Since then, Kunes has put himself in the best position to remain healthy, opting to home school to give himself more time to recover while continuing to focus on his improvement. And through his first two tournaments of the 2025-26 season, fresh and skilled as ever, his full potential has been on display.

On Saturday at Central Mountain’s annual King of the Mountain tournament, the junior headlined a strong weekend for the Wildcats, claiming gold to finish as one of their six medalists. The team finished seventh out of 30 teams with 123 team points, with Kunes’s first title at the event being at the center of that success.

“It feels amazing,” said Kunes on the accomplishment. “I put in a lot of work in the offseason. Got to do it in front of my home crowd and show them what I’ve done all year, all offseason.”

It wasn’t a matter of breezing through the bracket either. Upon reaching the championship quarterfinals at 145, Kunes never faced another wrestler ranked outside the Top 15 in the state. And through those state-ranked matchups, the Air Force commit gave up just two points.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Central Mountain's Aiden Kunes wrestles Bald Eagle's Dawson Lomison at 145 for first place in the final rounds on the King of the Mountain high school boys wrestling tournament at Central Mountain on Saturday.

He blanked No. 13 Wyatt Long by 7-0 decision to set up a top-three matchup against No. 3 Collier Hartman (Canon-McMillan) in championship semis. And with a reversal out of bottom to kick off the second period there, he clinched his first King of the Mountain final bid behind a 2-0 decision, where he’d face No. 9 Dawson Lomison (Bald Eagle).

With the score knotted at 0-0 late in the first, Kunes absorbed a shot from Lomison before circling around the Eagle, getting a hold of him from behind and driving him to the mat for a takedown. He’d add an escape and takedown to his 3-0 lead early in the second, and though Lomison secured two escapes to narrow the gap to five, Kunes held firm and posted a late takedown for a 10-2 decision.

“I think on my feet was where I beat a lot of people,” said Kunes when discussing what worked for him throughout the run. “People have trouble with my leg attacks, fakes and re-attacks, and I feel like that’s the best part of my game.”

“The kid I had in the semis, he’s a great opponent. Took fourth at states last year. This was just a great showing of what I can do,” he added on the run.

Apart from Kunes, fellow Central Mountain junior Gavin Heverly also saw success, bouncing back from a tough championship semifinal loss with a first-period pin to clinch a top four slot. He’d fall in a heartbreaker in the ensuing match, dropping the third-place bout to No. 10 Garrett Weyandt (Chestnut Ridge) by 2-1 decision in overtime. But the top four finish was a positive, nonetheless.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Central Mountain's Aiden Kunes wrestles Bald Eagle's Dawson Lomison at 145 for first place in the final rounds on the King of the Mountain high school boys wrestling tournament at Central Mountain on Saturday.

Rounding out the medalists for Central Mountain were Patrick Tarantella (133), Hayes Donley (139), Todd Caris (215) and Hayes Henry (285) who closed out their runs on a high note by winning their seventh-place bouts.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Central Mountain's Gavin Heverly wrestles Northampton's Brayden Wenrich at 121 during the semifinal rounds on the King of the Mountain high school boys wrestling tournament at Central Mountain on Saturday.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Central Mountain's xxx wrestles Bald Eagle Area's xxx at 285 during the semifinal rounds on the King of the Mountain high school boys wrestling tournament at Central Mountain on Saturday.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Warrior Run's xxx wrestles Bellefonte's xxx at 215 during the semifinal rounds on the King of the Mountain high school boys wrestling tournament at Central Mountain on Saturday.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Central Mountain's Gavin Heverly wrestles Northampton's Brayden Wenrich at 121 during the semifinal rounds on the King of the Mountain high school boys wrestling tournament at Central Mountain on Saturday.