HERSHEY - One step closer.

A win in the quarterfinal round of the PIAA Championships puts wrestlers on the doorstep of making it to the finals and having a chance to compete for a title.For several Times News area wrestlers, that dream is just a little bit closer to becoming a reality.Jim Thorpe's Kevan Gentile, Northwestern's Caleb Clymer and Lehighton's Connor Frey all punched their tickets to the semifinals Friday morning.Gentile powered past Benton's Joe Klock in the 106-pound quarters, posting an 11-1 major decision.The senior was aggressive off the whistle, scoring a takedown and almost immediately locking in a cradle that resulted in three back points and a 5-0 lead after the first period."It's huge," said Jim Thorpe head coach Shawn Albert. "We've been saying to him all week, and really all postseason, that he's got to score first, and that's with his takedowns. We've been very impressed with how he's been doing on his feet, whether that's with offense or defense."To get those back points really let that kid (Klock) know who was in control of the match. And it gave us confidence as coaches, too, that's for sure. To get to the second period with a 5-0 lead, that's huge, especially at this level. You see a lot of matches that end up 2-1, or 3-2, so being able to get back points is big."Gentile's semifinal match will be against a familiar foe in Chestut Ridge's Aaron Burkett. Burkett defeated Gentile in the 106-pounds quarters last season.The opportunity to wrestle for a spot in the finals will be special for a variety of reasons, as Gentile is also celebrating his 18th birthday."That win (against Klock) gives me a lot of momentum," Gentile said. "But knowing that it's my birthday today, I'll really be pushing in my next match, knowing that a win will get me to finals."Scoring early has been key for Clymer throughout the tournament.The trend continued his 145 quarterfinal match against Reynolds' Seth Hogue, as Clymer posted a 6-0 decision to move into the semis."Takedowns in the first are key, it takes a little bit of pressure off of you heading to the second period," Clymer said. "You have that chip on your shoulder going in, and it gives you confidence. Even if he gets out (in the second period), you still have that lead."It's very key in these big matches, when you know there won't be a lot of scoring. To get the first takedown is big."Clymer survived several scrambles, and converted a reversal to back points that proved to be the difference in the end."He did a really good job at the end of periods," said Northwestern head coach Jim Moll. "He got that first take down, then he got taken down but got a reversal and back points."We talk about scoring late in periods all the time, and that made a huge difference today."Frey got a takedown about a minute into his semifinal against Deven Simpson of Cambridge Springs and held on for a 3-0 decision."He's (Simpson) had like five overtime matches this year so I knew he had a lot in the tank," he said. "My gameplan going in was to get that takedown right away and I was able to ride him out. That felt good. I could have taken him down in the third but didn't want any scramble situations."Frey now knows he's guaranteed to be on the medal stand."It feels really good," said Frey. "This guarantees Lehighton a medal higher than they've had in a long time. Michael Balliet took seventh in 2009 and I took seventh last year. Now I'm guaranteed to finish top six. I'm just going to put it all out there to get to the state finals."South Park's Jake Wentzel posted a 6-0 decision over Northern Lehigh's Ryan Farber in their 160-pound quarterfinal match, while Montoursville's Garrett Hoffman pinned Palmerton's Jared Mooney in 3:19 their 182-pound quarterfinal bout.Cameron Kates of Northern Lehigh also dropped his 285-pound quarterfinal match as undefeated Jake Beistel of Southmoreland pinned the Bulldog in 1:31.Northwestern's Quentin Bernhard posted a 14-3 major decision over Warrior Run's Jeremy Hanford in his 126-pound second round consolation match.Tamaqua's Tanner McHugh got a victory in his second round consolation match at 126 via forfeit over Valley's Jihad Ratliff.Carnell Andrews earned a 7-1 decision over Northern Lehigh's Matt Schmall in a second round consolation match.Creighton Edsell of Wyalusing posted a 7-5 decision over Lehighton's Tegan Durishin.Chestnut Ridge's Morgan Deremer posted a 15-8 second round consolation win over Panther Valley's Ali Capobianco.Burrell's Anthony Marra posted a 5-0 decision over Northern Lehigh's CJ Young in their second round consolation bout at 170 pounds.