The Fountain Hills High School wrestling team sent six Falcons to the state tournament this past weekend. The Falcons finished 17th out of 47 teams, and junior Tyler Flynn and senior JP Cahill each placed fourth in their respective weight classes.

Flynn won his first two matches in the 132 weight class before his first loss. Flynn won his fourth match on his second day to make it into the placement matches, and the lost his fifth match to place fourth.

Cahill wrestled six matches on his way to a fourth-place finish in the 120 weight class. He won his first match but lost his second, and he won three more just to get to the placement match for third and fourth place.

“That was crazy, I was losing by one with 12 seconds left, and I took him down and won by one with eight seconds left,” Cahill said about his second to last match. “My match to make it to the second day of state went to overtime. That’s another minute, and I got a takedown within 25 seconds into overtime.”

Cahill appeared at state as a sophomore but didn’t place, and he didn’t qualify for state last year. He set his sights on state late last season, and overcame several challenging opponents to reach where he did.

“Sophomore year, I was still learning and figuring out if this sport was for me,” Cahill said. “I wouldn’t say getting my butt handed to me, but I was still figuring things out and trying to find my own technique. This year I felt a lot more confident. I mean, I won tournaments, I was in the finals I think every tournament this season. It was a big difference.”

Placing was Cahill’s ultimate goal at state, but he said he took things one match at a time. He only scouted his opponents in the last two matches, but he was cautious with what moves he used in earlier matches and how many tricks he pulled out from underneath his sleeve.

Cahill still used his favorite takedown, the cross ankle pick, several times, but said he had to change things up. He and Flynn both stayed late at practices leading up to state so they could build up their stamina and practice their techniques as much as possible.

Flynn placed fourth last year and repeated his placing. Two of the four other Falcons that went to state were in similar weight classes to Flynn and Cahill and spent many practices competing with them.

Senior Ty Jablonsky went 1-2 in the 126 weight class, and sophomore Yahshua Harris went 2-2 in 144. Junior Ty Langer went 2-2 in 175, and senior Wyatt Mowers went 0-2 in 285.

“Yahushua’s great. He’s just very calm and cool and always has his mind under control,” Cahill said. “He did great, he won a couple of matches. Obviously, he didn’t place, but for him to make it as far as he did, we were all very proud of him.”

Cahill liked being an example for younger wrestlers and would like to come back and support the program in the future. He recently received his first collegiate wrestling scholarship offer, and he’s excited about the possibility of continuing his athletic career.

The Falcons had a great year with several seniors having their best seasons yet, and they also saw encouraging signs from their younger wrestlers. The Falcons’ wrestling program is in good hands moving forward.

“The whole team was very impressive,” Cahill said. “If I was to look back on my freshman year, we were all brand new for the most part and still learning. I feel like the freshman now are picking it up more because we are teaching them and there’s a lot more upperclassmen now than when I was a freshman. That’s a big part of it.”