Adam Gilson may be the local poster child for the notion that our society places too much emphasis on winning. On Saturday at Conestoga Valley High School, Gilson did not finish first at the Lancaster-Lebanon League Wrestling Championships.

But in some ways, what the Cedar Crest junior accomplished was more difficult than finishing first.

Gilson claimed the bronze medal in the 182-pound weight class. He defeated Dylan Maxwell of Donegal in the consolation final.

By fighting his way back through the ‘meat grinder’ that is the consolation bracket, Gilson actually won more bouts – five – than the champion of the bracket.

After opening his tournament on Friday night with a 14-0 whitewashing of Ephrata’s Bobby Nye, Gilson was edged 8-7 by Hempfield’s Tommy Bennett in their quarterfinal bout. Battling a touch of sickness, Gilson was relegated to the consolation portion of the weight class.

Once there, Gilson pinned Brock Fittery of Manheim Central at the 2:58 mark and dusted Lebanon’s Adam Kearney 11-5. Then Gilson reached the consolation final by decking Jesse Kann of Penn Manor in 18 seconds.

Gilson’s 5-1 showing at the event lifted his seasonal record to a very respectable 22-5.