KIMBERLY — Dawson Osterhout of Declo and Broddey Cunningham of Kimberly both ended their senior wrestling seasons in a similar fashion. Both won their second straight state title, Osterhout at 220 pounds in Class 2A and Cunningham at 170 pounds in Class 3A.

But the finale to each of their careers was not without a bit of adversity. Both of them overcame that adversity, and both are Times-News co-upper weight wrestlers of the year.

Cunningham won his first state title last year and finished this season 35-1 with another championship.

“Definitely not easier,” Cunningham said of the 2019-20 season following his state championship victory. “There were injuries throughout the season, so we were battling through that stuff. It’s definitely the same work and energy that went into last season though.”

The senior fought through a knee injury that required postseason surgery. But that didn’t stop him from dominating the championship with a 12-0 major decision over Cody Tillery of Sugar-Salem.

“I was setting the tone early, which means a lot because once you get in their head, you control the match,” Cunningham said.

Cunningham signed in November to wrestle collegiately at Campbell University in Buies Creek, North Carolina. He plans to redshirt his first year there.

Osterhout also capped his final high school season with a state championship, and he had a favorable matchup against Bear Lake’s Joe Williams, who he had already beaten earlier in the year.

“I wrestled that kid a couple of times throughout the year, and it hadn’t been that close,” Osterhout said after the championship match. “I pinned him once and majored him once, so it wasn’t too bad. But I was starting to get sick and was running out of gas in that last match.”

It wasn’t a perfect match, but Osterhout got out to a good enough start and held on for a 6-3 decision, his second straight title.

“It just feels good to finally see it pay off again,” he said of the work that another title took. “It’s been a long season, but this is a great way to end it.”

Osterhout, who finished his senior season with a 54-5 record, was one of three returning Hornets who had won a state championship the year before. Dax Blackmon and Derek Matthews also came into the tournament looking to defend their titles. The team had placed second in Class 2A and had title aspirations in 2020.

Both Osterhout and Matthews were able to repeat, and Blackmon placed second in 113. Declo placed third in the state as a team.