into the third period as Hodak chose neutral. Hodak surrendered a takedown then picked up a reversal with 28 seconds left before giving up a reversal of her own with 13 seconds left. The reversal sent Hodak to her back and Vought picked up the fall with just 8 seconds left in the match.

In the girls 14U 103-pound bracket was McKenzie Hodak. Hodak kicked off her tournament with a 14-0 major decision win over Curwensville’s Aliyah Dimmick. Hodak dropped a hard-fought 7-0 decision to Valley’s Isabella Martinez in her Round of 16 match. Hodak’s final match was another close one as she held a 5-3 advantage in the waning seconds of her match against West Perry’s Xandria Yocum. Yocum hit a desperation feet to back takedown with 6 seconds left to edge Hodak by a score of 9-5.

In the girls 14U 117-pound bracket was Khloe Rulander. Rulander began her tournament with a close match against Central Cambria’s Adalyn Gokey. Rulander was down 6-1 heading into the third period when she scored a takedown four seconds into the period. Unfortunately, Rulander was reversed as she was trying to turn Gokey to her back and lost 8-4. In her final match, Rulander matched up with Souderton’s Tessa Willouer. Rulander was down 5-1 with less than a minute remaining, but couldn’t reverse Willouer as she fell by the score of 5-1.

“It’s hard to put into words the magnitude of this weekend.” said Little Eagles coach Rusty Hodak, “Eight of our kids wrestled in one of the toughest state tournaments in the country. Even though some of the Little Eagles fell short of placing, all of the kids showed tremendous heart and were still able to soak in the experience of the weekend. It was also nice to see our past Little Eagles, now in junior high, progress and continue the Eagles wrestling legacy.”

“Collin and Johnathan proved their mettle again this weekend. Both had adversity thrown their way and they rose to the occasion.” said junior high coach Tim Suydan, “Collin had some thrilling matches throughout the weekend as he battled through another tough bracket that left just about everyone hoarse from cheering. Johnathan seems to be wrestling his best matches of the season right now and it can largely be attributed to his diligent prep work throughout the season and the postseason. He’s been working against anyone and everyone he can in order to be ready for this part of the season.

“Kenzie has been working her tail off since she got cleared to come back from her torn labrum. The outcome isn’t what she was hoping for, but she wrestled hard and we’re all proud of her,” Suydan added. “She’ll now be turning her attention to Women’s Nationals in Spokane, Washington, in April. Khloe really came on as the season progressed. She gained a ton of confidence in herself and she gave some good opponents fits. I think she’s been bitten by the wrestling bug so it’s only up from here for her.”