HERSHEY - It was a moment Kevan Gentile had been waiting for.

A year after losing to Chestnut Ridge's Aaron Burkett in the quarterfinals at the PIAA Championships, the Jim Thorpe senior made amends.Gentile made the most of the rematch, claiming a 7-0 decision in Friday night's 106-pounds semifinals of the Class AA tournament to secure his spot in today's finals."Kevan did exactly what we talked to him about," said Jim Thorpe head coach Shawn Albert. "He knew that he needed to stay aggressive on his feet and he did that his own way."With the score deadlocked at 0-0 heading to the third period, Gentile got an escape and took control of the match with a takedown and two back points."For the most part, for two straight periods, we took it to him, gave it our best effort and that put us where we needed to be heading to the third period," said Albert. "Kevan got that escape. But those back points were huge. Bonus points are unbelievable. You could see it in their coaches; you could see it in Aaron (Burkett). He's a hell of a wrestler (but it changed the match)."The key? Gentile stayed aggressive."When I wrestle all six minutes, good things happen," said Gentile. "It helped to know a little bit of what he was doing, but I just tried to work what I know and go off what he gave me."But I just kept pushing the pace."While Gentile used prior experience on offense, he also used it to keep Burkett off the scoreboard."We knew Burkett would try to get a two on one on us, he's really good at that, getting that single leg and eventually getting a double," said Albert. "But Kevan reacted well and got offensive and we played good defense."Coming off dominant district and regional championship wins, Gentile has been on a mission to finish his career with a state title. The senior gets that chance today against Southern Columbia's Jaret Lane, the Northeast Regional champion who entered the tournament 43-1."I'm so excited," said Gentile. "I'm just going to wrestle and stay focused on what I need to do."After moving into the semis earlier in the day, Northwestern's Caleb Clymer and Lehighton's Connor Frey were unable to advance to the finals.Clymer, who has been dealing with an injury for much of the season, tweaked it earlier in the day and was forced to forfeit his 145-pound semifinal bout and his fifth round consolation match. The sophomore is unlikely to compete today and stands to finish sixth.Frey dropped a tough 3-1 decision to Jefferson-Morgan's Bill Bowlen in the 195 semis, but bounced back and picked up a 4-0 decision over Chestnut Ridge's Conner Buttry in his fifth round consolation match.Frey will face Greenville's Blake Reynolds for third."I had a lot of nerves, wrestled tentatively and didn't go for my shots," Frey said of his semifinal match. "But I got a lot of texts from friends, family and teachers saying they were all behind me and I'm motivated to go for third."Against Buttry, Frey showed no ill effects of the earlier loss, scoring early and controlling the match."I knew he was going to be tough, but in the first period I went out there and got that little bit of a sweep to a double, so that felt good taking him down," he said. "I reversed him the first 10 seconds and rode him out (in the second period) and I think that got in his head a little bit knowing that he couldn't score."I executed my game plan and that's why I won. I have one more to go and I want to leave on a winning note."Northern Lehigh's Ryan Farber picked up a 3-2 decision over South Allegheny's Cody Jenkins in his fourth round consolation match at 160 pounds. The junior lost a 5-3 decision to Berlin Bros. Braden Fochtman in his fifth round consolation match and will come back today to wrestle for fifth.Palmerton's Jared Mooney and Tamaqua's Tanner McHugh both suffered fourth round consolation round losses and will be return today to wrestle for seventh.Mooney was pinned by Meyersdale's Christian Hutzell in 2:25 at 182 pounds, while McHugh dropped a 5-3 decision to Redbank Valley's Tanner Altobelli at 126."I'm extremely proud of him," said Palmerton head coach Justin Petersen. "It never ends with him. I've been able to see him grow since eighth grade when I was an assistant coach."Everyday I see minute changes. It's a credit to how hard he works and how coachable he is. He listens to every single thing you say and takes it in and implements it. It's really gratifying as a coach."Though disappointed with the loss, Mooney has made steady progress after losing both of his matches at the state tournament a year ago."I feel like I've made a lot of progress after going 0-2 last year," he said. "Knowing that I'm coming back tomorrow to wrestle for a medal is great."Also a junior, McHugh has been impressive in his first state tournament and is looking forward to getting a chance to finish the event with a win."It feels good," he said. "Even though I just lost a close one, I know these top-8 are all the best in the state and you're going to have these tough matches here."But I just want to come back tomorrow and take seventh."Action will resume for Class AA wrestlers with the Parade of Champions at 1:45 p.m., which will be followed by the championship finals and third, fifth and seventh-place matches.