Julian Chlebove certainly knows that with each win, the expectations will rise for him.

After the sophomore won his second straight PIAA 3A wrestling championship over the weekend with a 13-3 major decision over Liberty’s Luke Werne, Chlebove talked about following in the footsteps of Franklin Regional’s Spencer Lee.

That was, however, before Lee took the mat and lost to Exeter’s Austin DeSanto 6-5 in perhaps the greatest high school upset ever, as the senior 126-pounder suffered his first high school loss in his final career bout.

Speaking on the assumption that Lee was en route to winning his fourth straight gold medal Saturday night at the Giant Center, Chlebove acknowledged that he’d welcome having that bull’s-eye on his back.

Not that he doesn’t have one already, but the K-Kid sophomore is growing into his own legend after dismantling the 120-pound bracket in Hershey, as he outscored his opponents 41-3, with Werner being the only wrestler to score on Chlebove.

“I’d love to fall in Spencer Lee’s footsteps,” said Chlebove. “He’s one of the greatest, if not the greatest wrestler ever in Pennsylvania. It’d be cool if my name was up there with someone like that.”

Chlebove has a chance to accomplish what Lee couldn’t do on Saturday night and that’s win four state championships, but as far as the moment goes, going two-for-two is rare in itself and Chlebove certainly cherished the achievement.

“I wouldn’t say it’s better, but it’s just as good,” he said. “I think winning as a freshman was a pretty big thing, but I felt like I dominated this tournament and that’s pretty good too.”

Chlebove was the highlight of Northampton’s weekend, as the K-Kids came home with four medals from six wrestlers, as senior Dan Moran (138) also reached the final round, but fell to Nazareth’s Sammy Sasso by an 8-0 major decision to end his Northampton career with a silver medal.

Senior KJ Fenstermacher (132) brought home bronze after knocking off Bethlehem Catholic’s Jarred Papcsy 4-2 in the third-place bout, while senior Cade Moisey (170) finished in seventh following a 5-3 decision over Luigi Yates of Cathedral Prep.

The only blemish on Chlebove’s resume from the weekend was him surrendering points and a reversal to Werner in the third period. A small price to pay for a weekend of excellence.

“After the semis, my coaches were talking to me about how I haven’t given up any points,” said Chlebove. “I said ‘oh, alright let’s keep this going’ but it’s not a big deal.”

Now, the focus shifts to Chlebove grabbing a third gold medal in Hershey, something head coach Seth Lisa knows already is on his talented sophomore’s mind.

“It’s not going to take too much to keep Julian focused because he’s talked about being a four-time state champ since last year,” said Lisa. “He put in a lot of work this year and he got another title.

“Nothing is given in the state of Pennsylvania and I know he’s going to be hard to beat.”

Devon Britton (145) and Sam Hanley (106) lost both of their opening bouts in Hershey and were eliminated from medal contention, but the team finished in third-place in the team standings with 73 points, as District 11 rounded out the top three with Nazareth taking home the team title with 111.5 points and Bethlehem Catholic coming in second with 96.

On an otherwise banner tournament for the Kids, it was tough for Lisa to see Moran not be able to finish his career with a gold medal.

However, he leaves his own legacy with four state medals (two runner-up finishes, a fourth and a fifth) and nothing but respect.

“I’m proud as can be of Danny,” said Lisa. “He’s been absolutely a great representative for Northampton wrestling and our sport. He doesn’t understand this yet, but he has a lot of bright things in his future.”