The two words were much better to hear than the dreaded three letters.

"I really just didn't want the doctor to say (torn) ACL," said Faith Christian junior standout wrestler Gauge Botero. "That probably would have cost me the whole season and would have been tough to take.

"When the doctor said it was a torn meniscus, I felt better because I knew I could come back from it."

Botero, a Lansdale resident who won the school's first PIAA Class 2A title last season (winning at 121 pounds and about an hour before teammate Adam Waters also won in Hershey at 172), not surprisingly, injured his right knee while wrestling.

Gauge Botero needed surgery

"It was right before Thanksgiving," Botero said. "My leg just got bent in a weird way and I had to have surgery.

"But I feel 100 percent and I'm ready to wrestle. No excuses and I'm just glad to be back on the mat."

Botero returned to competition in early January and hasn't missed a beat.

He's already 17-0 and has over 100 career wins (105).

His most impressive victory this season is an 11-4 triumph over Bethlehem Catholic's Keanu Dillard, a PIAA Class 3A champ last season at 107, in the finals of the Escape The Rock tournament at Council Rock South.

Faith Christian's Botero excels in classroom, on mat

"Gauge has earned everything that he's gotten," Faith Christian head coach Ben Clymer said.

"Academically, he does really, really well and his wrestling speaks for itself. Third in the state as a freshman and a state champ last season. That's just really impressive and a testament to the hard work he puts in."

Botero's accomplishments haven't gone unnoticed as he recently committed to wrestling in college at the University of Michigan, the No. 11 team in the country.

"I felt like getting the chance to wrestle in the Big Ten was my best bet," Botero said.

"I was looking at the University of Pennsylvania, Pitt and Rutgers (another Big Ten program), but Michigan was just the best fit academically and with wrestling."

Faith's Bachmann is nation's best: This 15-year-old wrestler from Upper Bucks County is ranked No. 1 in the nation

Michigan campus was love at first sight

"I visited when they were playing football against Purdue at night and was on the field and you look up and see all of that maize and blue — it was really something. Picking a college was something I wanted to get out of the way and it's a big weight off my shoulders.

"Now, I can concentrate on this season and trying to win another state title."

Individual rankings

(records through Feb. 2)

Here's our third individual rankings of the season as we inch closer and closer to the start of the postseason.

And that postseason begins in earnest with the PIAA district tournaments the weekend of Feb. 23-24 followed by regionals the following week and then the PIAA tournament in Hershey the first weekend of March.

(The private schools have their Pennsylvania prep state tournament at Germantown Academy Feb. 16-17 followed by National Preps at Lehigh University the following weekend).)

Here we go:

107 pounds

1. Joey Bachmann (25-0), Faith Christian, freshman

2. Colby Martinelli (6-1), Pennridge, junior

3. Dominick Morrison (35-2), Hatboro-Horsham, freshman

4. Alexander Diaz (30-9), Council Rock North, senior

5. Thomas Boyce (25-7), Conwell-Egan, freshman

Notes: Morrison's only losses, both by decision, have come against Bachmann (the No. 1-ranked wrestler in the nation at his weight, and Martinelli, who was third in Hershey in Class 3A last season). ... Boyce hits the rankings for the first time, and not the last, after an impressive win over La Salle High's Jackson Hersh in the Philadelphia Catholic League title match last week.

Conwell-Egan's Robson leads the way: Conwell-Egan's Robson provides uncommon leadership for wrestling program

114 pounds

1. (tie) Jack Baron (25-5), Germantown Academy, sophomore

(tie) Kole Davidheiser (5-7), Faith Christian, sophomore

(tie) Connor Lenahan (30-7), Council Rock South, senior

(tie) Marco Loss (22-10), Council Rock North, sophomore

5. Jeff Spofford (19-5), Conwell-Egan, junior

Notes: Lenahan is two wins shy of 100 for his career.

121 pounds

1. Gauge Botero (17-0), Faith Christian, junior

2. Kevin Bagnell (23-6), Conwell-Egan, senior

3. Cole Coffin (23-8), Pennridge, senior

4. Luke Reitter (26-7), Council Rock South, senior

Notes: Botero recently reached the century mark in career wins and is now at 105. Same for Coffin, who has 107 career wins, and Reitter, too, now at 105.

127 pounds

1. Anthony Mutarelli (31-3), Council Rock South, junior

2. Mason Ziegler (30-3), Quakertown, junior

3. Quinn McBride (15-7), Pennridge, sophomore

4. John Luchansky (25-7), Pennsbury, senior

5. Pierce Kane (24-11), Council Rock North, sophomore

6. Colin Walther (22-8), Conwell-Egan, freshman

Notes: Ziegler, a PIAA Class 3A runner-up last season, is three wins shy of a whopping 150 for his career.

133 pounds

1. Eren Sement (28-7), Council Rock North, junior

2. Charlie Robson (22-2), Conwell-Egan, senior

3. Chris Dennis (23-2), Central Bucks West, sophomore

4. Pat Woloshyn (29-8), Council Rock South, sophomore

139 pounds

1. Mason Wagner (18-7), Faith Christian, sophomore

2. Patrick Kelly (24-3), Central Bucks West, junior

3. Steven Harris (27-5), Conwell-Egan, senior

4. Jake Neill (20-5), Central Bucks South, senior

5. Jonny O'Brien (25-3), North Penn, sophomore

6. Ajay Bhatt (24-9), Council Rock South, senior

Notes: ​Neill edged O'Brien 2-0 in sudden victory in last week's dual meet.

145 pounds

1. Chase Hontz (26-7), Faith Christian, junior

2. Gavin Carroll (27-6), Quakertown, junior

3. Christopher Staub (28-8), Hatboro-Horsham, senior

Notes: Hontz is four wins shy of 100 for his career.

Pennsbury's Kean stayed the course: Dogged determination the difference for Pennsbury's Kean, continuing a family tradition

152 pounds

1. Collin Gaj (27-4), Quakertown, junior

2. Max Stein (26-7), Faith Christian, junior

3. Sam Kuhns (25-4), Pennridge, senior

4. (tie) Beknazar Baiyshbekov (17-2), Neshaminy, junior, and Michael Cliver (15-7), North Penn, senior

Notes: Stein earned his 100^th career win in late January.

160 pounds

1. Cael Weidemoyer (10-1), Faith Christian, sophomore

2. Nick Singer (15-8), Faith Christian, freshman

3. Luke Sugalski (27-13), Germantown Academy, junior

4. Daniel Haubert (29-5), Palisades, senior

5. Gavin Cole (29-6), Council Rock South, junior

Notes: No, it's not a typo. Singer has shared time in the Faith Christian lineup with Weidemoyer and notched impressive wins over both Sugalski and Haubert at the recent Coal Cracker Invitational.

172 pounds

1.  Adam Waters (28-4), Faith Christian, sophomore

2. Bek Sadriddinov (29-3), Council Rock South, senior

3. Talan Hogan (21-6), Pennridge, junior

4. Cormac Morrissey (30-5), La Salle High, senior

Notes: Morrissey recently reached 100 career wins and now has 101.

189 pounds

1. Dante Burns (16-4), Conwell-Egan, senior

2. Cody Wagner (22-8), Faith Christian, senior

3. (tie) Kole Lester (23-9), Souderton, senior, and Ben Primich (23-2), Pennsbury, senior

5. Dylan Clair (17-4), La Salle High, junior

215 pounds

1. Jason Singer (27-8), Faith Christian, sophomore

2. Reagan McCullough (21-3), Central Bucks East, senior

3. Riley Cullen (18-6), Pennridge, senior

4. Michael McCormick (14-4), Souderton, sophomore

Notes: McCullough jumps ahead of Cullen after pinning him in a dual meet last week.

285 pounds

1. Calvin Lachman (31-3), Quakertown, senior

2. Joe Collins (22-1), Central Bucks East, senior

3. Mark Effendian (27-8), Faith Christian, sophomore

4. Andrew Brennan (29-5), La Salle High, senior

5. Chase Washington (9-2), Pennridge, senior

Notes: Lachman picked up an impressive 3-1 win over Kennett's John Pardo in late January. Pardo was a third-place finisher in Class 3A in Hershey last season. Collins, who now has 101 career wins, suffered his only loss of the season to Pardo.

See the previous rankings here: CR South's Mutarelli happy to be back home. Check out our latest wrestling rankings

Drew Markol: dmarkol@theintell.com; @dmarkol

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Gauge Botero back in big way; Bucks County area wrestling rankings