It was the end of the road for Parkland senior Blake Dergham at the PIAA wrestling championships. Dergham bowed out of the tournament after losing his first two bouts on the first day of action, ending Parkland’s time in Hershey and closing a chapter on Dergham’s career with the Trojans.

Head coach Eddie Keichel knew it was a tough moment to watch one of the team veterans leave the Giant Center floor disappointed, but knew Dergham gave his all in his first state tournament appearance.

“He went out and competed and that’s all you can really ask for,” said Keichel. “It’s your senior year and last tournament of your career and he laid it all out on the line. He gave his best effort and you can’t ask for much more.”

Dergham started the tournament off with a tough opener, facing Franklin Regional’s Tyler Kapusta, losing by a 9-0 major decision to the eventual state runner-up.

Dergham couldn’t get things going in his final bout, losing by another major decision, this time an 8-0 setback to Pennridge’s Cole Coffin.

He walks away with 101 career wins and a pair of silver medals from this year’s district and regional championships. He’ll continue wrestling in college at Penn Tech next year.

Keichel praised Dergham’s leadership by example and knows the quiet senior will be a missed presence in the wrestling room.

“It’s a culmination of hard work,” said Keichel looking back on Dergham’s career. “He hit 100 wins this year, which was hard when you factor in a COVID year and he’s the type of kid that leads by example with the work he’s put in the room. He leaves that behind for the other kids to learn and he’ll be very much missed.

“The best is yet to come. He’ll wrestle in college, so it isn’t a closed chapter in his life and he still has a bright future ahead.”