Whitehall junior Melquan Warren kicked of his state wrestling tournament last Thursday against Trey Shoemaker, the District 6 and Northwest Regional champion from Mifflin County High School. Warren was able to get in some early shots but was unable convert a takedown.

Shoemaker scored a late takedown in the first period and escaped from the referee’s position to start the second. He took that 3-0 into the final period.

Warren was able to score a reversal after taking the down position in the third, but during the ensuing scramble Shoemaker reversed Warren and was able to ride him out to end the match at 5-2. Shoemaker went on to take home the 7th place medal at 189.

In the consolations Warren faced off against a familiar foe, Alex Neely of Parkland. The two wrestlers had already faced each other three times in the postseason with the Zephyr grappler holding a 2-1 edge in those contests.

After a scoreless first period, Neely opened the second with an escape. Halfway through the period Neely countered a Warren shot for takedown. Warren escaped and added a second escape to start the third period, setting up a 3-2 situation with 1:43 to go in one of the wrestler’s seasons.

As clocked ticked under 10 seconds, Warren got in on a double and appeared to have finished it for the takedown, but the referee granted Neely injury time, nullifying the likely winning score. After an argument from the Whitehall coaches and a discussion between the officials, the call of no points stood, and the match ended at 3-2 in favor of Neely.

While Whitehall coach Tim Cunningham was obviously unhappy with the decision, he offered the following thoughts on his 189-pounder.

“He competed well. Wrestled well. Performed well,” he said. “Hopefully he learns from this experience. He’s only a junior. Nothing but the best of things to say about this kid, because all he does is work hard. He holds himself accountable. He does all the right things. I’m proud of him whether he wins or loses because I know when he’s out on that mat, he gives everything he has.”

A disappointed Warren summed up his first experience wrestling at Hershey.

“I don’t think anybody expected me to be here in the first place,” he said. “I was able to compete with the guys who were here and it gives me a boost in my confidence. It still sucks that I wasn’t able to make to the second day of states.”

With a sense of determination in his voice he added, “Once you taste something, you can never get enough of it. So now that I’ve been here, I’m coming back next year. I guarantee it.”