NORTH HUNTINGDON TWP — Blake Caudill is well aware of the gauntlet he must run in the 120-pound weight class at the WPIAL Class AAA Wrestling Championships.

That bracket is arguably the toughest and deepest of any in the tournament, which began Thursday at Norwin High School and will run through Saturday.

The Butler senior, though, is undaunted.

“It’s going to be a war,” Caudill said. “So, I’m just going to pick up my sword and shield and go to battle.”

He got off to a good start in the preliminary round Thursday, slaying Ryan Yocum of Trinity with a pin.

For Caudill, the impressive showing was a must.

“The first match of the tournament is always hard,” Caudill said. “You have to get warmed up. You have to get past all of the mental hurdles. So, it was good I was in good position the whole time and never faded.”

It will get much tougher today for Caudill when he faces Sam Krivus of Hempfield in the quaterfinals.

Krivus won the WPIAL title at 113 pounds last season and finished third at the PIAA tournament with a 45-4 record.

This year Krivis is 33-3.

“If he gets through, it will be something he definitely earned,” said Butler wrestling coach Scott Stoner. “The level of competition is just incredible.”

Caudill is one of three Butler County wrestlers who survived the preliminary round unscathed — all three from Butler.

Caudill’s brother, Korey, earned a 4-1 decision over Terry Victory of Waynesburg at 126 pounds and section champ Ryan Hannon pinned Daniel Walters of Greensburg Salem early in the second period.

“I treated it like any other match,” Hannon said. “It was important to get a big win right off the bat like that.”

Hannon, a junior, struck quickly and wasted little time to get his first victory out of the way.

“I just caught him — it’s a situation we practice all the time,” Hannon said. “You have to start off right.”

Stoner said he was impressed with the way Hannon attacked.

“We’ve been trying to get Ryan more tools on his feet — offensively he doesn’t have a lot. He’s not a smooth technician on his feet. He’s more of a brawler,” Stoner said of Hannon. “The Greensburg Salem kid wrestled pretty well defensively, stopped a couple of our best shots. Ryan stuck with it, stayed the aggressor and caught him.”

Butler also has five wrestlers still alive in the consolation bracket.

Mars has four in the consolation bracket today, including 220-pound senior Johan VanWyke, who had perhaps the most exciting match of the night.

VanWyke trailed 4-2 against Grant Slezak of Greensburg Salem, but got a takedown with three seconds remaining in the third period to force overtime.

VanWyke, though, lost on a technical violation when he grabbed a handful of Slezak’s singlet.

“He’s a tough fighter,” said Mars wrestling coach Zach Maisner of VanWyke. “That kid has more heart than most here I bet. He’s just an awesome kid.

“I thought he had that one,” Maisner said. “Just one simple mistake when you are tired. That’s all it takes.”

Knoch and Seneca Valley also advanced two wrestlers into the consolation bracket.

All wrestlers in the consolation bracket have a daunting task ahead of them starting this afternoon.

“They have a long way back,” Maisner said. “VanWyke has a tough road, but you never know with that kid. He always surprises you.”

WPIAL Class AAA results

Here is a look at how Butler County wrestlers fared Thursday night at Norwin High School:

Pigtail Round

106: Cole Rush (Waynesburg) dec. Alex Lynch (Seneca Valley), 8-6; 113: Ben Lynch (Seneca Valley) dec. Kris Demorest (Hempfield) 8-4; 126: Richie Boeh (Mars) dec. Dustin Winkle (Hopewell) 6-1; 132: Blake Elliott (Knoch) dec. Jake Ardellitz (Kiski) 4-2; 145: Austin Leon (Seneca Valley) maj. dec. Travis Grando (Montour) 13-3; 160: Nate Painter (Franklin Regional) pinned Will Bortmas (Butler), 5:06, Ryan McMahon (Mars) pinned Marcus Pizzi (Waynesburg), 1:57; 170: Ben Nowicki (Knoch) pinned Nathan Carcaskey (Moon) 1:19; 182: Zach Weaver (Butler) pinned Elliott Baran (Ambridge), 1:41; 195: Nick Gibson (Butler) pinned Derek DeSalvo (Belle Vernon), 3:28; 285: Rusty Casteel (Norwin) dec. Damian Wheeler (Butler, 1-0.

Preliminary Round

113: Philip Mary (Peters Township) dec. Connor Foust (Butler), 2-0, A.C. Headlee (Waynesburg) pinned Ben Lynch (Seneca Valley) 1:43; 120: Blake Caudill (Butler) pinned Ryan Yocum (Trinity) 3:06; 126: Korey Caudill (Butler) dec. Terry Victor (Waynesburg), 4-1, Michael Kemerer (Franklin Regional) pinned Richie Boeh (Mars) 3:26; 132: Corey Wilding (Upper St. Clair) maj. dec. Cody Houston (Butler), 11-0, Fillippo Crivelli (Hopewell) dec. Blaine Elliott (Knoch), 2-0; 138: William Bell (Connellsville) tech fall Xavier Bennett (Butler), 15-0; 145: Cole Landowski (Kiski) maj. dec. Austin Leon (Seneca Valley), 15-6; 160: Zach Voytek (Greensburg Salem) pinned Ryan McMahon (Mars), 4:47; 170: Ryan Hannon (Butler) pinned Daniel Walters (Greensburg Salem), 2:28, Tyler Worthing (Kiski) pinned Ben Nowicki (Knoch), 1:08; 182: Drew Phipps (Norwin) pinned Zach Weaver (Butler), 3:18; 195: Nate Grygo (Bethel Park) dec. Austin Bitzer (Mars), 6-2, Matt McCutcheon (Kiski) pinned Nick Gibson (Butler), 3:28; 220: Grant Slezak (Greensburg Salem) dec. Johan VanWyke (Mars), 5-4 (OT)