Chad Beller knew he wasn’t 100 percent.

Yet, the Catasauqua senior wasn’t going to allow anything to stand in his way, as he made his second and final run at the recent PIAA Class 2A state wrestling tournament in Hershey.

Beller’s run toward being a top-three finisher in his 215-pound weight class ended early on the second day of competition when he was pinned by four-time state champion, Frazier’s Rune Lawrence, in 45 seconds.

In the opening round, Beller pinned Warrior Run’s Connor Parker in 5:40.

However, Beller wasn’t deterred as he wrestled his way back for a seventh-place finish. He posted a 35-8 record this year, and he recorded an overall 89-33 mark in four years.

“I had a 104-degree fever on Tuesday night,” recalled Beller a few days before the tournament. “I wasn’t totally healthy as I still had a cold and sore throat for the match.

“After the first match, I got tired pretty quickly. (Lawrence) usually toys with his opponents, but he came right at me and caught me. He is tall and lean, and I always have had trouble with opponents like that.”

Beller, who was a district champion and a runner-up at regionals, believed he could get to the state tournament after his sophomore year. He accomplished his goal last year.

“At the beginning of my junior year, I knew I could do it, but it was going to be a lot of hard work. About halfway through my junior year, I knew that I had improved a lot, and I was very confident to get there.”

Head coach Jonathan Reed was proud of his grappler, who earned the program’s first state medal since Curtis Garner won one in 2010.

“Chad had a fantastic three days of wrestling at the state tournament,” said Reed. “We knew his first match was a very winnable match which he needed to win to set him up for a state medal. He wrestled a great match and ended up getting a pin in the 3rd period to move onto the quarterfinals.

“Then, he had to wrestle the top seed who is ranked in the top-five in country and a three-time returning state champion who has committed to wrestle at West Virginia University. Chad knew he was in for a battle and was pinned in first period. He didn’t have much time to dwell in the defeat, as he had to wrestle in the blood round after the loss an hour later. He did, and wrestled an amazing match in the blood round winning 11-3 earning him at least a top-eight finish and a spot on the podium.

“We talked about going out of his high school career with a win and taking seventh. I try to preach to our wrestlers the importance of getting the next best thing when you lose a match, and told Chad he had the opportunity to go out of his high school career with a win something that most kids can’t do.

Beller admitted that he severely altered his weight training workout in May due to a recurring neck issue. As a result, his weight fluctuated.

“I wasn’t really lifting during football season,” reflected Beller. “My weight got up to 237 when I ate a lot over a weekend. But toward the end of football season, I got down to around 230, and then the rest of the weight before wrestling began. A comfortable weight for me is around 220.”

Beller admits that his football career is over, but he still has an inkling to wrestle. One possible outlet is Penn Tech, where Beller would like to pursue a career in welding and electrical work. Beller also is exploring the option of participating for a team at the NHSCA Nationals in late May.

“The coach from Penn Tech talked to me at states,” said Beller. “It would be a good place for me because I can pursue a career and also have the chance to wrestle.”

Reed believes that Beller will leave a legacy.

“He will be greatly missed and had a fabulous career as a Catasauqua wrestler,” beamed Reed. “He will forever go down as one of the greats in Catty wrestling. I’m so proud to have coached CJ for all these years and hope he comes back to help give back to future Catty wrestlers.”