On Saturday morning, the Wildcats officially saw that deep postseason duals run come to an end, dropping their consolations match to one of the best teams in the state in No. 6 Franklin Regional, 39-11, a team fresh off a nailbiter loss to No. 2 Nazareth in Friday’s quarters.

It was a tough way to end the dual season, but Central Mountain head coach Biff Walizer kept things in perspective when discussing the loss. Not many expected them to make it as far as they did, and he continues to commend his squad for exceeding expectations.

“Franklin Regional is probably one of the top four teams here, I would say. They’re obviously a very solid team with solid guys throughout,” said Central Mountain head coach Biff Walizer on their latest opponent. “I’m happy with the team for how far they went, surpassed a lot of people’s expectations.”

Though they managed to scrape out a few wins, the 20-0 hole they found themselves in to start proved indicative of the gap between the teams. Three of Franklin’s first five wins featured bonus points, and one saw No. 14 Titus Colangelo secure a 1-0 decision over one of Central Mountain’s three state-ranked wrestlers in No. 11 Gavin Heverly.

FRANK DIMON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Central Mountain's Luke Ananea wrestles against Franklin's Luke Ankney at 160 pounds on Saturday in Altoona.

It would keep up that pressure even after the Wildcats cracked the scoreboard with an Aiden Kunes decision, posting back-to-back major decisions to stifle that momentum. And through the final seven bouts, the Panthers won five, sealing it with four matches to go with a tech fall at 152 pounds.

“Kind of exposed us on the bottom a bit,” said Walizer on their struggles. “Their top game, they had guys with really good forward pressure, and we really didn’t get any easy points. That’s how winning getting done, not giving up easy points.”

Nonetheless, there were positives.

No. 1 Dalton Perry completed his final run at state duals with nothing but wins by fall or tech fall, capping things off with an 18-3 tech fall against Franklin’s Cohen Buccicone. Though he strived for a pin, and almost secured one deep in the second period, he was proud of his performance. Through three stints at the event, the senior finished with a combined record of 10-1.

“It’s fun to deal with different teams each year; every team’s a little bit different and it changes throughout the years,” said Perry on getting to experience the tournament thrice. “We’ve had kind of the same core, and the younger guys have always stepped for us. The older guys have been doing their jobs too. It’s just cool to see us do it three years in a row.”

FRANK DIMON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent At 152 pounds, Central Mountain's Dakoda Packer-Edwards wrestles against Franklin's Max Firestine at Altoona on Saturday.

Alongside Perry, fellow senior Bryce Brungard went 2-0 at state duals and 4-0 through the postseason’s entirely, picking up two crucial wins for the Wildcats while up multiple weights through District 6 Class AAA Duals. He concluded his run with a hard-fought 4-1 decision over Franklin’s John Montgomery, continuing to display his clutch factor and picking up the match-sealing takedown with a minute to go.

“He has a different confidence about himself this year and it shows,” said Perry on Brungard. “He’s doing some of the best wrestling he’s done.”

“You can’t say enough about those two seniors,” said Walizer on the pair. “They’re leading by example, going out and getting the job done, and they’re bouncing weight classes when we need them to.”

And after surrendering two late takedowns to suffer a tough loss in Friday’s quarterfinal, No. 4 Aiden Kunes redeemed himself with a come-from-behind victory of his own.

Facing No. 14 Michael Duane, he’d trail from late in the second to the waning seconds of the bout, not scoring a single point until 30 seconds were left on the clock. But after seeming to be in a bad spot with short time fixing to be called, Kunes would use Duane’s momentum against him for a reversal, almost translating it into a pin and ultimately, converting it into a six-point move to win by 7-3 decision.

FRANK DIMON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Central Mountain's Dalton Perry wrestles against Franklin's Cohen Buccione at 145 pounds on Saturday at Altoona.

“Just got to look at what I did wrong in that match and try and get better,” said Kunes, who also dealt with knee problems throughout the weekend. “You never want to look at your losses and get all down in the dumps. You’ve got to look at them and see what you can do.”

Outside of its wins, freshman Cael Dorman and Dakoda Packer fought well against two marquee opponents, falling just over a minute short of going the distance in tech fall losses to No. 3 Beau Finnick at 107 and No. 13 Max Firestine at 152 respectively. A vast array of freshmen got experience at the highest level of dual competition, a factor which Walizer was happy with as they look ahead to the individual postseason.

Though the dual season has officially wrapped up, there’s still plenty to look forward to over the coming month. Next Saturday, the Wildcats travel back to Altoona for the District 6 Class AAA tournament, marking the beginning of their run at qualifying for states.

“Now, it’s time to change focus and get each individual ready and prepared as they can fro the individual postseason,” said Walizer.

Franklin Regional 39, Central Mountain 11

FRANK DIMON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent At 127 pounds, Central Mountain's Aiden Kunes wrestles against Franklin's Michael Rune on Saturday at Altoona.

(PIAA CLASS AAA TEAM TOURNAMENT CONSOLATIONS)

107: Beau Fennick (F) tech fall Cael Dorman, 16-1, 3:45. 114: Titus Colangelo (F) dec. Gavin Heverly, 1-0. 121: Salvatore Nassif (F) dec. Collin Bauman, 7-2. 127: Aiden Kunes (CM) dec. Michael Ruane, 7-3. 133: Chase Smith (F) maj. dec. Patrick Tarantella, 9-1. 139: Nico Sarnic (F) maj. dec. Hayes Donley, 10-1. 145: Dalton Perry (CM) tech fall Cohen Buccione, 18-3, 3:41. 152: Max Firestone (F) tech fall Dakoda Packer-Edwards, 17-2, 3:48. 160: Luke Ankney (F) dec. Luke Ananea, 4-0. 172: Ethan Cartwright (F) dec. Dalton McDermott, 4-0. 189: Bryce Brungard (CM) dec. John Montgomery, 4-1. 215: Henry Patts (F) tech fall Kai Fravel, 15-0, 2:05. 285: Elishua Daugherty (F) maj. dec. Hayes Henry, 11-2.

FRANK DIMON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Central Mountain's Collin Bauman wrestles at 121 pounds on Saturday at Altoona against Franklin's Salvatore Nassif.