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Blair No. 1 and looking to do more

That Jacob Blair walked out of the Muncy High School gym Thursday night disappointed speaks to just how far the sophomore has come. Defeating a state-ranked opponent just isn’t enough for the 106-pounder.

See, there are finally some pretty big expectations on Jacob Blair. He’s the No. 1-ranked 106-pounder in Class AA in the state. It’s something he’s well aware of, but something he doesn’t put a whole lot of stock in.

Blair’s sole focus is improving as much as he can at every opportunity he can. So when he looked at Thursday’s match with Benton’s Gable Strickland, a wrestler he grew up practicing with, he looked at it as an opportunity to put on display how improved he is.

He won the match, 6-5, but at this point in his career, it just wasn’t enough. His first two periods were fantastic, scoring a takedown in each one to take a 5-2 lead. But in the third period, he backed off the pace which makes him so dangerous and has left him with a 25-0 record this season. He subsequently gave up the tying takedown.

He got the decisive point when Strickland cut him with 54 seconds to go, but it left Blair feeling a bit frustrated. It’s a long way from a year ago when Blair was happy just to bring home a state medal.

“I see the state rankings, but I don’t see it as a burden,” Blair said. “It makes me strive to keep that No. 1 ranking.”

That’s why he was disappointed Thursday night. He’s constantly looking to be at his best. He knows should he return to the state tournament in March he’s going to have to be at his best to hold his spot as the top-ranked 106-pounder in the state.

Muncy head coach Denny Harer viewed the match just a little differently than his undefeated sophomore. He saw the promise in a crucial win against a well-known opponent on a night where Blair didn’t wrestle his best.

“We keep telling him you’re wrestling the way you are and you’re not at your best yet,” Harer said. “Your body is still trying to feel well, and you’re beating a solid kid like that. So each week we’re going to get tougher.”

Blair has slowly been building to this moment as a top-ranked wrestler in the state. He cruised through the Tom Best Memorial Top Hat Tournament to open the season. The following week he knocked off New Jersey state qualifier Cullen Day and PIAA AAA state placewinner Christian Fisher on his way to the title at the King of the Mountain.

Blair’s been a wrecking ball ever since. He’s 15-0 since the King of the Mountain. When teams haven’t shied away from wrestling him — he has eight forfeits in that span — Blair has recorded four falls, one technical fall against a returning state qualifier, and two decision victories.

One of those decision wins was against Strickland on Thursday. The other came against AAA state qualifier Matt Maloney of Bethlehem Liberty at the Zephyr Duals. That loss is the only one this year for Maloney, who is 24-1 and ranked 10th in AAA.

Blair can feel that his game has gone to another level — the third period Thursday notwithstanding. It’s what’s allowed him to ascend from a preseason Top-5 wrestler at 113 pounds to the top-ranked 106-pounder.

“I’ve worked on my stuff and I’m fundamentally sound in every position and I think it’ll help me toward the end of the year,” Blair said. “I feel a lot more confident this year. Every match I go out thinking I should win and I can win and my mindset is about going out and getting it done.”

The biggest adjustment for Blair doesn’t have anything to do with living up to expectations. Nobody’s are higher than his own. But at this point, after his first week of a cut to 106 pounds, Blair is working to get adjusted to it.

It’s part of the reason he wanted to be down to weight by the time Muncy wrestled Benton. He wanted to get a test against Strickland, see where his wind and his energy was. At first glance, Blair said he felt fine, but he’ll work to feel even better for the next time they should meet.

“I just have to keep getting better with the cut each week,” Blair said. “I felt real good. And I know I’ll feel better with each week.”

With plenty of time left to continue to prepare for the postseason, Blair is confident matches like Thursday’s, where he left with a win and a little bit of disappointment, will be a thing of the past. He’ll use it as a learning tool going forward to continue to build on a season which has already been stellar, but is yet unfinished.

“I needed that,” Blair said. “That shows me that I might be ranked No. 1, but I still have to go out every single practice and try my hardest and put my best out there and get better.”

A GREAT GRANDFATHER SURPRISE

Muncy’s Hunter Poust had three family members by his side as he walked on to the mat for senior night Thursday. His mom and dad — as are typical for senior night festivities — joined him. But so did Poust’s 91-year-old great grandfather Robert Little. What Little didn’t know is that on a night where the senior members of the Muncy wrestling team were being celebrated, they had a celebration planned for him.

Little was a member of the 1943 Muncy wrestling team but was unable to compete due to the draft for World War II. Thursday night, Poust and his family presented Little with a framed Muncy varsity letter. As the presentation unfolded, Little was given a standing ovation by the entire crowd.

WRESTLER OF THE WEEK

Casey Amaral,

NP-Liberty, 145 pounds

Amaral put together an undefeated week for the Mounties, helping clinch their spot in next week’s District 4 Duals tournament. Amaral was 5-0 since last week’s rankings were tallied, with two falls, a technical fall, and a pair of seven-point decisions. North Penn-Liberty returned a trio of wrestlers who were expected to make significant noise, and those wrestlers have helped carry the team to a 10-9 record. But it’s a week like the one Amaral had which is the reason the Mounties have been able to post a better than .500 record. Amaral is now 16-6 this year and has won nine of 12 bouts since the start of the New Year.

CAN’T-MISS MATCH

OF THE WEEK

District 4 Duals,

Feb. 3., 11 a.m.

It’s always the best bang-for-the-buck day of wrestling each season, and this season doesn’t appear to be any different. If last week’s match between Southern Columbia was any indication of how intense this tournament could be, you’ll want to get your seat early. The Tigers and Indians appear to be the top-two teams in the district, but Montoursville will be the No. 2 seed and could face Muncy in the semifinals. But don’t sleep on teams like Line Mountain, Wyalusing, Mount Carmel and Warrior Run and many more who will have something to say about the three teams who will qualify for the PIAA tournament. But this one thing is for sure, it’ll be fun.

Mitch Rupert covers wrestling for the Sun-Gazette. He can be reached at 326-1551, ext. 3129, or by email at mrupert@sungazette.com. Follow him on Twitter at @Mitch_Rupert.

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