The future of Whitehall wrestling was on display recently when a number of youth wrestlers ventured to Maryland for the Middle Atlantic Wrestling Association Eastern National Championships.

The event was held at the Wicomico Civic Center, Salisbury, MD. on May 2-3, and Whitehall was represented by five wrestlers, including Adam Gasteratos, Luke Thomas, Tyler Cunningham and Jayden Youwakim. Of that group, Gasteratos, Thomas and Cunningham are part of the "Little Zephyrs" kindergarten through sixth grade, while Youwakim is a junior high wrestler.

In order to get to the MAWA Championships, the wrestlers needed to place among the top four at the Regional tournament which was held at Freedom High School in late April. In that tourney, Gasteratos placed fourth, Cunningham placed third, and both Thomas and Youwakim placed second, paving the way for the trip down south to the Eastern Nationals.

This year Gasteratos, wrestling in the Bantam classification (44 lbs.) finished fourth, while Thomas wrestling in the midget classification (85 lbs.) finished fifth. Both wrestlers earned 2015 MAWA All-American honors.

Whitehall head wrestling coach Tim Cunningham said that both Youwakim and Tyler Cunningham have made the trip on previous occasions, with Youwakim making Nationals five times, while Cunningham has been there four. Cunningham said that both Youwakim and Cunningham have placed in the past.

MAWA president Mike Smith said that the organization was established in 1967. For the Eastern National Championships, they hold 34 district tournaments, followed by four regional tournaments, which eventually lead to nationals.

Cunningham, who helps coach the team, said the tournament attracts the best youth wrestlers from the mid-atlantic region.

"Getting to this National Tournament is a very difficult task considering you need to get out of the district tournament and then place in the top four in regionals and when you can accomplish that feat you have already beat some of the best wrestlers in the state," said Cunningham. "Wrestling in our district and region in the lower level is some of the best wrestling in the country. We had multiple other wrestlers competing in districts and regionals that did not quite qualify but wrestled strong, as well as a few that are wrestling free-style and Greco-Roman."

It also serves as a valuable development program that will keep Whitehall wrestling strong in the future.

"Having guys continue wrestling in the off season is a huge criteria to prepare for high school wrestling," said Cunningham. "We encourage our wrestlers to be involved in multiple sports and be an all around athlete, and I feel this is also an important aspect of becoming both a better wrestler and athlete."