Whitehall’s seniors helped them end the regular wrestling season on a strong note, providing a strong foundation that earned them their seventh victory of the year.

Whitehall paid farewell to a strong group of seniors that’s witnessed the progress of a team that’s beginning to ascend within the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference. Early in their careers, dual meet wins inside the EPC were hard to come by, but Nikitas Davis, Jesiah Davis, Noah Rex, Thomas Klotz, Marwan Rajha and Rafat Yacoub laid down a foundation that’s turned this season into a prosperous one.

They defeated Palmerton 48-21 for their seventh win of the year. They did so after being down 18-0 after the first four bouts. Still, they battled back beginning with Izak Bright’s gritty 2-1 victory at 220, and then finally overtook the visiting Blue Bombers when Caleb Staub recorded a tech fall at 113.

Bright’s win set the stage for their strong coterie of lightweights. Staub began their march into bonus points with a technical fall over Shawn Gardner, winning 13-3. Staub used his superiority on his feet to register four takedowns, and then augmented that with some near fall points for the win.

Next came freshman Jaden Youwakin who wasted little time in decking Devin Rivera. He turned a takedown in back points, pinning Rivera in 0:39.

With Whitehall earning forfeits at 285, 106 and 120, the score was now 32-18 in favor of the Zephs.

When it was senior Noah Rex’s turn to head into the circle, he used a shrug takedown to quickly take his opponent to the mat. From that advantage, he quickly turned Matt Lalik, pinning the Blue Bomber in 0:42. He caught Lilak in a roll through cradle for his 17th win of the season.

Rex’s quick disposal of his opponent was indicative of the type of year he’s had.

“It’s going pretty good so far,” said Rex, who still wants to improve his skills on his feet.

Rex said that they were all expected to wrestle hard in their final dual meet of the season. He said once they hit the mat, they all focused on winning their individual bouts.

“We all wanted to win tonight, especially for the seniors,” said Rex.

Rex and the other seniors have been buoyed by the continued success of the younger wrestlers, led by a talented crop of freshmen that have helped them win five out of their last six matches.

Rex said that it begins in practice where everyone comes together to work hard.

For Rex, that hard work will now hopefully translate into an extended postseason. With their regular season now at at end, he hopes to make a splash in postseason, beginning with making it out of the District XI tournament and into Regionals.

“That’s my goal,” he said.

Senior Nikitas Davis also earned bonus points for the Zephyrs. He used his ability to work out of a scramble to earn a few takedowns, sometimes exposing his own back in the process to finally earn the 19-6 win.

Head coach Tim Cunningham said that his seniors set the tone.

“Every one of our guys went out and wrestled with an aggressive style,” said Cunningham. “That’s what we’ve been telling them, to score points.”

Cunningham said that everyone of his wrestlers did their job. He knew it would be a tough assignment for some of their upper weights to come out victorious, but they battled their way through that bumpy spot. Bright finally got them on the board, pushing forward to earn a tough 2-1 victory.

Bright moved up a weight to help the team counter the Blue Bombers strength in the upper weights. His willingness to move to 220 helped pave the way to their eventual win.

“It showed a lot of heart,” said Cunningham. “Bumping up a weight class, he kept going after it, he kept going forward, and that’s what we want our guys to do.”

The strong group of seniors also feature some unsung heroes who work hard behind the scenes, as Yacoub fits that bill. While he may not wrestle in varsity matches that often, his contributions are just as important.

“He does whatever he can to help this team,” said Cunningham. “He’s at every practice; he does all the technology stuff for me; he’ll stay after practice and help me, as well as after matches to help me. Sometimes that’s just as important as the guys who are out there wrestling. He’s always thinking of the team.”