Once again, Whitehall High School rang in the new year with the Zephyr Duals, a wrestling tradition that features some of the top wrestling talent in the area.

And like last year, Stroudsburg High School was crowned the champs, defeating Quakertown High School 38-25 in the finals. Stroudsburg now has consecutive championships, joining LaSalle College High School as repeat champions in the tourney.

Fourteen teams descended upon Zephyr Gymnasium to compete in the Duals which took place Jan 4. They included William Allen, East Stroudsburg South, Emmaus, Hughesville, LaSalle, Mahaony, Northern Lehigh, Northwestern Lehigh, Paramus (N.J.), Pennridge, Pocono Mountain East, Quakertown, Souderton and Stroudsburg.

Zephyr head coach Tim Cunningham said that Stroudsburg is a team that "wrestles hard for the full six minutes and never stops being on the offensive." That relentlessness earned them another title, with the Mountaineers winning eight of fourteen bouts in the finals.

The Zephs won three out of their four dual meets, one of those coming in a tight contest against Souderton High School. Whitehall won 31-30 as they picked up eight wins en route to the victory.

The majority of those wins were by decisions, with Quincy Boulware (5-1), Alonzo Mann (5-2), Brad Schuler (8-4), Tyler Bridgwood (6-4) and Nico Kauffman (7-1) all earning hard-fought victories to help the Zephs nail down the match.

Additionally, Joe Gladish earned a major decision over Andrew Stein 11-3, while Fouad Haddad and Edgardo Rivera won by forfeit.

Cunningham said they wrestled as a team during the Duals, paving the way for their three wins. It's now a matter of continuing down that path as they get back into their Lehigh Valley Conference schedule

"As of now we are trying to get the team concept going and wrestling as a team and wrestling with Zephyr pride," said Cunningham. "We feel if you wrestle for the team, you wrestle a lot harder than if you are just wrestling for yourself. We want all the members of the team to have team pride and Zephyr pride."

The Zephyr Mat Club makes it one of the best tourneys in the area, and Cunningham said it's made possible by all the time and effort by those who volunteer their time.

"The Zephyr Mat Club helped make this tournament a huge success, by working the cafe, keeping time and score for all four mats, and donating food and drinks, said Cunningham. "It takes a lot of work and preparation to make this event run as well as it does. Mr. [Robert] Hartman is the Tournament Director and always runs a smooth competitive tournament."

After staying sharp over the break, the Zephs got back into league action against Emmaus. They got tripped up by the Green Hornets on Jan. 8, losing 36-29 to their LVC rivals.

In that match, the Zephs won all the bouts in the upper weight classes beginning at 160. Recording pins in the match for the Zephs were heavyweight Rivera who decked Tristin Kirby in 1:49, and Bridgwood who flattened Miguel Galarza in 1:48.

Also earning bonus points were Gladish and Schuler, with Gladish getting a major decision over Mike Montgomery 11-3, while Schuler posted an MD against Austin Flaugh, 13-2.

Kauffman continued to be a beast at 120, getting a 7-1 decision over Justin Walton, while Haddad won in overtime 6-3 over Thomas Alcaro, and Mann earned a decision over Jared Skibinski, 5-3.