Joey Gould kept pushing his fingers through his hair as he spoke about becoming a PIAA state champion in the confines of the Giant Center last Saturday night in Hershey.

After topping Hazleton’s Jimmy Hoffman 3-0 in the 132-pound AAA championship, the realization of Gould standing atop the medal podium in Hershey may have been too much for him to fathom.

Following teammate Luke Karam in the lineup, Gould gave Becahi their second of three state champions on the night, as Mikey Labriola (170) gave the Hawks a trio of gold medal winners later in the night.

After battling through back injuries his junior year, which included a stress fracture in his spine and the improving bulging disc that he still receives treatment for twice a week, Gould took the ultimate leap his senior season, one that he never really expected or thought would become a reality.

“I’m really surprised and I’m just happy that I could make a lot of people proud,” said Gould. “I never really imagined I could do this. I’m just in shock.”

To make sure it was real, Gould kept peering into the jumbotron at the center of the Giant Center floor as he stood on top of the podium with the camera zoomed in on his state title stature.

Gould (37-6) snatched the title with two back points in the second period against Hoffman and then added a third period escape as insurance, but used the momentum from Karam’s state title right before he stepped onto the mat to give the Hawks back-to-back champions at consecutive weights.

“I’m always after Luke and we call ourselves the ‘double threat’ and I saw that he won and he told me that I was going to win too,” Gould said. “I wanted to go out there and win for him and make him proud. It just feels awesome to be a champ. I just hope I didn’t look stupid on the giant screen.”

If there’s one thing that Mikey Labriola has done to opposing wrestlers all year, it’s make them look foolish with his fluid ability to drop competitors with his offensive arsenal.

Things weren’t that easy for Labriola (42-3) in the state semifinals and finals, but the talented junior was always under control in two tight victories.

Labriola took down Belle Vernon’s Austin Bell 5-2 in a tough semifinal bout and then had an easier time, despite the score, with Bethel Park’s Nino Bonaccorsi during a 6-4 win in Saturday’s 170-pound finale.

“I’ve never felt like this before,” Labriola said after winning his first state title. “It’s overwhelming really. I don’t really know what to do, but this means the world to me and now I want to get a second one next year.”

After losing in the state semifinals his sophomore year and finishing third, Labriola felt some of those nerves in the semis against Bell, prompting him to open up more in the finals once he crossed that initial mental hurdle.

“I think I controlled the match better. I warmed up better and just felt looser,” said Labriola of his finals bout. “I didn’t open up enough in the semis and wrestled conservative, but once I made it to the finals I just wanted to let it fly.”

Fly is what the Golden Hawks did on Saturday night--all the way to the top of medal podium.