The wrestling team won the Schuylkill League championship for the second consecutive year. At leagues, the wrestling team took first place, while Upper Dauphin and Blue Mountain trailed behind in second and third, and all of the 14 PAHS wrestlers medaled at leagues.

The league match took place at Blue Mountain. The boys took on opponents from Upper Dauphin, Blue Mountain, Lehighton, Schuylkill Haven and other teams in Schuylkill County.

“Our team only gets better and better every year. I did good in my matches, but it was a team effort,” sophomore Bryce Gonzalez said.

At the league match, junior Nick Onea won 4-2 over John Newhall from Jim Thorpe. Onea had two takedowns on Newhall, which led Onea to his second consecutive gold medal at leagues.

“I knew I just had to stay on my offense and wrestle smart,” Onea said.

To prepare for leagues, wrestlers played wrestle for about 20 minutes and then did drill takedowns for about 40 minutes at practices, which is more intense than a normal practice.

At a normal wrestling practice, wrestlers warm up with a few games of dodgeball to loosen up the muscles and get ready for practice. Next, they wrestle each other and use different techniques against each other to strengthen their moves and abilities. To finish off a practice, they go over different routines and movements and practice them to ensure that they can block or defend certain movements during a match.

The wrestling team scored victories by large margins over Muhlenberg, Twin Valley and West Scranton during the regular season. The boys took down Muhlenberg 72-9, Twin Valley 69-6 and West Scranton 61-9, where they defeated almost all of their opponents.

“It doesn’t matter if you win or lose. As long as you give a hundred percent effort, that’s all that matters,” sophomore Raven Womer said.