HERSHEY - Sammy Hepler looks forward to training at Bucknell and Benton.
Caleb Bordner looks forward to wrestling at Disney World and maybe Fargo, N.D.
Happy but not satisfied, the Tri-Valley underclassmen won their seventh-place bouts Saturday at the PIAA Class AA Wrestling Championships. They left the Giant Center with a medal, a victory in their final bout of the season and incentive to do even better next year.
"I wanted to go out on a good note,'' Hepler said.
Added Bordner: "It makes me feel good because I ended my season with a bang. It was a big deal. I have an eighth. I didn't really want two medals for the same thing. I'd rather have different ones.''
Bordner, a 120-pounder, collected his third state medal after placing eighth as a freshman and sixth as a sophomore.
Making the victory sweeter was that it came against Redbank Valley senior Willis Gruver, who defeated Bordner in the preliminary round at states in each of the past two seasons. He won 4-3 last season and 4-1 on Thursday.
This time, Bordner prevailed 4-2. He took a 2-0 lead with a second-period reversal and extended it to 4-0 by turning Gruver (34-9) for back points with a deep half nelson.
"I wish I could have beat him earlier, but I got my shot on him and got back at him,'' Bordner said. "⦠I just threw my hips over top of his and got higher hips, and once my hips got on top of his, I just had him flat.''
Bordner ends the season 39-7 and improved his career mark to 113-35. He's within reach of the school record of 147 wins set by Sam Scheib.
"Got to practice over the summer. ⦠I've got to put more time into wrestling if I want to place higher,'' Bordner said.
Hepler, a 106-pounder, ended his freshman season with a 4-1 decision over Brockway's Ryan Carlson (28-9). Hepler (33-7) took a 2-0 lead by finishing a reversal with 12 seconds left in the second period. He ducked and slipped behind Carlson for a third-period takedown that settled the issue.
"I had to stay calm the whole match, keep your head, and good things will happen,'' Hepler said. "Watching all the big kids come through, the atmosphere, I have to step up like them next year and come out higher and come in to win it.
"I'm happy with it but a little disappointed knowing I beat the kid that won it (Bethlehem Catholic's Jake Riegel in the District 11 final). ⦠Just get better throughout the summer.''
Looking ahead, all five of Tri-Valley's state qualifiers are underclassmen. Hunter Harner, Anthony Snyder and Bordner are juniors; Chase Schaeffer is a sophomore; and Hepler a freshman.
"Me and Hepler, we were drill partners the whole year,'' Bordner said. "We pushed each other but not enough. I wasn't pushing him hard enough to be a state champion, and he wasn't pushing me hard enough to be a state champ. He knows what he's got to do to get better. Harner, Schaeffer and Snyder, they all know what they've got to do to get better.''