The Fountain Hills High School wrestling team placed fifth out of 14 teams this past weekend at the Tiger Open, and six Falcons placed in the top five. The Falcons also added a second home meet to the schedule so they can celebrate senior night next Wednesday, Feb. 1, at 4 p.m.

The Falcons were missing a few wrestlers, so some young athletes had to step up and some even found success. Freshman Tyler Trapani took fifth place at 120 lbs., and sophomore Yahshua Harris placed second overall at 132 lbs. after filling in for an injured Tyler Flynn.

“[Harris] had a great semi-finals match, pinning Angelo Villareal from Independence,” head coach Luke Salzman said.

The rest of the Falcons that placed were all upperclassmen. Junior Lucas Philips placed third in 165 lbs., junior Ty Langer finished second at 175 lbs., and senior Wyatt Mowers took second in heavyweight. Senior JP Cahill made it to the finals for the second time this year and finished second.

Cahill entered the tournament with a 30-3 record, and Langer had the second best record entering the tournament at 29-4. Flynn also has a 30-3 record but did not wrestle this past weekend.

“The boys showed up to wrestle against some tough competition,” Salzman said. “Hopefully we will have our full line up ready to go soon for the final three weeks. [The Arizona College Prep] tournament this weekend will be the toughest challenge of the year so far.”

The Falcons travel for the Knight Invitational at Arizona College Prep this weekend. It will be their last tournament, and the Falcons will end their regular season with a dual meet on Wednesday, Feb. 1, and a tri meet on Thursday, Feb. 2.

“Coach Salzman really wanted to add a home match later in the season so we could do something a little towards the end for our seniors and make it special for them,” Athletic Director Evelyn Wynn said.

The Falcons added a home meet against Odyssey Institute at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 2. The Falcons will celebrate seniors Cahill, Mowers, Ty Jablonsky, Cy Dethlefs, Tyson Rynearson and Brandon Despain.

The Falcons are nearing the postseason, and they will prepare for sectionals on Saturday, Feb. 11. If a Falcon places at sectionals, they will advance to the state tournament.