Of the 13 weight classes, Montoursville has a state-ranked wrestler in eight of them. Branden Eisenhour (No. 9 at 107 pounds), Teli Bobotas (No. 6 at 121), David Kennedy (No. 14 at 127), Blaize Vogel (No. 15 at 133), Hunter Harvey (No. 23 at 160), Gage Wentzel (No. 4 at 172), Owen Kleinman (No. 12 at 189) and Landon Morehart (No. 11 at 285) are all among the best in the state at their weights.

“The thing is hard work beats talent if talent doesn’t work hard. We definitely have lot of talent and potential, but at the end of the day it’s what you do at practice. It doesn’t come out of nowhere, it comes from always wrestling and getting with the best partners, surrounding yourself with good wrestlers, going hard and supporting each other and being respectful,” Bobotas said about the amount of state-ranked wrestlers in the lineup. “And having great coaches, it comes a lot from coaches, that’s what will help shape a good wrestler.”

Montoursville ended Saturday’s PHAC Championships with the team title as the Warriors had numerous wrestlers competing for first-, third- or fifth-place.

That goes back to Montoursville having no weak spots.

Ethan Miller of Selinsgrove tries to escape as Owen Kleinman of Montoursville controls the action early in their match at 189 pounds during the PHAC Tournament at Milton High School. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

“There really isn’t (a weak spot) and if there is, everyone always goes to the end. No matter what happens, yes some of our guys may have a bad match or one or two, but what matters is that no one gives up,” Bobotas said. “That’s all you can ask for as a coach and a teammate who when you’re in those close matches, you need those kids who don’t want to give up and roll to their back. That’s the basis of a strong team.”

Bobotas won the 121 title on Saturday with a first-period pin over Mifflinburg’s Jack Gramly, , ranked No. 15 in the state, in 1 minute, 45 seconds. Kennedy took second at 127 after he lost a tight decision to Mifflinburg’s Bradley Wagner, 5-4. Harvey took first at 160 with a 10-0 major decision over Lewisburg’s Landen Wagner and Gage Wentzel took first at 172 with a 9-7 decision against Connor Wetzel of Shikellamy.

Montoursville also saw Kleinman and Morehart take second at 189 and 285, respectively.

Winning is contagious, and it carries over in wrestling. When Bobotas earned a fall at 121 to win a title, Kennedy went onto the mat the next bout and by his own admission, wanted to copy Bobotas and earn a pin of his own, and nearly did so when he almost got a cradle to turn him.

“I feel like we all just feed off each other’s energy. When you’re around so many good guys you just keep getting better every single day and if you’re slacking in practice, someone better will come push you a little harder, even when coaches aren’t looking,” Kennedy said. “It makes it so much better, it’s like a family.”

That energy trickles down throughout the lineup in every dual meet or tournament. Once one wrestler has success, the next does, and so forth throughout the 13 weights.

“We always go out and perform which I always love. … I feel like we ride each other’s energy, like riding a wave on a surfboard all the way through,” Kennedy said. “We keep winning and everyone keeps riding the energy and going with it.”

And without question, that energy is a large reason that Montoursville is undefeated both overall (10-0) and in the PHAC (6-0).

No team has recorded more than 28 points in a dual against Montoursville and the Warriors have scored 40 or more points in a dual eight times this year. The only teams that have held Montoursville below 30 team points is Southern Columbia (36) and Towanda (39).

Montoursville won the PHAC Division 2 Duals with a 5-0 performance, cruising past MIlton (48-26), Central Columbia (54-9), Danville (65-4), Midd-West (43-23) and Mount Carmel (56-12) to win the league title before then taking the team title on Saturday.

Montoursville has a tough schedule remaining with matches against Bishop McDevitt, Montgomery, Warrior Run and Selinsgrove in dual competition yet before the postseason begins. Montoursville though is battle tested and more than prepared for those tough matchups.

And having eight state-ranked wrestlers is a nice bonus as well.