Those losses can often be the difference later down the road, giving wrestlers a chance to see where you need to improve before the stakes increase.

That’s currently the case for Central Mountain sophomores Gavin Heverly and Aiden Kunes. After garnering district titles through their debut postseason runs last season, each fell in heartbreaking fashion in the sequel, seeing late leads turn around in the waning seconds of their respective titles.

Against No. 8 Kael Davis (State College) in the 114 final, Heverly – state-ranked No. 16 – controlled the pace early, throwing Davis to the right amidst the scramble and wrapping around him for a quick three. He’d go up 4-1 early in the second and maintain a 4-3 lead through much of the third.

But steadily, Davis’s offense would become impactful and it ultimately forced Heverly into a hole his couldn’t escape. With just five seconds to go, Davis secured the takedown he needed to pull out the decision.

TIM WEIGHT/For the Express Central Mountain sophomore Aiden Kunes wrestles in the 127 semifinals during the District 6 Class AAA championships at Altoona on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025.

“Just got too comfortable with my lead and didn’t really wrestle. I backed up and stalled, gave up,” said Heverly. “I’m definitely wrestling better this time than King of the Mountain, but I’ve just got to learn to finish because obviously it doesn’t matter what you did in the first.”

Kunes endured a similar bout in the 127 final, one which wasn’t decided till the closing seconds.

With his knee still bothering him and being on the receiving end of a surprising run from previously unranked Deklan Barr (Altoona), the Wildcats saw a late 2-0 lead threatened, then overtaken, surrendering a takedown with four seconds to go.

“He’s good at not getting taken down, really good at keeping matches close,” said Kunes on Barr, who’s now state-ranked at No. 5. “So that’s why I need to just open up and start putting two or three shots together because he just likes to hang on and that’s what he’s really good at.”

Both had similar mindsets when it came to their matches.

“It is what it is,” said Heverly. “It’s the past. I’ve got to let it go, just take it as a learning experience, another loss.”

“Just got to forget about it,” emphasized Kunes. “Look at what you did wrong, improve and look at it as a good thing.”

Though each took a step back compared to last year’s first round, the pair has ammo in the form of experience when it comes to their prospects of building off their success as freshmen. With a full offseason and regular season to develop since then, they each believe they have what it takes to make deeper runs at states, and so do their teammates.

“They’re both tough kids, technically sound and know how to wrestle,” said Perry on the pair. “Just for them, they’ve got to relieve themselves of that pressure, get themselves to not feel like they have to go out and win every match and just go out and have fun. If they do that, they’ll see better results.”

For now, their focus turns to Saturday’s West Regional, as they look to get back on track in pursuit of back-to-back PIAA appearances.

“We’ve got to take these two weeks to recoup and hopefully, we get him next time,” said Heverly.

“There’s a lot more wrestling to go,” said Kunes.