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Westfield High School senior Austin Fallon could feel the target on his back for most of the year. Being the returning AAA Virginia 189-pound champion this season, the Bulldog grappler knew that opponents were gunning for him. He felt that pressure throughout his senior campaign, as he prepared for each of his 53 matches this season.

There's one place for Fallon, however, where there wasn't any pressure -- where the weight of defending a state title didn't weigh heavily on his shoulders.

"It all goes away when I get out on the mat," said Fallon, who will wrestle for Bucknell University next year. "I'm just wrestling."

This season, Fallon has wrestled his way to a 52-1 record, a Northern Region championship, and -- after Saturday's AAA Virginia state championship meet at Robinson Secondary School -- a second-consecutive state crown.

"I felt pressure before, but not during the match. [It was] my last high school match; I just wanted to have fun," Fallon said after defeating Deep Creek's Charles Arnold, 7-0, in Saturday's title match. "It feels great."

Fallon's repeat state championship is a first for the Westfield wrestling program, now in its 10th year. Westfield, which won its third consecutive Northern Region title last Wednesday night, finished third in the overall team competition at the state tournament with 79.5 points, an improvement over its sixth-place finish last season.

"The whole year, we have been setting our sights on this," said Westfield head coach Chuck Hoskins after the Bulldogs' region win. "We've committed ourselves to this."

At the region tournament, all 14 of the Bulldogs' wrestlers placed, with 10 advancing to the region's championship match.

"It was remarkable," said Hoskins of the Bulldogs' region success. "I have never seen anything like it. I am actually speechless."

The Bulldogs had six wrestlers medal at the state tournament, with 140-pounder Kyle Arnold placing third and 130-pounder John Orchard-Hays finishing sixth.

Fallon wasn't the only Northern Region wrestler to earn a second title. Robinson sophomore Jacob Crawford won the 130-pound title with a 6-2 victory over Michael Chalfant of Frank W. Cox High. Crawford, who won an AA title as a freshman at Millbrook, said his second championship is just as sweet.

"It's a great feeling to win a second state title," he said. "It was my goal from the beginning of the year. I'm just happy that it all paid off."

Last year, Crawford needed overtime to pick up a 7-5 victory over Tony Gravely of Magna Vista.

"This one wasn't as close, but they both feel great," he said. "Hopefully I get two more."

Crawford, who finishes the year with a 45-2 record, outscored opponents 42-3 in his four matches during the state tournament.

"He knows how to win," said Robinson head coach Bryan Hazard. "You can't teach knowing how to win. He's got a nose for it. He's just darn good. He's grown a lot because he is wrestling some of his toughest matches in our room."

The host Rams took second in the overall team competition behind Frank W. Cox and ahead of Concorde District rival Westfield.

The Rams had nine wrestlers place in the top six, with Dallas Smith earning second at 103, Jake Smith third at 112, Mickey Bennett third at 145, Roman Perryman fourth at 135, and Wes Jones fourth at 160.

"You place nine in the state tournament, that's something," said Hazard, who added that it was that much more exciting being able to do it on their home mat.

"It's big, and hopefully one day we will [host this tournament] again and we'll be carrying the bigger trophy," he said.

AAA Virginia State Championships

Overall Team:

1. Frank W.Cox - 177.5

2. Robinson - 129.5

3. Westfield - 79.5

4. Kellam - 77

5. Hopewell - 75

6. Colonial Forge - 72.5

7. James River - 72

8. Hanover - 56

9. Franklin County - 52.5

10. Matoaca - 52