The future of Princeton wrestling is looking bright.

A pair of Princeton Logan Junior High School eighth-grade wrestlers - Hawk Amy and Eric Giaquinto - captured IESA State championships on Saturday at the Convocation Center on the campus of Northern Illinois University in DeKalb.

They were both excited to win together.

“Winning the State tournament with one of my best friends was amazing. We have worked hard together for a long time and to be able to win it with him is something I will never forget,” Amy said. “I would like to thank all of my coaches for believing in me, especially my dad who has been with me my whole journey. And seeing all of my closest friends cheering for me and Eric in the stands was pretty cool.”

Giaquinto said it was a moment he will never forget.

“Winning state in wrestling was one of the most exciting moments of my life. After months of hard practices, tough matches, and pushing through exhaustion, all the work finally paid off,” he said. “When the referee raised my hand, I felt an incredible rush of pride and happiness. Knowing that I had reached my goal and represented my team and school at the highest level made the victory even more meaningful.”

Amy won the 126-pound division, defeating Jax Alderin of Rockridge by tech fall at 3:16. He gave up only two points in four matches, opening with a 6-1 win over Luke Henson before defeating Anthony Feole of Fairview Heights Grant 7-0 and a fall at 3:26 over Alex Thompson of Rock Island Jordan Catholic.

Giaquinto landed the gold at at 155 pounds by fall at 1:37 over Clayton Bush of Camp Point Central. He allowed just one point on the way to the title with a 13-0 major decision over Brantley Crumley of Petersburg PORTA, a fall at 0:46 over Manuel Rodriquez of Beardstown and a fall at 0:56 over Zyler Pozos of Forrest Prairie Central in the semifinals.

PHS coach Steve Amy was proud of his future Tigers.

“Those two have worked really hard for a long time to get where they are at,” said. Steve Amy, a two-time IKWF State champion at Rockridge. “I’m proud of what they have accomplished and can’t wait to see what they accomplish in the future.”

Four years ago, Casey Etheridge (first) and Augustus Swanson (third) medaled together for Logan and went on to capture IHSA State runner-up finishes for PHS this year.