Emmaus head coach Jeff Arbushites got his first look of the season at this year’s wrestling squad during Saturday’s Saucon Valley Invitational.

And when the tournament was all said and done, it’s hard to not like what he saw transpire, despite knowing his team’s best days are ahead.

The Hornets, who finished last year 16-6, took second place as team at Saucon Valley with 208 points, behind champion Exeter. Host Saucon Valley finished third.

“I’m always pleased when you place and do well in a tournament,” Arbushites said. “I think we had a little more to offer, and I don’t think we reached our peak. Early in the season, that’s why you go into events like that to see where you’re at.”

Headlining Emmaus’ top finishers was senior Lucas Schaf (34-11 last year), who advanced to the tournament’s finals round and earned a major decision over the Panthers’ Jason Jones at 145 pounds. Schaf opened his final high school season with a statement showing on Saturday after placing fourth at districts and eighth at states last winter.

“He kind of wrestled a flawless tournament against some pretty good kids,” Arbushites said. “I want to see him keep working towards that next level. I want to see him keep climbing the ladder.”

That next step on the ladder, according to Schaf, is to earn a state gold medal. He’s made a number of adjustments to his workout since his junior season that he’s hoping propels him to that level.

“My conditioning-I’ve been running a lot,” Schaf said. “I worked out a lot, so I was lifting a bunch of weights trying to get stronger and bigger for this season. Those were the main things, but then I was also wrestling to keep with it.”

Schaf wants to win the Reno Tournament of Champions in Nevada while also providing a key leadership role to the rest of the Hornets younger crew throughout the regular dual season.

“I’ve been promoted to one of the captains of the team,” Schaf said. “Being a captain, obviously you have to be a leader of the team with your voice and leading by example. I’m looking forward to doing that this year.”

“He’s a state place-winner, and the only thing next to do is be the best state place-winner,” Arbushites said. “That’s the pinnacle that every elite wrestler should have.”

Junior Justis Walton (18-8) and senior Craig Delany were the two other Hornets that advanced to the championship round. Walton was pinned by West Scranton’s James Forsette, and Exeter’s Oscar Daniels pinned Delany in the third period.

Junior Tyler Corpora (25-9) was a regional qualifier last year for the Hornets and advanced to the semifinals at Saucon Valley, as did junior Chase Pavelko.

Along with those five wrestlers, senior Dan Oberle (27-8, 182/195), juniors Jake Alcaro (19-15, 145) and Jared Skibinski (16-13, 170), and sophomore Gabe Schray (18-17, 113) are the top returnees under Arbushites that is looking for continued success.

“We have a lineup heavy with upperclassman and a lot of varsity mat experience,” said Arbushites. “They should be highly competitive in the upper tier of the East Penn Conference. Good health and minimizing injuries will be key factors to success.”

The main departures from last year’s team were seniors Thomas Alcaro (31-5, district runner-up and third-place finisher in regionals) and Cole Franklin (28-5, district runner-up).

But there is plenty of young talent entering the high school ranks, including junior high champion Peyton Brown (24-4), junior high fourth-place finisher Jackson Karrat (23-3) and junior varsity district champion Reed Custer.

“Even though Peyton Brown was a No. 1 seed, he’s a freshman wrestling his first varsity experience against a couple pretty seasoned kids,” said Arbushites. “I thought he wrestled well.

“At 119, my only other freshman in the lineup (Karrat) went 4-1 to win true second. That was also a little bit reassuring to see your underclassmen perform really well.”

The Hornets open their EPC slate against Northampton on Wednesday, a good measuring stick early on.

“It’s a Northampton team rich in tradition and equal in talent,” Arbushites said. “We’re going to know where we’re at, what we lack, what we need to work on, or what we need to find.”