WEST LAWN - For many wrestlers, the regional tournament is a steppingstone.

It's the last stop to what many hope is their final destination, which is the state tournament in Hershey.But in order to get to there, all those with postseason aspirations must navigate the frequently treacherous first night of the Southeast Regional tournament.Several wrestlers from the Times News area were able to do just that, as nine advanced to today's semifinals, while many others are still alive in the consolation bracket.Jim Thorpe's Kevan Gentile continued his torrid start to the postseason.After winning the District 11 Class AA title at 106 pounds last week in dominant fashion, Gentile cruised into the semis with two pins - both in under a minute.The senior took down Hamburg's Shane Strausser in the first round in 55 seconds and dispatched Bermudian Springs' Landon West in 58 seconds."I feel great knowing that I won my first two," said Gentile. "I know that I have a target on my back but I'm still going to try to fulfill my goals."Gentile is the only returning regional champion from the area and his dominant performance Friday left little doubt as whether or not he is ready to go back-to-back."He's focused right now," said Jim Thorpe head coach Shawn Albert. "He's determined. He wants to win this tournament and move on."We'll come back tomorrow morning and wrestle the semis and go from there."Lehighton's Connor Frey, Northern Lehigh's Ryan Farber and Northwestern's Caleb Clymer were all regional finalists a year ago. And all three made another appearance a possibility by advancing to the semis.Frey had a first-round bye at 195 pounds and made quick work of Bermudian Springs' Logan Luckenbaugh in the quarters, pinning his counterpart in 2:12."I'm healthy and got a pin," said Frey. "It's a steppingstone, for sure; live to see another day."I'm just taking it one match at a time, one move at a time and one period at a time."Clymer withstood an early attack from Littlestown's Carl Harris before advancing to the 145 semis by pinning his counterpart."I knew he was going to be strong in the first period," said Clymer. "I knew that if I could make it out of the first, maybe into the second period I'd get him in the third."After pinning Bermudian Springs' Ashton West in the first round, Clymer, who is still battling an ailing hip, is motivated to come back and finish the job."I have a little bit of a chip on my shoulder now going into it," he said. "So it feels good. I almost feel like I have a little bit of momentum going into tomorrow."Farber, who won the district title with a 1-0 decision in last week's final, put points on the board in his quarterfinal bout against Schuylkill Valley's Teddy Limberiou, posting a 14-7 decision to advance to the semis."It was good to score a lot of points, but most of my match was sloppy," Farber said. "I'm a little unhappy with that. But I'll take the win and move into the semifinals. It takes a little bit of the pressure off knowing that I already qualified for states."All those that advanced to the semis are guaranteed to advance to states, as they can finish no lower than fourth and the top six advance to next week's PIAA Championships.Farber will be joined by two teammates in Hershey, as Matt Schmall (138) and Cameron Kates (285) both advanced to the semifinals."It's a big weight off my shoulders knowing that I'm locked into states," said Kates, who pinned Hamburg's Dalton Gromlich in 1:16 to reach the semis. "There was a lot of pressure. But I knew that kid (Gromlich) was thinking the same thing as me - just win this match and get to states."It feels really good."Lehighton's Wyatt Clements (220), Northwestern's Quentin Bernhard (126) and Palmerton's Jared Mooney (182) also advanced to the semifinals.STILL ALIVE… A number of wrestlers will be coming back today in the consolation bracket. Lehighton's Tegan Durishin (145) and Zach Kemmerer (120); Northern Lehigh's Seth Fronheiser (113), Colton Rex (120) and CJ Young (170); Northwestern's Baily Wehr (120), Jarett White (132) and David VanBlargan (152); and Tamaqua's Tanner McHugh (126) and Ty Hinkle (145) will are all still in contention for a medal and a trip to next week's state tournament.WORTH THE WAIT… McHugh's first round consolation win was a special one. The junior pinned Pope John Paul II's Nick Boyce to claim his 100th career victory. "It's going to make me a lot more relaxed, just knowing that weight is off my shoulders," McHugh said. "Everyone's been talking about it. But it gives me a lot of momentum heading into tomorrow and it's a great feeling."BACK AT IT. … Action will resume today at 9:30 a.m. with the second round of consolation matches, which will be followed by the semifinals at 11 a.m. The Parade of Champions is scheduled for 4:40 p.m. and will be followed by the first, third and fifth place matches, which are scheduled to take place from 5 p.m. to 7:45 p.m.