Kaylyn Adair, Adria Page and Alexandra Cannon overcame the adversity of last weekend's District 1/12 wrestling tournament with different mindsets. The unique approaches got the trio to the medal stand.

            Adair required words of encouragement. Page relied on tunnel vision. Cannon's

Kaylyn Adair finished third during the District 1/12  wrestling tournament.

quiet determination led her to post four victories by fall. Their performances helped spark an impressive finish by the Upper Perkiomen girls wrestling team.

            Adair (155 pounds) and Page (148) each finished third during the tournament on Saturday, Feb. 17, at William Tennent High School. Cannon added a fourth-place finish at 112. All three advanced to Sunday's Southeast Regional Tournament at Quakertown High School.

            Emily Mays took sixth at 118 pounds to help the Indians finish second overall out of 48 teams. Eight wrestlers combined to post an 18-15 record during their first postseason experience.

            "I'm over the moon excited that we finished second," head coach Omar Porrata said. "It was a great experience for the girls."

            Despite a solid week of practice, Porrata said he wasn't sure how the wrestlers would react to the environment. He described the intensity inside the gym as palpable and some of his wrestlers struggled with the logistics of the event.

            "The best wrestler does not always win," Porrata said. "The best-prepared wrestler usually wins."

            Even Adair, the team's most experienced wrestler, appeared to feel the pressure. After opening her tournament with a 27-second pin of Kaitlynn Arnold, a sophomore from Avon Grove, the top seed made a crucial mistake in the semifinal round against Savanah Kirk, a junior from Chichester.

            At the end of the first period, Adair got a little too aggressive, according to the coach. He said the senior forced a shot that helped cost her a 7-2 defeat.

            "She normally doesn't take bad shots," Porrata said.

            The coach said he reminded Adair that she had not been eliminated from the tournament. Porrata also told her that if she kept winning, she could likely gain a measure of revenge against Kirk if she advanced.

            The senior responded with consecutive victories to secure a bronze medal. First, she pinned Quakertown junior Chase Ryan two seconds into the second period.

            In the third-place bout, Adair eked out a one-point decision. She posted a 3-2 win in a rematch with Arnold.

            Page never got frazzled after her semifinal round defeat, a second-period fall by Neshaminy's Annette Barry. Porrata said the ninth grader benefitted from an even-keel approach.

            "Just tell me what mat my next match is on," Page said, according to the coach.

            Page, who opened with a first-period win over Irelynn Cahoone, a ninth grader from William Tennent, notched consecutive consolation round pins to secure her bronze medal. She defeated Riley Maguire, a ninth grader from Pottstown, with 14 seconds left in the first period, then capped her tournament with an early second-period fall against Pennsbury's Eliana Riva.

            "Adria is very strong on her feet," Porrata said. "She's relentless. She goes so hard, that sometimes she goes too far and gets caught."

            Cannon rebounded from a quarterfinal round loss to post a team-high four victories to reach the consolation final. Porrata said the sophomore didn't need any words of encouragement after a getting pinned in the first period by Macayla Needham, a junior from Central Bucks.

            "Her body language said 'Leave me alone,'" Porrata related.

            Cannon rebounded to reel off three consecutive victories to advance to the third-place match. Initially, she defeated Katherine Germain, a ninth grader from Neshaminy, midway through the third period.

            Cannon followed with a first-period victory over Academy Park's Phoenix Crowe. Ten seconds into the second period, she decked Tara Morgan, a senior from Pottstown, to reach the third-place bout. She settled for fourth place after losing a rematch with Needham by fall early in the second period.