In the semifinals of last weekend’s PIAA AAA Northeast Regional wrestling tournament Whitehall’s Willmont Kai faced off with Emmaus’ Emilio Albanese. The talented Hornet freshman had beaten Kai twice in the last six weeks, 2-1 in the dual meet and 7-5 in sudden victory the previous week in the district semifinals.

With the score tied at 2 headed to the third period, it looked like the match would be decided by another narrow margin. However, Kai escaped early and then scored a takedown and three nearfall points to close out a satisfying, 8-2 decision over his rival.

Kai described the triumph, “Losing to him twice this season and then getting my revenge and beating him with points, that felt great. This whole weekend shows me that I can compete with the top guys in the state. That win over Albanese was a confidence booster.”

By advancing to the finals, the Zephyr sophomore also earned his first trip to the state tournament in Hershey.

“Qualifying for states was just a little part of my goal for going to Hershey. Performing to my best at Hershey would be even sweeter. Going with my teammates, one of who is my brother and the other who is my training partner is exciting, really exciting,” said Kai.

In the 107-pound final, Kai dropped a 2-0 decision to Easton’s Nick Salamone, who earned the top overall seed at the weight class this upcoming weekend at states. The only scoring was a second-period reversal.

Two other Zephyrs earned a trip to Hershey working their ways through the consolation brackets.

Kade Pascoe, after winning a fifth-place match at districts just to qualify for regionals, won three-straight matches in wrestlebacks to reach the consolation final and punch his ticket to states.

He won his consi of 4 bout against Declan Brown of Wallenpaupack by getting a turn for 2 back points in the third period and riding his opponent out for a 6-4 decision. He then ran off the first 7 points of his match with Easton’s Noah Fenner and wrestled smartly to secure a 7-4 decision and the state berth.

His only 2 losses in the tournament were to Nazareth’s Remy Trach, once in the quarterfinals and once in the third-place match. With 4 losses to the Blue Eagle junior all by 2 points or less this year, Pascoe has an official nemesis.

Pascoe described his feelings going into the consolation semifinal, “It was very nerve-wracking, but I knew I could win it. My coaches told me I could, they believed in me, that’s how I got it. Every night this past week I’ve been praying to God, ‘Please let me get this. Please.’”

“I’m just happy about going out there (to states). I’m happy about the opportunity I have to go out there. I’m trying to place to be honest. Top seven,” he added.

Trokon Kai ran perhaps an even more formidable gauntlet to join his Hershey-bound teammates. The older of the Kai brothers dropped his opening-round match and won four-straight consolation bouts to reach the top four at 133 pounds.

He rallied from 3-1 down in the third period to beat Kevon Griffin of Archbishop Wood 7-5 in the consi of 8 round. In the consolation quarters, he was down 7-4 to Leo Kern of Parkland with 45 seconds left in the match when he scored a reversal and three nearfall points to turn the tide for a 9-8 win.

In the winner-to-states consolation semifinal against Northampton’s Chase Grabfelder, Kai trailed 2-0 with a minute left in the match. He escaped and got the tying point on a second stall call against the K-Kid to send it to sudden victory. The two got locked up in a scramble with the Zephyr being award the 2 points with 10 seconds left in SV.

“It’s only my second year wrestling and I’ve qualified for states. It’s a really big deal. It’s a big deal for me, my coach, my brother, for everyone. We’re all proud of each other with how far we came this year” explained Kai.

The three boys will be joined by Ruth Rivera as the first-ever PIAA girls wrestling championship will run concurrently with the boys tournament at the Giant Center starting Thursday and ending Saturday. Tickets and schedules are available at piaa.org.