DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette Jersey Shore’s Brock Weiss, left, wrestles against Montoursville’s Branden Wentzel during this year’s Top Hat Tournament at Williamsport. Weiss committed to wrestle at Penn State.

The winter season didn’t end at all like the way Jersey Shore junior Brock Weiss imagined. The Bulldog wasn’t able to compete at the District 4-9 Class AAA tournament and thus, couldn’t wrestle throughout the postseason.

His undefeated season record was halted there. But while Weiss didn’t walk away with any postseason gold or silver medals, he did walk away with something perhaps just as good: a college commitment to one of the best wrestling programs in the country.

Weiss committed on May 1 to wrestle at Penn State, joining the defending national champions and an absolute powerhouse of a wrestling program in Division I.

“It’s a great honor to be able to be in a wrestling room with such great talent,” Weiss said.

Weiss went 29-0 this past winter, pinning an impressive 20 of his opponents and only three wrestlers kept it close enough for a decision final.

The only wrestlers who managed to lose by just a decision were defending Class AA runner-up Branden Wentzel of Montoursville on Dec. 3 (3-2), York Suburban’s Tyler Adams on Dec. 29 (8-7) and Central Dauphin’s Liam Flanagan, a Class AAA state qualifier, on Dec. 29 (9-2).

“It came down to where the best fit for me to reach my goals academically and athletically,” Weiss said. “Yes, I have always wanted to wrestle at Penn State and I feel M2 has prepared me for the next step.”

The M2 Training Center is run by 2020 Olympic and two-time world champion David Taylor, a former Penn State standout.

Weiss noted that he’s glad he was able to make the decision after his junior season, meaning he can focus solely on wrestling his senior year. He reached 100 career wins this past winter after pinning Troy’s Wilder Koch in 38 seconds.

The final month and a half of Weiss’ season was nothing but dominance. Once Jan. 1 rolled around, Weiss pinned every opponent he faced prior to the postseason beginning.

That included a 27-second pin against Shikellamy’s Daniel Hernandez on Jan. 7, a 23-second pin over Line Mountain’s Chris Walker on Jan. 28, a 41-second pin over Wellsboro’s George Howlett on Jan. 31, a 38-second pin against Koch on Feb. 2, a 24-second pin against Hernandez on Feb. 4 and a 25-second pin over Selinsgrove’s Landyn Lukens on Feb. 4 for win No. 102 or his career.

“It meant a lot for me to be able to reach such a milestone my junior year,” Weiss said.

Weiss is one of two Bulldogs who are going to be wrestling at a Division I program, and also at a Big Ten program. Teammate Hadyn Packer committed earlier in the season prior to the postseason tournament to Rutgers, putting two Bulldogs in the Big Ten.

“It’s great that two kids from a small town get to wrestle at that level and I think if the elementary and middle school (programs) keep doing what they are doing, there will be many others,” Weiss said.