The PIAA started conducting a dual meet championship for wrestling in 1999. Never before had Whitehall advanced past the quarterfinal round of the District XI AAA duals. That all changed Saturday at Freedom as the Zephyrs upset Emmaus, who entered the match as the second-ranked AAA in Pennsylvania according to PA Power Wrestling, 33-29.

A big win like that is the accumulation of each wrestler doing his job. The stars earn bonus points, the underdogs limit the other team’s bonus, and enough guys win their 50-50 bouts to make a difference.

Two matches stood out from the rest. First, at 189 James Hopkins fell behind 6-0 in the first period to Logan Armstrong but rallied with pin in the third period to give the Zephyrs a 9-point swing in the team score.

Then with Whitehall clinging to a 30-26 lead with two bouts remaining, Dionte Wheeler scored a last-second takedown on the edge of the mat to flip a 5-3 loss into a 6-5 win. That net of 6 team points clinched the match.

Later in the afternoon, the Zephyrs took on Bethlehem Catholic with a state tournament berth on the line. The two squads had faced off just a week prior with the 4-time defending state champion Golden Hawks coming out on top 41-21. Saturday’s result of 38-21 in favor of Becahi was therefore unsurprising.

The district tournament was an unprecedented achievement for Whitehall and deserves to be recognized and celebrated. However, after getting knocked out by BC, no one on the Zephyr side was in a joyful mood.

“We won a big match earlier in the day and we had to come back and wrestle a second match,” explained head coach Tim Cunningham. “Can’t get into the finals if you don’t wrestle to score points. We came here to get into the finals. We didn’t reach our goal.”

The team will now turn its attention to preparing for the individual postseason which kicks off with districts at Liberty on February 20.

Whitehall 33 Emmaus 29

127 - Emilio Albanese (E) pinned Josiah Wright (W), 1:45 (0-6), 133 - Willmont Kai (W) pinned Logan Maher (E), 1:13 (6-6), 139 - Jackson Max (E) pinned Omar Omar (W), 3:27 (6-12), 145 - Tyrell Hoff (W) dec. Tommy Fallstich (E), 6-2 (9-12), 152 - Mason Hopkins (W) pinned Aiden Bayard (E), 3:38 (15-12), 160 - Xyler Sallit (E) pinned Rocco Fonzone (W), 4:49 (15-18), 172 - Xayden Sallit (E) won by tech. fall over Jacob Figueroa (W), 19-3 (15-23), 189 - James Hopkins (W) pinned Logan Armstrong (E), 4:37 (21-23), 215 - Aiden Hannis (W) maj. dec. Chase DeCesare (E), 11-2 (25-23), 285 - Logan Roth (E) dec. Yousef Khalfaoui (W), 4-0 (25-26), 107 - Semaj Weatherspoon (W) won by tech. fall over Andrew Gerken (E), 19-3 (30-26), 114 - Dionte Wheeler (W) dec. Levi Max (E), 6-5 (33-26), 121 - Teagan Caciolo (E) dec. Kade Pascoe (W), 3-2 UTB (33-29)

Bethlehem Catholic 38

Whitehall 21

133 - Willmont Kai (W) dec. Reef Dillard (BC), 5-2 SV (0-3), 139 - Andre Cerrato (BC) won by tech. fall over Omar Omar (W), 18-3 2:35 (5-3), 145 - Keanu Dillard (BC) won by tech. fall over Tyrell Hoff (W), 19-4 4:44 (10-3), 152 - Mason Hopkins (W) pinned Jaden Santiago (BC), 2:37 (10-9), 160 - Mason Thomas (BC) won by tech. fall over Rocco Fonzone (W), 15-0 4:00 (15-9), 172 - James Hopkins (W) pinned Zach Papcsy (BC), 2:38 (15-15), 189 - Aiden Hannis (W) dec. James Bozzi (BC), 4-1 (15-18), 215 - Connor Gillahan (BC) pinned Caiden Robinson (W), 2:39 (21-18), 285 - Grant Mulhern (BC) dec. Yousef Khalfaoui (W), 6-0 (24-18), 107 - Michael Nicosia (BC) pinned Semaj Weatherspoon (W), 2:36 (30-18), 114 - Dionte Wheeler (W) dec. Gino Bozzi (BC), 8-1 (30-21), 121 - Nico Emili (BC) won by tech. fall over Adam Gasteratos (W), 17-1 2:56 (35-21), 127 - A.J. Gomez (BC) dec. Kade Pascoe (W), 10-7 (38-21)