Senior Ramil Islamov finished seventh place in the wrestling state championships over the weekend.

Last year as a junior, Islamov had placed fourth in states, which was the highest placement by a wrestler in Baldwin history. He did not reach that level this year.

“I was pretty upset with myself about not finishing higher than I did last year,” Islamov said. “All year, it was my goal to become a state champ, but I did not get it done.”

In the quarterfinals, Islamov’s match went into double overtime, but he lost.

“It was an overall hard-fought match,” Islamov said. “I wrestled hard and was successful all the way until the end of the match, where I could not finish it.”

After the quarterfinals, Islamov was able to win the consolation match, which earned him a seventh-place finish in the 145-pound weight class.

“I was very patient during the match, and when I had chances to pin, I took every opportunity that I could get,” Islamov said.

Since that was Islamov’s final match of his high school career, he was glad he ended with a win.

“Although I did not get where I wanted to be, I was glad to end the season off on a pretty good note,” Islamov said.

This year, Islamov became the first WPIAL champion in Baldwin history since 1966, and the school’s all-time wins leader.

Islamov will now turn his focus to college, where he will be wrestling for West Virginia University.