After winning a state title last year, Whitehall’s Willmont Kai understands his position, working his way back to Hershey.

He recently claimed the 132-pound title at Bethlehem’s Holiday Classic, pinning all four of his opponents in the process. A week earlier, Kai registered a third-place finish at the prestigious Beast of the East Tournament at the University of Delaware.

Kai is aware that there is a target on his back. Yet, he is positive about his path.

Through his first 15 matches, Kai is 14-1 with eight falls with his only loss to Cedar Cliff’s Kavin Muyleart, a state runner-up at 133 last year.

“I feel like I wrestled pretty good at the Beast,” said Kai. “Bumping from 127 to 132 and placing third really boosted my confidence for the upcoming competition at Bethlehem.

“I feel my season is going good, wrestled some pretty tough guys, and I just want to keep my momentum going. Some things I’ve been trying to work on are transitioning from one thing to another. It was a bit of a struggle at the Beast. But I’m definitely in the room trying to perfect my neutral game to the best in the state.”

Head coach Tim Cunningham sees Kai working at a good pace. At the Bethlehem tournament, Kai received an award for most pins in the least amount of time and the Outstanding Wrestler.

“Willmont pinned his way through the tournament and earned his first place,” said Cunningham. “He has really worked hard to get where he is. This year, Willmont is really driven, and he has been wrestling really well. He is very determined to get back to states.”

Along with Kai’s performance, Cunningham has been impressed with his team’s showing in Bethlehem, where the Zephyrs finished fourth. Aside from Kai, Dionte Wheeler (107) was fifth, Kade Pascoe (121) and James Hopkins (189) were seventh, and Mason Hopkins (160) was eighth.

Cunningham also realizes his team still needs to keep plugging away.

“I believe it’s the best we ever finished in the tournament as a team with five place winners in Willmont, Dionte Kade, James, and Mason,” said Cunningham. “As a team, we need to work on winning the close matches and just wrestling to score points and not worry about winning or losing just scoring points and good things will happen. We need to find ways to get in the positions we are best at and wrestle our pace and style the entire match. Our thought process is to always get better every day and never be satisfied.”