As the District 11 Individual Wrestling Championships unfolded last weekend, several Zephyrs won multiple bouts in the respective weight classes, but none of them were able to push through to the regional round.

The Zephyrs came into the 3A tournament with high hopes, and then proceeded to get out of the gate quickly as they got wins from Luke Rex, Caleb Staub, Jaden Youwakim and Noah Rex, all of whom had opening round victories in the round of 16. Additionally, Mike Ajami and Julio Diaz scored wins in the round of 32.

The quarterfinal round proved to be a stumbling block for the Zephs, but at 126, Noah Rex lost by just two points to Bethlehem Catholic’s Ryan Anderson, the bracket’s No. 1 seed. He lost 6-4 and head coach Tim Cunningham said that Noah Rex wrestled extremely tough and was only a takedown away from tying the score in the final period.

In his next bout, Noah Rex couldn’t shake free from Parkland’s Blake Halbert, losing in the consolation round via pin.

Noah Rex finished his senior season with over 20 wins, and was a team leader that competed at a high level throughout the season, said Cunningham.

Luke Rex also couldn’t climb the ladder in the consolations, losing his next match to Emmaus’ Peyton Brown in a close 4-2 decision.

The last time they faced one another, Brown wound up pinning Rex. This time Rex gave the Green Hornet a real tussle, something that will hopefully fuel him in the offseason since Brown finished 5th at 106.

At 113, Caleb Staub advanced in the consolations by earning a major decision over Allentown Central Catholic’s Christopher Clifford, 16-7. Next up was Easton’s Diego Santiago who won by technical fall, ending Staub’s quest for advancing.

“[He] wrestled a great tournament as well and is wrestling some of the best kids in the state competitively,” said Cunningham.

At 138, Kai Clark won his consolation bout to begin his wrestle back journey, but lost to his next opponent, ACC’s Jack Yanders, by an 11-0 mark.

Cunningham said that Clark is another wrestler who comes out to compete as hard as he can every match. He said the freshman has a lot of potential and is just scratching the surface of what he can do in the circle.

John Kaintz, who competes at 160, also opened the consolation round with a win, defeating Blue Mountain’s Erech Noecker, 4-2. His next match paired him against East Stroudsburg South’s Tyler DeLorenzo, and he lost by a fall to the eventual fifth-place winner.

At 195, junior Mike Ajami won his first consolation bout against Dieruff’s Nfn Tahahawi by a fall in 3:00. In his next bout, Ajami hooked up with Bangor’s Joey Schrader, losing to the Slater via pin.

Cunningham said that his regular-season record may not have been as glamorous as some of the other wrestlers in his weight class, but he was eager to compete against the best in the district.

“He went into the tournament with the right mindset and that was go after it and compete with whoever steps on the mat,” said Cunningham. “He was a match or two away from placing, while being a very low seed.”

Diaz won his first round match against Nazareth’s Justyce Searock 3-1, and then ran into the No. 1 seed in Bethlehem Catholic’s Niko Camacho, losing by a fall. That placed him in the consolation round where he lost a tough 1-0 decision to Northampton’s Alex Darabaris.

Finally, Youwakim had the longest journey though the consolation round. First, he pinned Dieruff’s Miguel Pena, and followed that with a another fall, this time over Pocono Mountain East’s Braden Breithaupt. That put him in the consolation semifinals where he lost to Stroudsburg’s Patrick Noonan, 7-3. That loss put him in the 5-6 match against Nazareth’s Ryan O’Grady which he lost by a fall.

“Jaden wrestled a great tournament as a freshman,” said Cunningham. “He competed with the best in the state and is always excited about competing with the best. He wrestles with confidence and does not panic no matter what the score of the match is at the time.”

Cunningham said that Youwakim finished with the most wins on the team and will be a valuable building block for the future of the program.

With the season concluded, Cunningham said that they’re forward to an offseason where the underclassmen will look to improve.

“As a program we really need to try and get the wrestlers to believe in more offseason wrestling including clubs, camps and tournaments,” said Cunningham. “I think our underclassmen competed hard and wrestled as well as they could, but if they can be more involved in offseason wrestling we have the potential to have more guys on the podium next year.”