McMillen captured that historic gold medal with a hard-fought 3-2 victory in the 126-pound finals Saturday afternoon against Bishop McDevitt senior Chase Shields.

The feat was years in the making for McMillen, who has enjoyed success at all levels of wrestling. He made it his mission to become the school’s first gold medalist when he reached the varsity a year ago as a freshman.

And, the wrestler known for racking up bonus-point victories accomplished that mission by winning three straight 3-2 matches in Hershey. McMillen scored an escape in the third period for the deciding point in all three wins in the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals.

None were bigger than the one against Shields.

After a scoreless first period in the finals, Shields escaped 10 seconds into the second period to take a 1-0 lead. McMillen then went to work and got in deep on a shot, scoring a takedown with 1:20 left in the period.

Shields escaped again just before the midway point of the period to even things at 2-2 before the pair battled on their feet the remainder of the period.

McMillen chose bottom in the third and needed just 19 seconds to get out from under the Crusader. The Viking held off Shields on his feet from there with the match ending with the two in a tie-up on the edge of the mat.

When the buzzer sounded, McMillen pumped his fists in the air and ran over and jumped into the arms of head coach Billy Dubler, who was a sixth-place medalist for the Vikings back in 1997.

“It was emotional for me. It felt real good after last year,” said McMillen. “Being there (finals) again and winning this time felt great. I usually don’t get too emotional, but after what I went through last year it felt really good to win.”

Although not his usual style, McMillen was happy with pulling out the trio of close victories to strike gold.

“I never like the score to be real close and like to score a lot of points,” said McMillen. “But, sometimes you have to see what’s there, and if nothing is there, just hold off the other guy coming at you until you can score.

“I thought I wrestled pretty well in the finals. I knew what he had coming, so I tried to defend it as much as I could. I didn’t get as many attacks as I would have liked, but I finished the one off.”

Dubler couldn’t have been more proud of his sophomore.

“It’s awesome,” said Dubler. “He’s the first one in our school history, and it couldn’t happen to a better kid. Brock knows how to win and has always been a winner since he was 8 years old. He won a PJW title and now a state title in high school.

“He’s just a student of the game. We were back at the hotel (Friday night) watching him (Shields) in his three matches on Flo. Brock is a coach’s dream. You want all 14 of your wrestlers doing that. Hopefully they can take some notes and see what this guy is doing.”

McMillen’s victory also denied Shields a state title he was desperately seeking to end his career. Shields, a four-time state medalist with a career record of 144-24, finished his career with three straight silver medals after placing sixth as a freshman.

As for McMillen, the historical aspect of his victory and what it means wasn’t lost by the Viking.

“It means a lot,” he said. “I live in a small town, a small area, so it feels good to be the first state champ there.

“I really appreciate all the support from my school and the community. It’s awesome what they’ve done for me, and I just want to thank them along with family and friends and my coaches — John (Strittmatter), Jody (Strittmatter) and Billy Dubler.”

McMillen wasn’t the only Viking to land on the podium Saturday, though as junior Cory Johnston went 4-3 on the weekend to place sixth at 220 pounds. It marked just the second time Glendale had two medalists in the same year, with the first coming in 1985.

That year Tom Ross and Jim Orichosky each placed fifth at 167 and the old unlimited division, respectively. Ross was a state runner-up the following year at 185, as he and McMillen are the only Glendale wrestlers to ever reach the state finals. They are also the only two-time state medalists in school history.

Johnston, who lost his opening bout Thursday, made an impressive run through the consolation bracket _ capturing four straight wins before losing the consy semifinals Friday night to land in the fifth-place match. He had two pins and a major decision during that pin.

Johnston fell in his fifth-place bout to Wilson’s Kolby Flank, 9-3, Saturday afternoon but still came away with his first medal by placing sixth.

Flank hit a big five-point move in the final 10 seconds of the first period to go up 5-0, and the Viking was never able to recover from there. Johnston scored three escapes in the match, two in the third period.

“It was pretty special to come in for the first time and get a medal,” said Johnston. “I was just pleased to have the opportunity to wrestle in here and I gave it my all and was able to end up on the podium.

“I went hard in the match before the blood round and then in the blood round (to guarantee himself a medal) and gave everything I had.

“Next year I want to be a state champ. That’s been my goal every since I was a little kid, and I’m glad I was here with Brock to wrestle with him and watch his achieve his goal of becoming a state champ.”

“Coming back from injury last year and placing fifth at districts to make regionals was a nice stepping stone for him (Johnston),” said Dubler. “Then, he put in more work in the offseason and he had better luck with no injuries in football and here he is.

“I knew he was one of the top guys in the state, and he wants to be a state champion next year. After placing sixth as a junior, he’s on the right track. Everything he’s doing is the right stuff, he just has to stay consistent.”

After qualifying five wrestlers to states the past two season and coming away with three medals — including gold and silver by McMillen — Dubler is excited about putting the Glendale program back on the map at the state level even if some still haven’t heard of Glendale.

“It’s funny, one of fans asked Coach Dudurich if we dropped down from Class AAA,” said Dubler. “We were like, ‘if there was a single A we wouldn’t even be that.’ We got to be one of smaller schools in the state for what we’re doing.

“We’re getting the most out of the kids and definitely back on the map, and I think people are going to hear from us for a while. All the guys who were down here this year are coming back, and all their teammates are still working hard now.

“We shouldn’t be satisfied though. There’s no reason we shouldn’t be in that team title hunt (in future). It going to take a lot of work, but if the guys commit and put in the time, it’s doable.”