The Emmaus wrestling program went 1-2 during last week’s District 11 Class 3A team wrestling tournament.

Head coach Thad Smith’s Green Hornets ride ended with a 39-28 loss to Parkland in a first-round consolation match. This thriller was tight and taut throughout. Quinn Scott got the Hornets off to a good start with a 1-0 decision over the Trojans’ Mikeal Palmieri at 160 for a 3-0 lead.

“Quinn is a team leader,” Smith said.

After two defeats, Jared Groller and Trevor Gitski had Emmaus back in the win column with victories at 215 and 285, respectively. However, Emmaus lost the next three matches before Jesse Scott, Marco Albanese and Nick Velde turned the tide with wins to forge a tie at 29-29. But victory eluded the Hornets as they lost their final two matches.

“Marco is wrestling at a different level this season,” Smith said. “Nick is living up to expectations and wrestling like the senior leader he is.”

Two nights earlier, Emmaus was ambushed in the championship quarterfinals 74-0 by Nazareth at Liberty High School. Earlier that night, the Hornets came back to beat Whitehall in a first-round match 33-23.

After Gitski won a decision in the opening match against Whitehall, the Hornets dropped the next two matches to trail 9-3. An Aiden Horn 5-4 decision over the Zephyrs’ Nolan Schmeckenbecher pulled Emmaus to 9-6, but the Hornets lost the next two matches to trail 16-1. Velde and Caleb Baldwin fought back with two wins to pull Emmaus to a 16-15 deficit, but Whitehall won a major decision in the 152-pound match to increase its lead to 20-15.

Drew Schmidt and Jack Brion sealed the Emmaus win with pins in their matches at 160 and 172, respectively. Jared Groller won by forfeit at 215 to produce the winning margin.

Quinn Scott, Groller, Gitski and Brion have a long history with Emmaus wrestling and their head coach.

“I have had the privilege of coaching these young men for six years,” Smith said. “They were on the junior high team with me, and we all came up to the high school program together. So, I’m sure they are a little tired of me by now.”

The Hornets are scheduled to wrestle one more dual meet this season, a nonleague match at Tamaqua Wednesday, Feb. 9. After that, they will have two weeks to get ready for individual District 11 Championships, slated for Feb. 25-26 at Liberty High School. The top five district finishers in each weight class will move on to regionals a week later.