Emmaus wrestler Lucas Schaf knows just how tough it can be.

Schaf, a senior, watched his brother Taylor, a 2014 graduate of Emmaus, come up short at capturing 100 career wins on the mat. Injuries in his sophomore and junior seasons had a big part to do with that shortcoming.

Lucas wanted to make a name not only for himself, but for his family name as well when he sought that same elusive feat.

“In high school, my brother was always close,” Schaf said. “He wasn’t able to get it because he got injured. After freshman year I had a good amount of wins and I kept winning, and I knew that I was going to be able to get it after last year.”

And after a quick start to the Hornets’ dual meet season this year, Schaf and the rest of the Hornets traveled across the country to Nevada for their annual participation in the Reno Tournament of Champions. Boarding the plane, he knew that No. 100 was certainly obtainable.

“I knew it was able to be reached, but I had to do really well,” Schaf said. “I had to take a first or third I think to get that 100th win.”

Schaf’s calculations were spot on. The Hornet senior advanced all the way to the third-place match in Reno. An 11-7 decision over Hayden Bates of Crooks County in Oregon became that elusive win No. 100 for Schaf hundreds of miles from home on December 19.

“It felt good,” Schaf said. “All of the fans from Emmaus that were up there made a sign for me and everything. It was cool to be a part of that. To know that I achieved something so great, especially out there, it was awesome.”

Schaf won his first five matches of the winner’s bracket at Reno before falling to Easton’s Evan Fidelibus by a 5-2 decision. He then went on to earn a decision over Alec Baker (5-1) before downing Bates, who entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed at 138 pounds.

Since that historical match over a month ago, Schaf continues to roll through the East Penn Conference landscape and is peaking at the right time. He recently defeated Parkland’s Jacob Lizak, a wrestler he hadn’t defeated in junior high or high school, during the Hornets’ most recent home match.

“I just looked at it as a match for myself and that I really had to win that to be focused on the postseason,” Schaf said. “And I know that to beat a kid like that is a good accomplishment.”

Schaf is now 27-1 on the season, and while the wins continue to stack up, he’s more focused on stringing together another solid run in the postseason.

That postseason begins on January 30 with the EPC Tournament.