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HERSHEY - Every wrester enters the PIAA Championships with dreams of winning a state title.

But in order to get to the top step of the podium, one must get through the often times treacherous first round of the Class AA tournament.

Though the task is an unenviable one, winning that crucial bout can go a long way toward determining future success at the three-day event.

With victories in hand, the prospects look much brighter when it comes to achieving that ultimate goal for a number of Times News are wrestlers.

Jim Thorpe's Kevan Gentile, Lehighton's Connor Frey, Northern Lehigh's Ryan Farber and Cameron Kates, Northwestern's Caleb Clymer and Palmerton's Jared Mooney all punched their tickets to Friday's quarterfinals with first round triumphs Thursday.

Several of the aforementioned first round matches were decided with little time left on the clock.

Northern Lehigh's Ryan Farber and Palmerton's Jared Mooney both scored with under 20 second remaining, while Kates needed overtime to move on.

With time winding down and Farber trailing 3-2, the senior took advantage of an opening to secure a 5-3 decision over Port Allegany's Mac Tanner in his 160-pound first round match.

"It feels good to get the win," Farber said. "I'm one step closer to my ultimate goal, so it feels good.

"I just kept pushing the pace and pushing the action and a hole opened up and I took it and got the two points."

Mooney's situation was similar.

The junior was down 3-2 in his 182-pound bout against Penn Cambria's Jacob Driskel before securing a cradle and picking up back points to move on with a 7-3 decision.

"It was there and I took it," Mooney said. "I rolled back with it and put him on his back."

Despite being down, Mooney and Palmerton head coach Justin Petersen still believed the match was far from over.

"He got in on a lot of shots. He was definitely pushing the action the whole time," Petersen said. "And that's what we preach to him. He's got great conditioning, so we're always confident that if we're within a few points in the third period, usually the other guy will be gassed and we can take advantage of that.

"You could definitely see that Jared was in a better position."

Kates earned a measure of revenge against Wyalusing's Dawson Otis in his 285-pound first round match.

After falling to Otis 3-2 in the ultimate rideout period of last year's PIAA Team Championships, Kates turned the tables and came out on top with a 2-1 overtime victory Thursday.

"I knew it was going to be a tough match," Kates said. "He beat me last year. I knew coming in it would be tough, but it feels good.

"I knew it would come down to the flip of the coin because at heavyweight, whoever gets to choose bottom normally wins. When I got that first point (in overtime) I knew that as long as I could hold him off and not let him take me down that I would win the match."

Clymer's triumph was no less impressive, as the sophomore earned a 7-1 decision over Wyalusing's Collin Edsell, who entered with a 43-1 record and a Northeast Regional championship.

But Clymer, still battling a hip injury, got the first points and never looked back.

"He took fourth at states last year. He's good. I knew who he was," Clymer noted. "I knew what I had to do and the upset was what I needed and that's what I got.

"I had to get the first takedown, that's always key for me. As soon as I did that, and got the two back points, I felt comfortable. I got more back points in the third period and that sealed the deal."

Gentile and Frey continued dominant seasons with impressive first round wins. Gentile pinned Penn Cambria's Chase Proudfit in 57 seconds at 106 pounds, while Frey topped Burrell's Robert Scherer with a 7-3 decision at 195.

STILL DANCING. … All 13 Times News wrestlers that qualified for the tournament will come back on Friday.

Though they're not in the quarterfinals, seven area grapplers will continue chasing a medal in the consolation bracket.

Tamaqua's Tanner McHugh suffered a 19-4 (5:55) first round loss by technical fall to Reynolds' Cole Matthews. Northwestern's Quentin Bernhard suffered a similar fate at 126, dropping an 18-5 major decision to Central Cambria's Max Murin in the first round.

At 138 pounds, Northern Lehigh's Matt Schmall was pinned by Warrior Run's Zack LeBarron in 4:27 in the first round. Schmall's teammate, CJ Young, also lost by fall at 170 pounds, getting pinned by Saegertown's Cody Mulligan in 4:30 in the first round.

Lehighton's Wyatt Clements pushed Scranton Prep's Thor Balavage, the Northeast Regional champion, to his limits before dropping a 2-1 decision in the first round.

Lehighton's Tegan Durishin and Panther Valley's Ali Capobianco, who both lost preliminary round matches, stayed alive with wins in the first round of consolation matches.

Durishin picked up an 11-3 major decision over Penns Valley's Jalen Hurd at 145 pounds, while Capobianco grabbed an 8-6 decision over Shamokin's Jacob Carpenter at 152.

Action will resume for the Class AA tournament Friday morning with quarterfinals and second round consolations at 9 a.m., followed by third round consolations at 11:45 a.m.