In his fourth season as a varsity wrestler, Austin Acquard has high expectations with the postseason looming.

And the junior has proven he has the ability to accomplish those goals.

Acquard has shown signs of greatness throughout his varsity career, and he seems to be on the verge of much more.

“It’s been going pretty good,” Acquard said. “I lost a few tough matches, but I’m just taking it one match at a time and trying to get better.”

Acquard knows all about the state tournament. He got there in the 96-pound weight class as a freshman and won a match.

Although the competition has gotten tough as he moves up in weight classes, he has the talent to wrestle with the best of them.

“Austin has always been pretty dominant,” Chiefs’ coach Pat Lloyd said. “He’s been dominant for years. But sometimes Austin is his biggest enemy.

“He always wants to wrestle; he loves wrestling. But when he wrestles smart, he’s a top wrestler. When he wants to let other things in his head, have kids take him out of the match, he can have a different outcome.”

Acquard’s ability to dominate was on full display in the Sweet Home Tournament as the Iroquois standout owned the 120-pound bracket with four first-period pins.

He pinned four opponents in a total of 2 minutes, 50 seconds, including a stop of Tyler Mack of Starpoint in 1:09 in the championship match.

With that, he became the second straight Chief to win the Aggregate Pin Award at that event, following the lead of state champion Jim Kloc a year ago.

And Acquard readily admits he was targeting that award.

“I was trying to get it when I looked at the bracket,” Acquard said. “That’s something I’ve wanted to get for a long time.”

And a spot on the podium — preferably the top one — at the state tournament is the biggest of his goals.

He hopes to have a shot at the Times Union Center in Albany for the Feb. 22-23 state tournament. And the sky seems to be the limit as long as he wrestles his match.

“We’re working with him to have him wrestle his match, not let him get frustrated with calls,” Lloyd said. “But he’s really tough and we’re expecting a lot out of him.”