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HERSHEY — Winning a state gold is the ultimate goal for every wrestler.
Sometimes though, going out on a winning note is just as good.
Wyoming Area’s Charlie Johnson and GAR’s Saul Wilkins each ended their season with wins on Saturday in the Class 2A PIAA Championships at the Giant Center earning the fifth and third-place medals, respectively, while Lake-Lehman’s Derek Dragon claimed the eighth-place medal.
“It’s not the ultimate goal but I got a medal, fifth place isn’t too bad and I gotta work harder for next year,” said Johnson, a junior 126-pounder after defeating Boiling Springs’ Grant Bond, 3-0 in the fifth-place bout.
Wilkins picked up the bronze medal after getting involved in yet another thrilling bout. This time, against Ian Wolfe from Jefferson Morgan, the 285-pound senior went to the ultimate tiebreaker and rode out Wolfe for the 5-4 victory.
“I wanted more, but it’s good to end on a high note with a win. That’s all I wanted to do after I lost,” said Wilkins, who ends his season with 40-5 record. “I wanted to wrestleback for third and I did it.”
Wilkins, just a second-year wrestler, broke a 1-1 tie in the second overtime by netting three back points to go up 4-1. But then, when he was on bottom in the second session, he got turned himself and gave up three point points to equal the score at 4-4 and force the ultimate tiebreaker.
“My only job in the second rideout is not to get put to my back and I did exactly that,” Wilkins said jokingly. “It (the match) just beat the hell out of me.”
Dragon, who ends his season with 42 wins and 126 in a stellar four-year career, picked up a state medal for the first time just like Johnson and Wilkins, but has more accomplishments than his two mates in Class 2A. Dragon has won three District 2 titles and got to states two times.
“It means a lot to me,” Dragon said about his state medal. “It shows how far I’ve come since my freshman year and not even making it out of districts so it means a lot to me.”
But he wasn’t satisfied after losing the last bout in his career in dramatic fashion to Saucon Valley’s Jason Lynch, 8-7. Dragon overcame a 7-1 deficit to even the score at 7-7 in the third period before Lynch worked an escape then moved around getting the win.
“I’m not gonna be a hundred percent satisfied,” he said. “I don’t have a gold around my neck right now.”
Johnson regrouped after a pair of tough losses on Friday night in the semifinals and his first consolation match losing both by one point, and his first two losses of the season.
He said he went to his hotel and did a lot thinking and had to get over those two losses to come back strong on Saturday.
“I wasn’t used to losing, especially this year but I came back and just kept thinking in my head mentally I had to win this one and finish on a good note,” said Johnson, who finished this season with a record of 37-2. “Just kinda sat (in the hotel room) and thought about things really then laid down in my bed and slept. It was a horrible feeling. I didn’t like it.”