The long winter break seemed to do only good things for the Fountain Hills High School wrestling team with local grapplers showing improvement in their first two meets of 2019.

On Jan. 9 the Falcons competed in five duals at an event hosted out of American Leadership Academy Gilbert. The team went 2-3, besting schools including San Tan Foothills and Alchesay.

That Friday, Jan. 11, the Falcons took part in the Coolidge Invitational. The first day of competition was a dual where the Falcons went 3-2 beating Hayden, Valley Christian and Rio Rico.

The next day featured an individual tournament where three Falcons placed in their respective divisions. Brenden Yoder placed sixth, Marcus Nelson finished fourth and Leyton Kauffman finished second.

Fountain Hills has another dual this Wednesday, Jan. 16, against Mogollon as well as another invitational from Jan 18-19 hosted out of Payson.

Head coach Luke Salzman said he is extremely happy with the progress his younger wrestlers are making.

“Our younger guys are coming along, pulling out a win here and there and showing that their hard work is paying off,” Salzman said.

Meanwhile Kauffman, the only senior on the team, continues to show that he will be a force to be reckoned with at the state tournament.

“Leyton wrestled a great tournament,” Salzman said of his upperclassman’s recent performance. “He went 8-1 with six falls and recording a big win over section rival and last year’s state champ, Andres Jimenez from Santa Cruz.”