Sophomore Hunter Walk was already into new territory for Tyrone when he stepped on the mat at the Giant Center in Hershey. Despite it’s long history as a wrestling school, Tyrone has not had a state qualifier since then senior Jared Beckwith made the trip five seasons ago.

Walk started his first trip to Hershey strong in his first match on Thursday, getting a fall against freshman Christian Doi from Camp Hill.

Walk  dominated Doi from the start and earned a second-period pin.

“The first match was a confidence booster and got all the nerves out,” said Walk.

Walk went into his second match confident and ready to put his moves to work. Unfortunately he was pinned by a junior Logan Jaquay of Eisenhower High School in the second period.

“The second match I felt like it was definitely a winnable match but you can’t win them all,”  said Walk.

His third match on Friday morning was against sophomore David Kreidler of Allentown Central Catholic. 

The match was pretty even throughout and Walk had a two point advantage on Kreidler until the last 10 seconds of the match when his opponent was under Walk and took control, putting Walk on his back just enough to get his two back points and ended the match 4-3.

Kreidler later went on to place eighth and be the last state place winner.

“The ultimate goal was the championship,” said Walk. “I am happy with my accomplishments but I feel like I can accomplish more,” said Walk.

Fortunately Walk is only a sophomore and still has two more seasons to reach his state championship goal.

Head Coach Terry Tate was pleased with the sophomore’s season and will look to him to lead the team back to relevance in District VI wrestling.

“Hunter Walk sets himself apart,” said Tate, “His work ethic and attitude mixed with his mental toughness make him who he is. He wants to compete and he loves the sport, he shows up to work and does a lot of extra things that other wrestlers simply are not doing. Along side his success on the mat, he is just a genuinely good kid.”

Walk achieved many accolades this year, placing at one of the most difficult tournaments in the state, placing 3rd place at Districts, and fourth at Regionals.