The Fountain Hills High School wrestling squad finished its last dual meet of the season with a strong showing from the young team.

On Wednesday, Jan. 16, the Falcons competed in five matches against teams from Chandler Prep, Valley Christian, Coolidge, Blue Ridge and Round Valley.

The Falcons bested Chandler Prep, Valley Christian and Coolidge but fell to Blue Ridge and Round Valley.

On Jan. 18, Fountain Hills traveled up the Beeline to Payson to compete in the Tim Van Horn Invitational, where Senior Leyton Kauffman went undefeated to take first place in the tournament for his weight class.

The Flacons have no more dual meets this season but have one more invitational before sectionals.

The next invitational is on Jan. 25-26 at Mogollon High School.

Head coach Luke Salzman said he was happy with the team’s final record for dual meets, given the makeup of the squad.

“We finished the season with a team dual record of 10-19,” Salzman said. “Which is not bad, with us having such a small and young team.”

However, the younger Falcons struggled at the Tim Van Horn Invitational, a competitive tournament where 16 teams from all divisions competed.

While the younger Falcons struggled, the team’s captain ended up going the distance.

“Leyton Kauffman was very successful this weekend, going undefeated 6-0 with five falls and a great win in the finals against Santa Cruz’s Andres Jimenez, winning 5-2,” Salzman said. “Payson is a very tough tournament and not an easy tournament to win. Leyton wrestled very well.”

Kauffman’s season record is now 41-5.