BETHLEHEM - Just call them marathon men.

Three matches. One day.And almost a fourth.Northwestern once again went through the gauntlet at the District 11 Team Championships Saturday at Freedom High School.Only this time, the Tigers were unable to successfully navigate the same course they charted a year ago at Joseph J. McIntyre Gymnasium.After losing to Saucon Valley 63-9 in the championship semifinals, Northwestern responded with a 42-30 win to bounce Pen Argyl and advance to the consolation final.But Northwestern's run ended there.Pine Grove used its depth to procure a 45-31 win and stop the Tigers in their tracks."We wrestled hard," said Northwestern head coach Jim Moll. "I always want the kids to just go out and compete. Just go out and compete. If you wrestle Saucon Valley, Catasauqua, Pen Argyl or Pine Grove, it doesn't matter. You have to wrestle the same match. And our kids did."The Tigers' almost repeated the run they put together last season, when they advanced to the state tournament by winning three straight matches following a semifinal loss on the second day of the event.A win Saturday against Pine Grove, coupled with Wilson's 51-18 loss to Saucon Valley in the Class 2A championship final, would have made necessary a true second-place match between the Tigers and Warriors.Instead, Wilson advanced to the PIAA Team Championships as the second 2A team after having already defeated the Cardinals in the semifinals.While the Tigers ended Pen Argyl's afternoon early, the Green Knights handed a similar fate to Lehighton with a 32-27 win in a first round consolation match that eliminated the Indians.In the Class 3A tournament, second seed Nazareth knocked off Bethlehem Catholic 33-24 for the team title. The top-seeded Golden Hawks responded by dispatching Northampton 46-14 in the true-second place match to advance to the state tournament.Northwestern-Pine GroveThe Tigers ripped off four wins in the first six bouts to jump out to an early lead.Donovan White started the run with a 5-2 decision over Dalton Kintzel in the opening bout at 126 pounds, and Colin Rex followed with a pin in 2:32 against Gavin Harris to give Northwestern a 9-0 lead.The teams alternated victories over the next four bouts, with Jackson Bernhard scoring late to a get a 9-1 major decision against Dustin Carlin at 145 pounds. Caleb Clymer worked quickly to dispatch Eric Shadle in 1:39 at 160 pounds to put the Tigers in front 19-9 after six matches.Pine Grove, the No. 3 seed, responded with six straight wins - three pins and three forfeits - to take control of the match and go-ahead 45-19."We had almost no maneuverability with how shorthanded we were," said Northwestern head coach Jim Moll. "We put Will (Dellicker) in there at 152, and he's normally a 138-pounder, who weighed in heavy just to wrestle 145 or 152. He's up two weight classes, in reality. And he wrestled a tough kid (Marcus Kassab, who won 6-1)."I'll tell you what, Will wrestled really hard, really tough. He wrestled fantastic all day. But that was pretty much the only maneuverability we had, which handcuffs us a little bit. The rest of our guys competed pretty well. I'm happy."Consolation FinalsPine Grove 45, Northwestern 31126 - Donovan White (NW) dec. Dalton Kintzel, 5-2.132 - Colin Rex (NW) pinned Gavin Harris in 2:32.138 - Dillon Kintzel (PG) pinned Tyler Derr in 1:42.145 - Jackson Bernhard (NW) maj. dec. Dustin Carlin, 9-1.152 - Marcus Kassab (PG) dec. Will Dellicker, 6-1.160 - Caleb Clymer (NW) pinned Eric Shadle in 1:39.170 - Peyton Nuske (PG) won by forfeit.182 - C. Rittenbaugh (PG) pinned Ben McQuilken in :08.195 - Austen Ney (PG) pinned Sam Day in 1:16.220 - Z. Leffler (PG) pinned Micah Marushak in 1:11.285 - Emory Herb (PG) won by forfeit.106 - Travis Anderson (PG) won by forfeit.113 - Harrison Bernhard (NW) pinned N. Venszl in 3:35.120 - Bailey Wehr (NW) won by forfeit.Northwestern-Pen ArgylHowever disappointing the loss to Saucon Valley earlier in the day might have been, the Tigers certainly didn't let it linger.Northwestern started strong against Pen Argyl, jumping out to a 30-6 lead after the first seven matches.Perhaps the highlight of the first half of the contest came when the Green Knights sent out Chase Anklam to face Caleb Clymer in a matchup of two former district champions.The bout didn't disappoint.Clymer clung to a 2-0 lead until Anklam scored a reversal late in the third period.But Clymer kept working, getting an escape with just seconds left to lock up a 3-2 win.All of the early victories proved to be vital, as Pen Argyl won four of the next five bouts to cut Northwestern's lead to 36-30 before Harrison Bernhard pinned Austin Crump in the final match at 113 pounds.Second round consolationNorthwestern 42, Pen Argyl 30120 - Bailey Wehr (NW) tech. fall Cody Lucca, 15-0 (3:46).126 - Nick Reto (PA) pinned Donovan White in :38.132 - Colin Rex (NW) won by forfeit.138 - Tyler Derr (NW) pinned Antonio Reto in 3:34.145 - Jackson Bernhard (NW) pinned Jordan Sims in 3:37.152 - Will Dellicker (NW) maj. dec. Javon Maldonado 12-2.160 - Caleb Clymer (NW) dec. Chase Anklam, 3-2.170 - No match.182 - Sawyer Beltz (PA) pinned Ben McQuilken in :36.195 - Sam Day (NW) won by forfeit.220 - Avery Lohman (PA) pinned Micah Marushak in 1:00.285 - Dawson Hughes (PA) won by forfeit.106 - Brilynd Madeya (PA) won by forfeit.113 - Harrison Bernhard (NW) pinned Austin Crump in 1:20.Championship semifinalsSaucon Valley-NorthwesternSaucon Valley won all but two bouts against the Tigers, though Northwestern was in several close bouts.Colin Rex grabbed a 5-3 decision over Thomas Spirk at 132 pounds, and Caleb Clymer pinned Dane Csencsits at 152 pounds for the Tigers only wins.Saucon Valley 63, Northwestern 9113 - Nick Rosengrant (SV) dec. Harrison Bernhard, 2-0.120 - Josh Jones (SV) dec. Bailey Wehr, 5-4.126 - Paul Miller (SV) pinned Donovan White in :22.132 - Colin Rex (NW) dec. Thomas Spirk, 5-3.138 - Angelo Mahaffey (SV) pinned Tyler Derr in 2:34.145 - Jason Jones (SV) dec. Jackson Bernhard, 7-2.152 - Caleb Clymer (NW) pinned Dane Csencsits in :37.160 - Zach Petrucelli (SV) pinned Ryan Fink in :40.170 - Nate Kehs (SV) won by forfeit.182 - Abe Lugo (SV) pinned Ben McQuilken in 1:12.195 - Stephen Good (SV) pinned Sam Day in :49.220 - Devin Fontanez (SV) won by forfeit.285 - Trey Polak (SV) won by forfeit.106 - Dane Druckenmiller (SV) won by forfeit.First Round ConsolationPen Argyl-LehightonTrailing 27-20, Pen Argyl won the final three bouts to knock off Lehighton.Avery Lohman pinned Brett Gasker at 220 pounds for the 11th-seeded Green Knights to cut the deficit to 27-26. Dawson Hughes' 7-1 decision over Will Smith gave Pen Argyl a 29-27 lead with one match remaining.Brilynd Madeya won a thriller over Kevin Madea in the finale, hanging on for a 15-14 decision to secure the win for Pen Argyl."Kevin's a first-year wrestler, but he's been doing a great job for us," Lehighton head coach Floyd Brown said of Madea. "He went in, and he put his heart out there and wrestled hard."But I'm proud of the way he wrestled. He came up a point short, but we needed to do more before that."Saturday's contest mirrored the dual between the two teams in December, which the Green Knights won 41-40.Several bouts went the way of Pen Argyl in the rematch. Jordan Sims got a 5-2 decision over Tyler Schock at 138 pounds after getting pinned in the first meeting.Lucas Sangiuliano, who got a pin at 113 pounds in the first match, was out of the lineup this time for the Indians."There were a lot of spots where, one or two matches, we won before, and we … didn't this time," said Brown. "I was disappointed in that because I think our wrestlers are better in those weight classes."While some matches didn't go the seventh-seeded Indians' way, several did.Nathan Kemmerer was dominant in pinning Cody Lucca in 32 seconds at 120 pounds. Kemmerer got a 12-2 major decision over his counterpart in the first meeting.Chris Whiteman picked up a 10-3 decision over Javon Maldonado at 145 pounds, and Grant Wetzel (160) and Dylan Schock (182) both recorded pins. Schock's victory gave Lehighton its first lead at 21-20 with four matches left.Cody Scherer drew a tough matchup with former district champion and state qualifier Chase Anklam at 152 pounds. Anklam topped Scherer, 7-1.And after getting pinned by Hughes in the first meeting, Smith battled in the rematch to give the Indians' a chance heading into the final bout only losing by decision.Despite the loss, Brown knows the experience of competing in the second day of the event is one not every team gets."We got three matches out of this," he said. "Those are good things we want to have happen for the program every year. Not everyone gets to have these extra matches."Pen Argyl 32, Lehighton 27113 - Austin Crump (PA) won by forfeit.120 - Nate Kemmerer (L) pinned Cody Lucca in :32.126 - Nick Reto (PA) won by forfeit.132 - Antonio Reto (PA) dec. Logan Pagotto, 8-2.138 - Jordan Sims (PA) dec. Tyler Schock, 5-2.145 - Chris Whiteman (L) dec. Javon Maldonando, 10-3. *152 - Chase Anklam (PA) dec. Cody Scherer, 7-1.160 - Grant Wetzel (L) pinned Adam Knecht in 1:58.170 - No match.182 - Dylan Schock (L) pinned Sawyer Beltz in 4:57.195 - Jack Zimmerman (L) won by forfeit.220 - Avery Lohman (PA) pinned Brett Gasker in 2:35.285 - Dawson Hughes (PA) dec. Will Smith, 7-1.106 - Brilynd Madeya (PA) dec. Kevin Madea, 15-14.* - One team point deducted for unsportsmanlike conduct.