To be the best, you’ve got to beat the best.

The bad news for Luke Funck is that he’s not the best Class AA 182-pound wrestler in the state of Pennsylvania. The good news is he knows what it looks like, and what it takes to become a state champion.

This weekend’s PIAA Wrestling Championships conducted at Hershey’s Giant Center was certainly an eventful one for Funck. The Northern Lebanon junior finished a very respectable fourth in his 182-pound weight-class bracket.

But what was intriguing for Funck was the fact that he was beaten by the three gentlemen who finished above him on the medal podium. But here’s the best part: all three of those wrestlers are seniors.

In the Class AA consolation final on Saturday afternoon, Funck endured a 4-1 setback to Dakota Greer of Franklin, the returning state champion at 182 pounds. Funck had been relegated to the third-place bout by a similar loss to eventual state champion Greg Bulsak of South Park on Friday evening.

Funck concluded his 11th grade year at 42-3 and as the first Viking wrestler to earn a state medal since assistant coach Jim Collins captured gold 15 years ago. Funck also became the first Lebanon County wrestler to take home a state medal in ten years.

– Jeff Falk