ADAMS TWP — Alex Hornfeck does whatever it takes to stave off the boredom and complacency that sometimes try to pervade his mind.

The Mars 106-pound freshman wrestler knows his biggest mental challenge lies ahead of him.

Hornfeck will try to protect a match win streak that stretches over 20 in length heading into the WPIAL Section 3-AAA wrestling championship Saturday at Fox Chapel.

“I just keep practicing,” said Hornfeck, who is 27-3. “Even if it’s boring sometimes, you can’t cheat yourself and need to wrestle hard.”

Hornfeck will be one of many young Butler County wrestlers looking to make an impact at their first section tournament.

Most of the county teams feature young lineups.

Butler senior John Bojanac (220 pounds) was the only area wrestler to grab a top seed.

Butler sophomore Scotty Dietrich is seeded second at 126 pounds. The only returning section champ — Seneca Valley senior Austin Leon — is the third seed at 170 pounds.

Mars in particular is undergoing a youth movement.

The Planets have six freshman — Hornfeck, Max Pasquinelli (113 pounds), Aiden Leshinsky (126), Robert Crawford (132) and Ryan Swann (145) — ready to chase their first WPIAL bids. Mars also has four sophomores entered into the section tournament.

“With freshmen, they aren’t used to wrestling high school at the beginning of the year,” Mars coach Jason Wilk said. “They’ve made the necessary adjustments and are moving in the right direction.”

Hornfeck and Planets sophomore Noah Wright, who is seeded second at 152 pounds, have been especially moving in the right direction.

Continued progress could have them both making a run at the Mars record book.

They are tied with a team-high 27 wins and should they continue at that pace could approach Steve Perri (93-36) and Adam Smetana (93-16) for the school’s all-time wins record.

At 106 pounds, Hornfeck is seeded fifth and is behind three other freshmen in the weight class.

Seneca Valley’s Louis Newell has the second seed. Wilk likes Hornfeck’s chances.

“I have a good feeling about it,” Wilk said. “Obviously, looking at his record, he’s having a good year. He’s won 22 or 23 matches in a row. He’s wrestling really tough and I think he’s ready to go.”

Hornfeck believes the key is finding the right mental approach. In the matches Hornfeck lost, he doesn’t feel he wrestled his hardest.

That’s why he’s been focused on being proactive.

“When I’m tired, I don’t stop trying,” Hornfeck said. “I push myself. In the tough matches, I’m going to be tired. I need to always be prepared for that.”