Brian Letters faced some of the top scholastic wrestlers in the country in a recent appearance with a Pennsylvania All-Star Team at the USA Wrestling Junior National Duals, which took place June 27-July 2 at Enid, Okla.

Letters, who recently completed his junior year at Fox Chapel Area High School, posted a 6-3 record while competing at 160 pounds, which included four matches against nationally ranked opponents.

Two of the four nationally ranked opponents are graduating seniors, while the other two are seniors-to-be, like Letters.

"I beat the top ranked [senior-to-be] in that weight class," said Letters, referring to his come-from-behind victory against Mike Benefiel of Illinois. "He caught me in the first period and turned me several times, but I won the next two periods by one point each."

Benefiel, who wrestles for Lombard High in Illinois, is ranked No. 5 in the country at 152 pounds by WIN Magazine, but is the only underclassman in the top five. He has since moved to 160 pounds, along with California's Jason Welch, a junior-to-be from Las Lomas High who is ranked No. 12. Letters also fell behind and made a comeback in his match with Welch, but his rally came up short.

"I may have lost a few matches, but all three were by a narrow margin," said Letters.

Letters also faced a pair of graduating seniors who are ranked at 160. He was defeated by Ohio's David Rella, of Walsh Jesuit High, losing both periods by only one point. He also lost to Paul Young, of Indiana's Bloomington South High. Rella is ranked No. 1 and Young is No. 8.

"The experience I gained wrestling in Oklahoma gave me a taste of what I might face at Junior Nationals," said Letters, referring to the individual championships scheduled for Monday through July 31 in Fargo, N.D. "But I may not face any of those kids at Fargo."

That's because Letters will be dropping to 152 for Junior Nationals.

"I didn't want to cut weight for both tournaments, but I did want to wrestle at 152 in the individual championships," said Letters, who is making his second trip to Fargo. "I placed seventh in freestyle last year at Fargo in Cadets. Juniors are much better, but I think I can do as well if not better this time."

Letters is a three-year starter at Fox Chapel who has compiled a 115-13 record. He broke into the Foxes starting lineup as a 125-pound freshman and finished third in the WPIAL Class AAA tournament, then posted a 1-2 record at the PIAA tourney and finished with a 38-4 record.

Letters moved up to 135 as a sophomore and finished third in the WPIAL again, thus earning a second trip to Hershey. He made a quick exit from the state tournament after two straight losses.

"I didn't do very well in either appearance in Hershey," said Letters. "I'll just have to work harder."

Letters moved up to 152 last season and claimed a third section title, but fell short of a PIAA berth after finishing fourth in the WPIAL after being seeded first.

"It was me beating myself up," said Letters. "I just put too much pressure on myself and just shut down. I let it get to me. I learned a lesson that cost me a trip to Hershey."

Letters is also beginning the process of choosing a college, but hasn't made much progress. He will most likely wait until after the high school season, and he plans to compete at 160.