Duncan back on mats from Spring Grove

By all accounts, Trey Duncan has had a fine season. The Spring Grove wrestling junior is 22-6 so far, competing at 140 and 145 pounds. He's part of a Rockets squad that is the No. 2 seed in the District 3, Class AAA team championships, and which dismantled Hempfield, 51-15, in its first-round matchup Tuesday.

But make no mistake, Duncan's season has been anything but routine.

The junior battled a nasty case of cauliflower ear during the early part of the season. He had his ear drained a few times, and was even was forced to spend a few days in the hospital after it got infected.

The infection thankfully cleared up, but it took Duncan a while to get back to full strength. The injury sapped his physical and mental strength.

"It was tough getting back. I lost some weight and didn't feel like myself and I lost confidence," Duncan said. "My coach helped me a lot with that. just said I have to push myself harder to get back, and it's paid off."

Watching Duncan on Tuesday, it was hard to find any lingering ill-effects. He scored a pin 2:43 into his matchup with Hempfield's Chris Cain, staking Spring Grove to an early 15-3 edge.

He's part of stacked Rockets lineup that includes Jake Verheyen (119), Dylan Wisner (152), Logan Wisner (160), Neal Grudi (189) and James Yohe (215).

Scarier? Duncan thinks undefeated Spring Grove (18-0) can still get better.

"We still haven't plateaued like we have in the past," he said. "We're excited to see how far we can go with it."