Andrew Gunning's older brother was an accomplished wrestler at Liberty High School who placed third in the state as a senior last season.

Jake Gunning is now a redshirt freshman on the University of Buffalo wrestling team.

He was in attendance at the Bethlehem Holiday Wrestling Classic on Monday evening to watch his younger sibling do something he was unable to do: capture a BHWC tournament title.

Andrew Gunning, a junior, finished first at 220 pounds in the 26-team, two-day event at Liberty's Memorial Gym. Gunning was one of two wrestlers from the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference to win individual titles. Nazareth sophomore Travis Stefanik claimed the 145-pound championship.

Wyoming Seminary Prep crowned four champs and easily won the team title with 272.5 points.

Phillipsburg finished second with 198. Brandon Paetzell (113) and Max Elling (160) won titles for the Stateliners, who have one of the top teams in New Jersey.

Gunning was locked in a spirited duel in the 220-pound final with Wyoming Seminary's Harrison Nye when he hit the winning takedown in the final 10 seconds. Gunning, who placed seventh as a sophomore, turned a 3-2 deficit into a 4-3 win.

"I wasn't really aware of the time until I looked up and there were only 14.5 seconds left," he said. "I thought there were at least 30 seconds left. I was like, 'Oh shoot, I need to get going.' I didn't want to shoot too early so I waited for the right time."

Liberty coach Jody Karam said that, like his older brother, Andrew Gunning has a knack of coming through in the clutch.

"I was on him pretty hard to get going. He wrestles similar to his brother in that he's very smart strategically and is very timely," Karam said. "This is a major step for Andrew. It'll be beneficial for his confidence."

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Liberty's Gunning, Nazareth's Stefanik win titles at Bethlehem Holiday Wrestling Classic