Willmont Kai made Whitehall sports history last Saturday joining Christian Franco (2002) as just the second Zephyr to win a PIAA wrestling title.

Kai described being crowned champion, “It feels great. It’s an unreal feeling. It’s a feeling a whole lot of these wrestlers wanna feel. Only one person in your weight class can come out on top.”

While every champion reveled in their accomplishment, perhaps no other competitor enjoyed being in the moment more than Kai. As he was introduced before his finals match he strode to the mat with an ear-to-ear grin, a stark contrast to the parade of game faces on the other competitors at the Giant Center.

Head coach Tim Cunningham described the difference between his 114-pounder’s mood and his own before the match, “He was calm. He was excited but calm. I was excited, but a nervous wreck. He’s cool cat. He really is. That’s not acting. That’s Willmont.”

“Of course I’m going to embrace the feeling. I started wrestling in eighth grade. Coming from eighth grade and now junior year and I’m a state champ now, it’s so surreal. It’s amazing,” he explained.

There was plenty of drama on the mat for Kai, but not during the championship bout. He controlled the match against Mateo Gallegos of DuBois. A first period takedown and a tilt for two nearfall points in the second would have been enough. He carried that five-point lead into the final period and traded a takedown for two escapes to win 7-3.

The path to the title was not as smooth. In the quarters, he drew undefeated Western Regional champion Nico Kapusta of Hempfield. While Kai got the initial takedown in the match, the next 10 points went to his opponent including a dangerous 4-point nearfall situation.

Kai was able to fight off his back and reverse his foe onto his to make up 6 points of the 7-point deficit. An early third period escape and takedown allowed him to surrender a late reversal to claim a 13-12 win.

In the semifinals, the Zephyr junior squared off against the 2024 AAA state champion at 107, Dominick Morrison of Hatboro-Horsham. Morrison scored a first period takedown and held a 4-1 lead with 35 seconds left in the match when Kai struck to tie the score and send the battle into overtime.

After a scoreless sudden victory period, Willmont was unable to escape during TB-1. With Morrison only needing an escape during the next 30 seconds, it seemed like the best outcome for the Whitehall grappler was to try to force an ultimate tiebreak.

However, Kai went on the offensive from the top position and scored two back points to punch his ticket to the finals.

The reactions of coaches Tim Cunningham and Doug Bonshak as the clock ticked down are priceless and are worth the effort to find the video online. Try @TomWenborg on Twitter aka X.

Cunningham provided a final assessment and glimpse into the future, “I don’t know what I can tell you other than the fact that he’s a great kid, a great person and he’s only starting to see how good he is at wrestling. We don’t know where his ceiling is. We really don’t.”