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HERSHEY--Dalton Perry bent over and took off the green ankle band that was wrapped tightly around his right leg Saturday night in Hershey.
The Central Mountain freshman just capped off a remarkable freshman season by winning a state championship, but Perry's humbleness--as it has done all season long--masked the success.
Perry had little reaction after ending the season 41-2, earning various titles throughout the winter months and becoming the king of the Class AAA 126-pound division. But it wasn't anything out of the ordinary from Perry. He carried himself with both pride, and a sprinkle of meekness mixed in, all season long. All the newly crowned champion did next was trot back to the center circle, shook Lebin's hand and flashed a smile to the rowdy crowd in attendance at the Giant center as the head referee held his hand high into the air.
"It's amazing, I mean, there's not a better feeling," the AAA 132-pound champion said with his gold medal glistening off his chest.
Perry pulled off a late comeback against Hempfield Area's Ethan Lubin to capture his first varsity state title and Central Mountain's first since 2011 when Brian Bill defeated Cannon-McMillan's Nick Catalano for the first-place finish.
The title was nothing new for Perry has he has been winning them for his entire life, but this one was different. The state title Perry snagged in front of the state's most prominent wrestlers, coaches and officials meant more than the others.
"I think I always knew, deep down, that I was good enough to be a state champ in high school all these years. It took a long time for me there mentally in all my matches, all my big matches, but I think over the past two or three years I made big strides mentally," Perry said.
FRESHMAN SEASON
The expectations were high from Perry's debut when he sprung onto the varsity scene at the Tom Best Memorial Top Hat Tournament at Williamsport High School. You couldn't have started a high school career better than Perry did. The scrappy freshman kicked off the first page of his Wildcat journey with a pin. Perry later went on to win the tournament as they hype around Central Mountain's prodigy rose. Following Perry's victory at the Top Hat he went on to secure eight straight victories to start the season to begin 12-0.
It was then when he ran into a road bump and suffered losses in two his next three matches. After the three-match skid, Perry never lost a match the rest of the way out. He rattled off 24 straight wins prior to competing in the PIAA Class AAA tournament. It wasn't just the fact he won 24 consecutive matches; it was how the electrifying freshman did it. Of the 24 wins, all but three ended in a pin, technical fall or major decision. The three that didn't fall into those three categories? Two wins by forfeit and a convincing, 10-5, win.
HERSHEY
After knocking off the retuning state champion Jack Van Dee of Cathedral Prep in the Northwest Regional finals, it was time for Perry to make the 121-mile journey to Hershey from the Wildcat wrestling room. Perry entered the highly anticipated tournament with confidence and swagger, but he kept it inside of him and let it shine through his work on the mat. Zander Phatorus of Waynesburg was the first challenge ahead of Perry as the two met in the round of 16. It was clear from the look of Perry ahead of his first match in Hershey that he could handle the bright lights.
"I wrestle my own game," Perry said Saturday. "I don't look at this tournament as 'oh my god it's so big,' because you just get nervous. I just go out and try to score points and have fun."
Perry achieved what he set out for. He had fun and scored points as it began with an 8-3 decision victory over Phatorus. Up next for Perry was the 3x state medalist Braxton Apello-Fries of Nazareth.
As the competition grew the further, he advanced, Perry didn't seem to notice. The Central Mountain freshman never trailed en route to a, 4-1, win over Apello-Fries to reach the semifinals. In the semifinals, Perry managed to overcome an early, 1-0, deficit to Thomas Jefferson's Maddox Shaw to reach the title match against Lubin.
Perry was in danger in the closing moments of the PIAA State Finals match with Lubin as the Hempfield junior held a, 3-2, advantage of Perry in the final minute of the third. But Perry didn't panic or worry.
"I knew I had to start my spring there early, I can't wait until then end to start sprinting. I just knew if I stayed on his head and on my offense that I can get the takedown," he said.
Perry's aggressive shot late led to a takedown and a near fall followed, shortly after the final buzzer blew and signaled the end of the match.
The Central Mountain freshman came out on top. His inaugural season of varsity wrestling ended the best way imaginable, with a gold medal draped around his neck.
Perry, a spectacular athlete who opposing wrestlers fear, coaches respect and fans admire, now has a spot in the PA record book forever. Perry became Central Mountain's fourth wrestler to win a state title, joining brothers Dylan and Andrew Alton as well as Brill.
"It's pretty cool to be up there with those guys," Perry said.