Freshman Mason Hopkins came all the way back from an opening round loss in the PIAA AAA NE Regional tournament this past weekend to take fifth place and qualify for states, but for the rest of the Whitehall grapplers, the tournament brought disappointment.

Senior Willmont Kai crushed his first two opponents, winning by tech fall and pin. He beat Nazareth’s Caleb Kosko 2-1 in the semifinals on the third-period reversal and 1:12 ride-out to set up a rematch of the district final with Bethlehem Catholic’s Keanu Dillard.

The Golden Hawk senior has never lost in the postseason, in large part because he is seemingly impossible to take down. Dillard managed a second period takedown to go with an escape to win the battle of returning state champions 4-2.

Kai is now three wins away from becoming the Zephyrs’ all-time winningest wrestler. If he wins his first three matches in Hershey, it will get him to the state final for the second straight year.

Two other 100-match winners saw their Whitehall wrestling careers come to an end in the Liberty High School gymnasium.

James Hopkins (116 wins, sixth all-time) dropped his opening round match to the District 2 champion, Ethan Aftewicz of Pittston. In consolations, he trailed 7-1 heading into the final half minute of the match. He scored a takedown with 21 seconds left. He was successful in turning his opponent, but only scored 2 near-fall points before the buzzer sounded, leaving him on the wrong side of a 7-6 score.

Kade Pascoe (107 wins, tenth all-time) started with a 13-2 major decision over two-time District 12 champion Cooper Helm of LaSalle College HS. He dropped into consolations after a 3-0 loss to Easton’s Jack Famularo.

A pin in his first consolation match set up tilt with Emmaus’ Teegan Caciolo. The Green Hornet held a 1-0 lead going into the final period. Pascoe’s escape bid to tie the match went for naught as he was turned for 4 back points. A late reversal was not enough as he fell 6-2.

Head coach Tim Cunningham reflected on his two seniors, “They meant a lot to this program. Not only in the room, but outside of the room. They always do things the right way. They lead by example. They’re good students. They make great decisions. They’re going to be great citizens when they become adults.”

Mason Hopkins trailed Gabe Paradis of Selinsgrove 4-2 with under 20 seconds left in their 3 round consolation match. Paradis got hit with his second and third stalling call of the third period to send the match into sudden victory.

After a scoreless SV period, Hopkins exploded in the two 30 second tiebreaker periods. While a single escape is often enough to secure victory, he escaped and scored a takedown in TB1. Then for good measure, he scored four near-fall points in TB2 to win 12-4.

A loss to NDGP’s Jared Gonzalez set up a do-or-die match for fifth place and the final berth to states.

Once again, his match went into tiebreakers. This time, an escape and 30-second rideout were enough to secure a ticket to Hershey.

Cunningham described the progress of the freshman this season, “He loves to compete. We knew he had it in him. In the last half of the season, he really picked it up a lot in the room. It was a combination of technique and just becoming more coachable. His metal aspect is really strong.”