Bethlehem Catholic’s reign in Hershey as the top program in the state came to an end over the weekend, as well as their quest at a three-peat in the 3A team race.

The Golden Hawks still finished with medals around their necks, coming home with a third place finish following a 45-15 demolition over Erie Cathedral Prep in the 3A consolation final.

It marked the 10th straight year that the Hawks returned from Hershey with a prize, albeit not the one they were looking for.

After a difficult 33-31 loss to Waynesburg Central in the semifinals, Becahi battled back to top Seneca Valley 33-31 before ousting Erie Cathedral to come home with hardware.

“I think we did great over the weekend,” said head coach Jeff Karam. “It was just one of those years where we didn’t always have the strongest lineup, but also didn’t take advantage of some things. We fell short in the semifinals, but I was proud of how we battled back.”

The Waynesburg Central match is one that Karam will look back on as a missed opportunity. The Hawks trailed 20-6 after five bouts with the match starting at 170, but got a major momentum boost when Tyler Kasak scored 4-3 decision over Mac Church at 106. It was a major upset for Becahi that swung things in their favor down 20-9.

However, things unraveled when Dante Frinzi was disqualified at 113 for an illegal slam putting Waynesburg ahead 26-9.

“It was a slam and it was the right call, but it wasn’t what cost us the match,” said Karam. “We lost some other bouts I felt we could have won that could have turned things for us, but it wasn’t meant to be. It is what it is.”

While it may not have been Becahi’s year to stand tall on top of the state, as Nazareth came home as the undisputed team champion, Becahi’s consistency in Hershey is unparalleled.

They’ve won seven state titles in the past 10 years, including a runner-up finish and now two, third-place finishes over the last decade.

Still, the competitive fire will always ring true for the program, making this weekend’s bronze medal finish bittersweet, despite them battling back for hardware.

“We really expected to win on Friday [against Waynesburg Central],” Karam said. “That was a tough pill to swallow for us. We were hoping to get one more crack at Nazareth, but it never happened. Now we just have to focus on the individual postseason, where I think we’ll be a little bit better.”