Navy commit and #1 ranked wrestler McKaden Speece

McKaden Speece has been focused on winning a state gold medal since his freshman year at Wilson. "It would mean everything. All the hard work would pay off. I can't wait for it," he told SV Sports' Paul Roberts. The Bulldogs haven't had a state champion since Mike Rudolph accomplished the feat at 138 pounds in 1982. Speece is currently ranked #1 in Pennsylvania at 172 pounds. He beat Chris Dennis of C.B. West and Barry Norman from Blair Academy to win the "Escape the Rock" tournament on January 17th. That prestigious event at Council Rock South High School included 77 teams and 50 nationally ranked wrestlers. Speece has racked up 182 career victories, the most in Wilson history. Northern Lebanon's Aaron Seidel set the all-time state record last season with 206 wins. Speece is (39-1) this year after bumping up from 145 pounds to 172. "It's going great. I have my speed still. Keeping my pace high is what wears kids out," he explained. Speece captured the District 3-3A title last year at 145. He finished fourth in the PIAA tournament. As a sophomore, Speece ended up fifth in the state at 127 pounds. He picked up a pair of forfeit wins at the BCIAA Team Championships on Friday. The Bulldogs held off Berks Catholic 34-28 to claim their fourth county crown in the past six seasons. "We showed up and showed out...the crowd was going crazy," remarked Speece. He will continue his wrestling career at Navy. "It felt like home to me as soon as I got there. I want to serve my country after," said Speece. The District 3-3A individual tournament begins on February 20th. The PIAA Championships are set for March 5th-7th at the Giant Center in Hershey. "I feel good where I'm at mentally and physically. I just gotta believe that nobody can stop me and I'm gonna prevail," replied Speece.