The junior varsity wrestlers across the district took the spotlight this past weekend and several Whitehall grapplers used that opportunity to shine.

They competed in the 2016 Ray Nunamaker District XI Wrestling Tournament held Feb. 19 at East Stroudsburg South High School. Whitehall finished in fourth place among the 31 teams competing, amassing 95 points to nail down that spot. The tournament was won by Bethlehem Catholic with a team score of 170.5.

The Zephs had a number of wrestlers who placed led by Marwan Rajha at 170. Rajha earned a trip to the finals where he pinned Saucon Valley’s Zach Petrucelli in 1:45 to win the championship.

They also had another superb performance at 160 when Ralphie Yacoub battled back after dropping his fist match of the tourney. Yacoub won four matches in the consolation bracket, registering four wins, three of which were by fall to earn fourth place.

Both Mike Ajami and Thomas Klotz placed sixth in the JV tourney. Ajami’s journey at 182 began with an 11-0 win over Easton’s Gage Washburn. After dropping his next match which forced him into the consolation bracket, Ajami won two matches, defeating Stroudsburg’s Esner Arcelin 5-2 to put him into fifth-sixth match. There he faced another Stroudsburg wrestler, Aaron Messina, and lost 3-1.

Klotz got all the way to the semifinals in his bracket at 220 before succumbing to Pocono Mountain Wests’s Chris Woods by a fall, dropping him into the consolations. Klotz met Northern Lehigh’s David Neff in the fifth-sixth match and lost 3-1. Klotz’s tourney wins included a pin and a 4-0 win.

It was quite an impressive performance by the Zephyrs who finished higher than a lot of the Lehigh Valley’s most prominent programs. Their fourth place finish was ahead of Nazareth (81.5), Northampton (79), Saucon Valley (59) and Parkland (56).

The Whitehall junior high wrestling program also had its moment in the sun as they concluded their season with their own district tournament.

Once again, the Zephs had a number of wrestlers place at the district tourney. They had three wrestlers among the top six, with Luke Rex earning sixth place, while Kai finished fourth.

Additionally, Jaden Youwakin finished second in this year’s junior high field. Head coach Tim Cunningham said it was Youwakim’s second time finishing second, having done so last year as well.

The Zephs will now be looking at their success in the junior varsity tourney as a springboard into the District XI AAA Individual Wrestling Tournament which begins this weekend at Liberty High School.

“The team has been working extremely hard the past several weeks and we are looking to compete in the District Tournament and expect our guys to go compete and wrestle their best,” said Cunningham.