Reese Balk might have been a bit of an unknown last season.

Balk turned heads in his first varsity campaign for Lehighton, racking up over 30 wins and firmly establishing himself as not only one of the best heavyweights in the area, but one of the best wrestlers period.

The senior has been undeniable this season, and was unstoppable over two days of competition at Jim Thorpe’s Christmas Tournament.

Balk powered through the 285-pound bracket as the top seed, and left no doubt with his fourth pin of the event to capture the 285 pound title on Thursday.

“I feel last year it was like, ‘Hey, I can do this. I can beat people,’” said Balk. “It was my first year of varsity, so I actually had a chance to prove myself on the mat, and stepped up and broke out. This year is a lot more comfortable because I know what I’m doing, I know who I’m going against and there’s nothing to be scared of.”

While Balk enjoyed a breakout his junior season, freshman Rory Dixon has hit the ground running for Panther Valley.

Dixon, who attends Marian and competes for the Panthers as part of the co-op between the two schools, reached the final at 152 pounds. The freshman pushed Wyalusing’s Ayden Hunsinger, unbeaten and the top seed, to overtime.

Hunsinger, who was also a state qualifier last season, scored the win with a takedown in sudden victory. But Dixon proved once again that he’s prepared for the season’s biggest challenges.

“I can’t say I’m happy about it, that I lost, because that hurts, especially being in overtime with a kid of that caliber,” said Dixon. “But I’m happy that I’ve come a lot farther (from the beginning of the season).”

Steady progress is something Balk (12-1) has seen plenty of since the beginning of last season. On Thursday, Balk punctuated his performance by pinning Williams Valley’s Cameron Green in 0:43 in the final.

“I’ve wrestled him before, so I obviously know what to do and how to beat him,” Balk said of Green, who he pinned and defeated by technical fall a year ago. “Credit to him, he’s gotten a lot better since last year.”

A year ago, Balk was fourth at the Jim Thorpe Christmas Tournament.

“Compared to last year, it was a big jump up,” said Balk. “To be able to win the championship, and be in the championship match. So it was a big jump up. And there’s a lot of good competition, especially this year, and last year there was great competition as well.”

Including the final, Balk scored three of his pins in the first minute of the match. The senior started his run to the title by pinning Panther Valley’s William Ebert in 0:48, before topping East Stroudsburg South’s Yaser Sahibzada in 0:56.

In the quarterfinals, Balk dispatched North Schuylkill’s Neeko Caraballo with a 10-4 decision. The bout was scoreless after the first period, but Balk quickly built an 8-3 advantage in the second with a reversal and three back points before adding an escape and a takedown.

Balk was tested in the semis against the Panthers’ Brian Welser, who was seeded fifth. Welser took a 3-0 lead in the third period with three back points, but Balk was able to get a reversal before eventually finishing the match with a fall in 5:14 to advance to the final.

“He’s experienced now. He’s a little more confident this year,” said Indians’ head coach Floyd Brown. “He doesn’t really get too worked up before a match. He kind of just maintains an even keel. But he had one or two matches in here that really pushed him a little bit, which is what he needed to think about getting ready for the end of the year and those sort of things. But what a great, great way to finish for him with a pin.”

Balk’s only loss this season was to Berks Catholic’s Owen Reber, who placed eighth at states a year ago, on Dec. 9 in the final at the Sam Lovello Classic.

He placed fourth at districts to earn a spot at regionals last season, but was unable to compete due to injury. Balk is eager to take care of unfinished business this postseason.

“It gives me confidence, especially with districts and regionals, and maybe states this year,” said Balk. “Just got to keep stepping up.”

Stepping up is something Dixon, who was seeded second at 152, has had no trouble doing in the early portion of the season. His match with Hunsinger showcased the promise and poise of a wrestler primed for big things.

The pair traded takedowns and an escape to end the first period tied 3-3. In the second period, Dixon (9-2) got an escape and a takedown, while Hunsinger managed an escape, to take a 6-4 lead.

“He took me down right off the bat, that was something,” Dixon said of Hunsinger’s early takedown to go up 2-0 in the first period. “But I got right out and took him down and he escaped so we were tied up.

“I believe I went bottom (in the second period), got out and I took him down and I felt great at that point.”

Like he did near the end of the second period, Hunsinger (13-0) got another escape at the start of the third and scored a takedown to go up 7-6 before Dixon tied it with an escape five seconds later, which is where it would stay through the remainder of the period.

“He went bottom, and he’s very strong. He has a real nice quick switch, I knew I wasn’t going to hold him down,” Dixon said of the start of the third period. “So I cut him. He took me down then, and that was all right. I wasn’t freaking out. I got out and was able to make it 7-7 going into overtime.”

The back-and-forth continued into overtime before Hunsinger secured the win with a takedown with 0:10 remaining.

“We had a bunch of scrambles and flurries in overtime,” said Dixon. “I was in a good position there; I pulled my head through, hooked the leg, he caught my arm. When I ripped my arm out, he ripped his leg out and circled behind and got the quick two.

“He made it out to states last year. This year I wouldn’t be surprised if he medals at states. For me to be right there with him and it being early in the season, moving forward I’m very happy with where I can be.”

Dixon was dominant en route to the finals, opening the tournament with a 17-2 (2:13) technical fall over North Schuylkill’s Ben Carr before pinning Wallenpaupack’s Zayden Lamfers in 1:55.

In the quarters, Dixon topped Jim Thorpe’s Richard Kenna with a tech fall (15-0, 2:16). He recorded another pin in the semis, this time stopping Wallenpaupack’s Tristian Braxton in 4:32.

Dixon, who also trains at Mat Assassins Wrestling Club, has settled right into the Panthers’ lineup after rushing for over 1,000 yards this past fall for the Colts, who reached the District 11 Class 1A title game.

“He’s never shied away from a challenge,” said Panther Valley head coach Kris Nalesnik. “Every time he steps on the mat, he goes out there expecting to win no matter who he’s up against. If he loses, he still keeps his head. He’s smart. He’s cool about it. Obviously, you want to win every match you wrestle. But ultimately, there’s only going to be one champion and not everybody’s going to do it.

“To go out there and wrestle like that against Hunsinger really tells me that he’s around where he needs to be.”

BATTLE TESTED

... Dixon’s only other setback this season came to another talented wrestler, Cameron Mingee of Littlestown, who posted a 3-0 win in the final at the Sam Lovello Classic Dec. 9. Like Hunsinger, Mingee was also a state qualifier last year.

MEDALISTS

... Lehighton led the way with six medalists and finished seventh out of 26 teams with 151.5 points. In addition to Balk, Aidan Gruber (third, 114), Jacob Ferguson (fourth, 160), Blake Muffley (fifth, 133), Jacob Hall (sixth, 127) and Wyatt Sherer (seventh, 215) all landed on the podium. Tamaqua and Jim Thorpe each had a pair of wrestlers medal. Stephen Korte (121) and Nikolas Schwartz (172) were both fourth for the Olympians, while Gabe Erbe (127) was seventh and Evan Temarantz (107) eighth for the Blue Raiders. Brian Welser (285) placed third for Panther Valley. Wallenpaupack won the team title with 213.5 points, ahead of Abington Heights (205) and Wyalusing (194).