It’s not often that a wrestling program with as much success as Bethlehem Catholic needs introspection and change.

Following last year’s first round exit from the PIAA tournament in a stunning loss to Central Dauphin, head coach Jeff Karam knew the program needed some tweaks.

A renewed emphasis on the details, conditioning and weight training certainly helped change the culture that Karam was looking for, but no motivation can compare with dealing from a loss.

The Hawks exercised the demons from a humbling 2021 state tournament campaign to earn their eighth state title in program history over the weekend following a 34-22 victory over Nazareth in the PIAA 3A championship.

It marked the third victory over the Blue Eagles this season, as the Hawks were able to widen the gap in each of the matches in the postseason.

“Nothing is guaranteed in any season, so I’m happy for the kids because I know how much work they put in the offseason to accomplish this,” Karam said. “We knew we had a shot to do this coming into the season, but with a young team like we have, we needed these guys to mature quick and they did that.”

The Hawks (17-0) jumped out to a 6-0 lead when the action opened at 138 and saw Tyler Kasak continue his torrid stretch on the season with a fall in 1:59.

Becahi would win four of the first five bouts to build a 16-3 lead before Nazareth’s upper weights (189, 215, HWT) went on their usual run with a major decision and a pair of pins to temporarily take a 19-16 lead.

From there, it was all Becahi, as Shane McFillin (106) pinned Dominic Rizzotto in 50 seconds to retake a 22-19 advantage they would never relinquish.

Nate Desmond then picked up a crucial 3-1 win over Tahir Parkins in an ultimate tiebreaker at 113 to all but hand Becahi the state title.

“Every year you have a good team and you think you have a chance to win a state title,” said Karam. “We lost to Nazareth in the 2017 state final and that’s one that a lot of us remember and we didn’t want something like that happening again. To beat them three times this season and widen the gap each time, it shows we’re moving in the right direction.”

This was Becahi’s fourth 3A state championship (they also have four 2A titles) and first since a 2019 victory over Northampton.

With five freshmen in the lineup for Saturday’s championship, it’s fair to say that the Hawks won’t be going away anytime soon, especially if that changed culture continues to entrench itself.

“We talk about how last season ended everyday,” said Karam. “That was a lesson for all of us and winning this state title is a lesson for these kids too. This is just a steppingstone for them and one that I hope has a lasting impact on them.”