Kaylyn Adair lost both her matches during the PIAA Girls Wrestling Championship last week. However, her efforts will help grow Upper Perkiomen's

Kaylyn Adair, with assistant coact Mark Smith, during  the Girls South Regional Tournament in Quakertown.

fledgling girls program exponentially, according to head coach Omar Porrata.

            "Kaylyn will leave a lasting legacy for the program," he said. "She went above and beyond. I could not have asked for a better captain, wrestler and overall person."

            Porrata noted the senior exceeded his expectations for her on the mat by qualifying for states at the Giant Center in Hershey. He described it as a significant accomplishment.

            Adair -- who qualified by finishing fourth at the South East Regional Tournament two weeks earlier -- opened at 155 pounds with a loss to Kylie Monroe, a senior from Gettysburg, on Thursday, March 7. Monroe pinned her with 16 seconds left in the first period.

            Later that day Adair suffered a season-ending loss. Ashlyn VanFleet, a senior from Athens, needed only 43 seconds to score a fall.

            According to Porrata, the moment got the better of Adair. He said she was visibly nervous. The coach described the stage as unbeatable for most first-time participants.

"Seeing your name on the scoreboard in a big arena is overwhelming," Porrata said. "There's nothing I can do or tell a wrestler to properly prepare them. Kaylyn wanted to win a medal, but you could tell there were other girls with more experience."