For Melquan Warren, it wasn’t all about the end result. Instead, it was about his journey there.

The Whitehall senior made his second consecutive trip to the PIAA state wrestling championship, and he won his opening match with an injury default over Selinsgrove’s Tucker Teats, 5-1. He then was the victim of a tech fall in the quarterfinals, and consequently lost in a consolation round. Warren lost his opening match the previous season, and eventually was eliminated in a consolation round.

But Warren was more concerned about continuing to establishing himself as a wrestler. He did finish as the runner-up in both the Class 3A district and regional tournament.

Warren finished the season with a 32-7 record with 18 falls, and an overall mark of 81-37 with 35 falls.

“Going into the bout, I felt confident in my ability to compete with the top wrestlers in the state,” he said. “I knew they were good, and I was excited to go out there and show them how good I was.

“I thought I did a good job.”

Last season, Warren finally discovered that he could have a productive career.

“When I first came to high school, I wasn’t expecting much to come out of it,” he recalled. “I thought of it as just another sport to do. But looking back, on it, especially my junior year and this year, I am very proud of the improvements and accomplishments I have achieved here at Whitehall thanks to my coaches and current and former teammates.”

Head coach Tim Cunningham quickly realized that he had a special wrestler and young man in his midst.

“Mel wrestled to the best of his ability, and he always gave everything he had on the mat,” stressed Cunningham. “More importantly, he will learn from his experience and become a better person and wrestler from it.

“He never expected anything to be given to him, and he knew he had to earn everything he got.”

Warren also had a special relationship with Cunningham.

“Coach Cunningham became a second father to me over the years,” said Warren. “He pushed me in the classroom, weight room, and especially in the wrestling room. It all helped me become the best version of myself.”

Warren plans to continue his career in college, and he also plans to give back to the sport that molded him.

“I am definitely planning on continuing my wrestling career in college, but I am still undecided on where I should spend it,” he said. “I would love to coach. I know what coach Cunningham did for me. If I could do that to even one single kid, that would be amazing.”