Jarek Svanson admitted that doubt crept into his mind Saturday morning following his opening loss at the PAC-10 Wrestling Championship Tournament.  Wrestling at 120 pounds, Svanson went for a headlock against Pottstown's Nate Parson. However, Parson rolled through and scored a near fall on his way to a major decision.

        Svanson fought the negativity. His coach had no doubt the freshman would recover.

        "Jarek is a tough kid," Indians' head coach Sam Walters said. "He's strong, works hard and is not one to give up."

        Svanson's bid to extend his season received a boost in his first consolation-round match, pinning Pottsrove's Brady Carpenter early in the second period with a cradle.  "At that point I was sure I could come back," said Svanson, adding that his only pre-season goal was to end the season with a record above .500. "I knew I had to wrestle hard and have fun with that match."      

        After losing his next match, Svanson's last chance to qualify for the District One Class AAA West tournament came in the fifth-place match. Despite falling behind 6-2 in the third period against Phoenixville's Jason Miller, he continued to throw the headlock.  "That's my move," Svanson said, comparing it to a batter attempting to hit a home run. "I don't get it every time."

        Early in the third, Svanson (19-15) caught Miller, posting the fall 17 seconds into the third.   "Surviving and advancing at this time of the season is all that matters," Walters said. "Where you finish in the tournament doesn't really matter."

        Nine Upper Perkiomen wrestlers finished in the tournament's top five during the contest at Boyertown Area Senior High School. Ten advanced to this weekend's district tournament.

        "We did pretty well," Walters said. "I would have liked to have seen one or two more guys move on."

        Senior Dustin Steffenino captured the 113-pound title.

        Trevor Weeks reached the title bout at 160 pounds before losing 12-4 to Spring-Ford senior Frankie Knauss.

        Eric Miller (138) and Michael Modugno (220) each finished third while Michael Felix took fourth. Svanson and classmate Jared Kuhns (106), along with sophomore Jacob Folk (145) and senior Owen Leister (182) each won their fifth-place bouts.

        Noah Folk (126), Levi Homan (132) and Mike Lockhoff (152) lost their fifth-place bouts.

        Noah Folk , who forfeited the match due to injury, qualified for districts because Pope John Paul II's Nick Yerger, who finished second at 126 pounds, will compete in the Class AA tournament.

        At 113 pounds, Steffenino (29-1) dominated his three matches. He opened with a second-period, technical fall victory over Phoenixville's DuJuan Serrette-Davis. In the semifinals, he needed 66 seconds to pin Jimmy Frank from Phoenixville.

        Steffenino, a returning state medalist, went the distance in the final to score a 7-1 decision against Boyertown's David Campbell.

        "Dustin wrestled flawlessly," Walters said. "He really took care of business."

        Weeks (24-10) registered a one-point quarterfinal round win over Boyertown's Dylan Wertz. In the semifinals, he beat Isaiah Mayes, of Pottstown.

        This weekend, Walters doesn't expect to see a significant increase in the level of competition from the PAC-10 meet.

        The coach said he expects the conference's wrestlers to account for 80 percent of the medals awarded at the district tournament.