Emmaus wrestlers competed in the National High School Coaches Association's 12th Annual Final Four Tournament this past weekend in York and found out just how tough wrestling can be. The Hornets weren't helped by being given a tough draw in the tournament, having to face the top-ranked team in the nation - Blair Academy - for their first match of the day after a two-hour bus ride.

Blair Academy, out of Blairstown, NJ, is the consensus number one team in the country and won the tournament in relatively easy fashion, including a 66-6 win over Emmaus. After the loss to Blair, Emmaus took on a very tough Pennsbury team and lost 37-33 before rebounding to beat Neshaminy 37-31 in the afternoon session.

"We were supposed to be in the other pool with a bunch of other teams, but things got redone, so we wound up with Blair and Pennsbury and the New Hampshire state champions, so we knew we would have to work harder and regroup along the way," said head coach Jeff Arbushites of the tournament draw.

The Hornets headed into the tournament following a 46-30 win over Whitehall last week in a match that featured eight falls in 14 matches. The first six matches were all won by a fall, with Whitehall being on top in four of those, including each of the first three bouts.

Lucas Schaf snapped Whitehall's streak of three straight wins when he picked up a fall at 106 pounds and Shane Brandes followed with another fall at 113, to cut the Zephyrs' lead to 18-12. Brandes' pin came with just five seconds left in the match and was an important factor in the scoring.

"To tell you the truth, I didn't really expect to get that pin, I just expected to win by points," said Brandes of the win. "We've been practicing hard and working on doing our best for each six minutes and as it showed tonight, pins show on the scoreboard, so you never stop."

The win was especially poignant for Arbushites, who is proud of Brandes' achievements both on and off the mat.

"His attitude has been pretty positive and he's been in practice more, he's got his academics under control and it's a positive thing for him," Arbushites said. "He's worked hard and it's starting to show out on the mat."

After Whitehall picked up a win at 120, Taylor Schaf grabbed an 8-2 victory at 126 and Jacob Younger won by fall with just 32 seconds left in his bout at 132. The back-to-back wins further cut into Whitehall's lead and left the score at 24-21 in favor of the Zephyrs. Cole Franklin didn't let his team stay behind much longer as he picked up a fall at 138 pounds in just 32 seconds and the Hornets went ahead to stay at 27-24.

"To be honest with you, it worked out pretty much exactly as we thought that it would," said Arbushites of the bout with Whitehall. "We've had a lot of guys sick over the past week and that led to some of the performances out here, but they battled and they did what they had to do."

Emmaus is now 9-6 overall and 4-1 in the Lehigh Valley Conference. The schedule has Emmaus hosting Allen Wednesday night as the season comes into the final stretch.