Brok Solt felt plenty of uncertainty ahead of his 172-pound final at the Jim Thorpe Christmas Tournament on Wednesday.

But the Lehighton sophomore had no doubt about what he was capable of in one of the biggest spots of the season.

Solt pulled off a big 3-2 win over Valley View’s Wesley Weller in the 172-pound final to cap a stellar two-day run to the title.

It also punctuated an impressive performance for the Tribe, who had three wrestlers in the finals and finished second among 25 teams at the event.

“It feels great to see the individual improvement from last year,” said Solt. “And we’ve really grown as a team. We’re currently undefeated, so everything is going really well. I’m feeling good, and doing better.”

Solt admitted he wasn’t sure what to expect facing Weller. But he didn’t let that faze him.

“Honestly, I didn’t know what to think. I was kind of scared, kind of nervous,” said Solt. “But I just went out there and wrestled like myself, and came out with the win.”

Weller (9-7) took a 2-0 lead in the first period, getting a takedown with 0:43 left in the first period.

But Solt, who started the second period from bottom, got an escape with 0:55 left to cut the deficit to 2-1, and went ahead with a takedown with 0:22 to go in the period.

“It was a close match throughout, but I knew that he was getting tired and that’s when I started to think, ‘All right, I got this. I just have to keep defending and stay on top,’” Solt said. “I was a lot more nervous going into this match than any other match this year. I had never heard of him, never seen him, didn’t know what he was like.

“But my coaches push me a lot with conditioning, and that’s why I think I won that match. I had more in the tank.”

Solt (11-4) defended well and held on in the third period to take the win.

After wrestling at 189 pounds a year ago, Solt has benefited from dropping down to 172 so far this season.

“I feel like I’m as strong as most kids, if not stronger,” said Solt. “Moving around with 18 less pounds is a lot easier. I’ve just been working really hard during the offseason, working out, lifting and sticking with the team.”

Solt ripped off three pins before posting a tough decision victory to reach the finals at 172 pounds. The sophomore topped Jim Thorpe’s Christian Binder in 0:50 in his first match before he pinned Hughesville’s Luke Stutzman in 4:17 and Tamaqua’s Jacob Hehn in 3:05 to reach the semis. In the semis, Solt got past North Schuylkill’s Ricky Halford with a 7-3 decision.

“He’s been in tight matches all the way through, and he just keeps finding a way to win,” Lehighton head coach Floyd Brown said of Solt. “He did a really nice job. He was confident, and wrestled the best he has all year so far.”

In addition to Solt, Aidan Gruber and Evan Wentz also made it to the finals for the Indians, who were second in the team standings with 198.5 points. Abington Heights won the team title with 242.5 points.

Gruber fell in the 114-pound final to unbeaten Luke Sirianni of Abington Heights, 8-5.

A state qualifier a year ago, Gruber (13-2) cut it to 6-4 with a reversal in the final second of the second period. The score was 6-5 with the pair on their feet to start the third period, but Sirianni (12-0) added a takedown with 1:05 to go in the period and held on to seal the win.

“That’s where I really wanted to push myself, to try and see what else I could get from the match,” Gruber said of the end of the second period. “But it’s hard at the end, when you’re tired. All you want to do is win.

“I was just trying to stay on my feet, because I feel I’m the best in neutral. I feel really good on my feet, so I was hoping I could get out and start something, maybe take him down, get in a shot or two. But he’s a tough kid. It was a good experience being in the finals and being able to wrestle someone like that.”

Sirianni, who is committed to the US Military Academy, has placed sixth and seventh, respectively, the last two seasons at states in Class 3A, and has won back-to-back District 2 titles at 106 pounds.

“I felt confident today against him. I was in the finals, and I had nothing to lose,” said Gruber. “He’s a good kid, I tried my best. I fell a little short, but I’ll definitely be ready for the rest of the season.”

Gruber advanced to the finals with four impressive victories.

The junior pinned Allen’s Kevin Zambrano in 0:10 in his first match before dispatching East Stroudsburg South’s Valerie Encarnacion in 0:12 to reach the quarterfinals.

Gruber posted an 8-1 decision over Wyalusing Valley’s Cole Patrick to advance to the semis, where he topped Wallenpaupack’s Nicholas Skokos with a 13-0 major decision.

“After I experienced what states was like last year, it was my first time there, I know what higher-level kids wrestle like now, so I feel like I’ve grown from last year,” said Gruber.

Hughesville’s Caiden Puderbach, a state qualifier last season, pinned Wentz in 2:09 to win the 133-pound title. Puderbach (17-3) built a 6-0 lead in the first period with a takedown and back points on two separate occasions. He got another takedown early in the second period before finishing the match with the pin.

Wentz (10-3) reached the finals at 133 pounds with four pins. The freshman pinned Mark Lynott of Abington Heights in 2:25 in his first match, and delivered two first period falls in his next two matches - getting past Panther Valley’s Racer McGuire (1:21) and Tamaqua’s Chase Zeigenfuss (1:06) - to reach the semis, where he pinned Jim Thorpe’s Ridge Snyder in 2:47.

TRIBE PRIDE

... Lehighton advanced five wrestlers to the semifinals. In addition to Gruber, Wentz and Solt, the Tribe also had freshman Connor Dugan (107) and junior Reese Balk (285) in the semis.

It was a great showing for a team that is currently 6-0, and begins the new year against 8-0 Pottsville next Wednesday before hosting the Indian Duals on Saturday, with the Schuylkill League and Coal Cracker tournaments the next two weeks.

Balk (fourth, 285), Deven Armbruster (fifth, 189), Dugan (fifth, 107), Jacob Ferguson (fifth, 152), Ethan Nothstein (seventh, 107), Jake Hall (seventh, 121) and Nicholas Zeigenfuss (eighth, 139) all medaled with top-eight finishes for the Indians.

TAMAQUA TOP 10

... Tamaqua placed 10th in the team standings with 118 points. Gabe Erbe (121) and Bradley Whalen (160) also advanced to the semis for the Blue Raiders. Erbe placed fourth at 121 pounds, while Whalen was fifth at 160. Chase Zeigenfuss (fifth, 133), Jacob Schlier (sixth, 152), Jacob Hehn (seventh, 172), Aiden Schlier (eighth, 114) and Stephen Kieffer (eighth, 145) also medaled for Tamaqua.

MEDALISTS

... Jim Thorpe’s Ridge Snyder (6th, 133) and Panther Valley’s Riyell Wann (6th, 160) also placed in the top eight.