Zach Ortman knew the day would come where his Parkland wrestling career would be over.

That reality came to fruition Saturday evening at the Giant Center in Hershey, as Ortman closed out his season and career on a winning note following a 4-2 decision over Leno Ciotti of McDowell to take seventh place and finish out as Parkland’s only wrestler to come home from Hershey with a medal.

After holding off Ciotti in the final 20 seconds of the bout, Ortman (138) found a spot in the Giant Center stands, put his head in his warmup and reflected on four years flying by.

“I spent most of the weekend thinking about the past four years,” Ortman said. “I’m happy with what I accomplished, but I wish I could have done more this weekend.”

Ortman scored a pair of reversals in his finale, securing the final one with 33 seconds left in the third period to grab the lead. He then had to hold on for dear life on top, sometimes getting too high, but always being able to maintain control with his legs to make sure that his career ended on winning note.

“I wanted to go out with a win and proving that I’m always going to fight till the end,” said Ortman. “I just knew I had to hang on there.”

Brandon Kassis (120), Nick Dolak (126) and Adam Lizak (182) also made the trek to Hershey but fell short in their pursuits of joining Ortman on the medal stand.

Kassis won his first bout of the tournament with a 9-3 decision over Seth Hoopes from Octorara, but then lost his next two bouts to get eliminated. Adam Lizak went 0-for-2 in the tourney, while Dolak went 2-2 in the tournament, dropping his opener by a 4-2 decision to Lucas Richie of Downingtown East.

He then won two straight in the consolation round to put himself in position to medal, needing one more victory to guarantee himself a spot in Saturday night’s consolation round.

Unfortunately, he lost to Gunnar Fuss of Harry S. Truman 6-4. A first period takedown by Fuss proved to be the difference in the bout.

As Ortman walks away from the Parkland mats, he’ll now turn his focus to the West Point wrestling room where he’ll move on to the next chapter in his life.

“Wrestling has taught me a lot about mental strength and pushing myself harder to be the best that I can be,” he said. “Going to West Point, I’ll be surrounded with people that want to be the best, just like me, so I’m looking forward to it.”