ORWIGSBURG A champion last year, Tamaqua's Dylan Rynkiewicz knew what to expect entering the pressure-packed second day of the Schuylkill League Wrestling Tournament.

While Lehighton's Connor Frey hadn't necessarily been in the same position, the junior still had plenty of big match experience under his belt, namely as a qualifier for the PIAA Wrestling Championships in Hershey last season.Both showed their nerve in the finals on Saturday night at Blue Mountain High School, with Rykniewicz winning his second straight gold medal and Frey claiming the title in the Indians' first year of competition in the annual tournament.Rynkiewicz went back-to-back with a 7-2 decision win over Lehighton's Tegan Durishin in the 138-pound final.The victory offered a measure of redemption for the senior, who had dropped a 7-6 decision to Durishin during Tamaqua's dual against Lehighton just last Wednesday."I knew there was a chance that we could meet in the final," Rynkiewicz said. "I just worked really hard all week to make sure that I did all I could to get back here."It feels great to know that it all paid off."For Tamaqua head coach Jon Mashack, the win validated the growth he has seen in Rynkiewicz since the start of the season."It's been like night and day," Mashack said of Rynkiewicz's progression. "His level of wrestling the physical nature of it and his confidence on the mat has gone beyond any expectation I had of him."He's really showing those skills, and I think you saw that tonight in the final. When it counts, he knows how to step up and really perform."After scoring late during their first meeting, Durishin admitted he simply wasn't able to do it again this time."He did the same things as last time," the junior said, "I just couldn't get out from the bottom."Just a few bouts later, Frey gave Lehighton its first ever Schuylkill League Tournament championship with an 18-2 (2:47) technical fall over Panther Valley's Dylan Moyer in the 182-pound final.The performance capped a dominant tournament for Frey, one he's hoping he can build on as the season moves forward."I know these are going to be a lot of the kids that I'm going to have to compete against at Districts," said Frey. "Getting a pin yesterday (Friday) and two techs today, it gives me the confidence that I can go out and wrestle with anyone."As does Lehighton head coach Dan Williams."He's just at another level right now," Williams remarked afterwards. "These are nice matches for him, but he has his goal and that is, 'What medal am I going to get out at Hershey?'"He has to go out and take care of business, and that's what he's looking to do each time out."Moyer was pleased with the improvement from last year's fourth-place finish, which also came at 182-pounds."I learned a lot from this tournament," the junior said. "I know I still have a lot to work on, but improving so much in one year really gives me a lot of confidence, and hopefully I'll just continue to get better."Moyer and Rynkiewicz weren't the only ones representing their teams in the finals, as Panther Valley's Rian Shubeck (220) and Tamaqua's Tanner McHugh (126) also advanced to championship bouts.Both settled for silver, with Shubeck dropping a 3-1 decision in sudden victory overtime to Blue Mountain's Erech Noecker and McHugh suffering an 18-5 major decision setback to Pottsville's Luke Gardner.The runner-up position was an improvement for McHugh, who took fourth last year."I feel like I'm stronger and I'm able to wrestle quicker," the junior said. "And this was a big test for me to see how I am compared to everyone else with districts coming up."Despite taking silver for the second straight year, Shubeck was just happy to be back on the mat after missing significant time with injuries."I think I'm definitely getting better," he said. "I just have to keep working and keep improving and I'll be able to make it back to states this year."Coming in with only a handful of matches to his name, the ability to wrestle through one of the tougher weight classes in the tournament gives Panther Valley coach Tim Robb confidence that Shubeck is on track to reach his ultimate goal."He is still working himself into shape, and his conditioning wasn't that bad with all things considered," Robb noted. "He has high expectations for the postseason and this was a good indicator that he isn't far from where he needs to be, but it also showed that he has a lot to work on."Led by Shubeck's runner-up finish and a total of nine place winners, Panther Valley finished the 15-team tournament, which was won by Blue Mountain, in fifth-place with 129 points.Lehighton, which had five place winners, took sixth with a total of 111.5 points.Tamaqua was 10th with 66 points, while Jim Thorpe finished 13th with 46 points.Third-place finishers from the Times News area were Jim Thorpe's Kevan Gentile (106), Panther Valley's Darren Goida (126) and Hunter Davidyock (145).Fourth-place finishers were Jim Thorpe's John Newhall (113), Lehighton's Zachary Kemmerer (126), Cody Scherer (132) and Panther Valley's Ali Capobianco (138).Fifth-place finishers included Lehighton's Nate Kemmerer (106), Panther Valley's Grant Lorskowski (160) and Tamaqua's Ty Hinkle (145).Finishing in sixth-place were Panther Valley's Hunter Kennedy (132) and Xander Kern (152).