Another chance to compete.

Another opportunity to get better.

The District 11 team tournament is a postseason test – and a prelude of what’s to come in three weeks.

Lehighton and Tamaqua advanced to Day 2 of the competition Saturday in the Class 2A event.

The Indians rallied for a 37-35 victory over the Blue Raiders in their first round consolation match.

Lehighton’s run ended in the next round, as Catasauqua pulled off a 37-33 win in the consolation semifinals.

The Tribe posted a 2-2 mark in the event, recording a 41-27 win over Palmerton in the first round Thursday before falling to North Schuylkill 51-15 in the quarterfinals.

“It’s great experience,” said Lehighton head coach Floyd Brown. “It’s four extra matches that our guys got that a lot of other teams didn’t get, and four quality matches, too. You’re with the top 12 teams in AA, and we got to wrestle four times. So it’s good. Our guys got some good experience against some of the better teams, and there’s a lot we can take from it.”

It’s experience that will be invaluable once the individual portion of the postseason begins Feb. 25.

Catasauqua-Lehighton

The Tribe tested their mettle against the fourth-seeded Roughies.

Trailing 37-18, Lehighton won the final three matches.

Deven Armbruster (189), Wyatt Sherer (215) and Richard Houser (285) all delivered victories down the stretch against the Roughies.

Lehighton also got pins from Jacob Hall (106), Aidan Gruber (120) and Ethan Buchert (152).

It wasn’t enough to overcome Catasauqua, which won seven of the 13 bouts, including four in a row after Gruber’s pin gave the sixth-seeded Indians a 12-6 lead.

“I knew that one was going to be challenging,” said Brown. “And we were right there, just couldn’t come out on top. They won the toss and they got some of the matchups that were better for them, but we still hung in there and almost pulled it out, just didn’t have enough.”

Catty’s run included pins from Jon Cordon (126), Gavin Fehr (138) and Jaryn Hartranft (145) along with a decision from Cole Brown at 132 pounds.

Buchert stopped the surge with a fall at 152 pounds before Miles Melendez (160) and Luis DelRosario (172) pushed the Roughies’ lead to 37-18 with three matches remaining.

“It was a tight match, and I thought we wrestled very well,” said Brown. “And for our guys to matchup with some of the better guys in the district, you wrestle them once and get a feel for what they do, and it’s a great learning experience for our guys.”

Lehighton-Tamaqua

The Indians opened the day by avenging an earlier loss to the Blue Raiders, as Wyatt Sherer’s pin in the final match sealed the win.

Deven Armbruster delivered a decision at 189 pounds to pull Lehighton within striking distance at 35-31 heading into the final match. Sherer’s pin at 215 pounds completed the comeback.

Tamaqua, the No. 7 seed, posted a 40-34 win over the Indians on Jan. 11.

“Coming off Thursday, I thought we wrestled fairly well in our first match (against Palmerton), but we struggled against North Schuylkill,” Brown said of the 51-15 loss. “On Saturday, we were able to bounce back, and I thought we wrestled well, and I was pleased with our guys and proud of our guys.

“And our lineup is dominated pretty much by freshmen and sophomores, so it’s nice for those guys to go in – Wyatt’s a sophomore – he had a big match there against Tamaqua, and it was nice for those guys to get that experience. Moving forward, as we get into the postseason, we talked about that all week, this is the last time for the seniors, and a lot of them came through for us in some big matches, too, over the course of the two days. It was good for all of our guys.”

Pins by Jacob Hehn (160) and Cole Eberts (172) gave the Blue Raiders a 35-28 lead with two matches remaining.

Tamaqua got bonus points from Aiden Schlier (106) and Gabe Erbe (113) early, as Schlier delivered a technical fall and Erbe collected a pin to push the Blue Raiders ahead 11-6 after three matches.

Aidan Gruber’s major decision at 120 pounds brought the Tribe within 11-10 before the teams traded pins in the next four matches, which ended when Lehighton received a forfeit at 152 pounds to go up 29-23.

It was the type of back-and-forth battle that gave both programs a glimpse of what lies ahead – and what it will take to be successful when the stakes are at their highest.

“The really important aspect is, we’re getting the extra matches, but there’s a different aura in the matches,” said Tamaqua head coach Jim McCabe. “There’s a little bit more intensity with the situations. The pressure of wrestling Notre Dame Green Pond, and then Saturday being in the gym packed with people, it adds the extra pressure that the kids need to feel before they actually get to the individual districts.

“You don’t want your kids getting to individual districts never having that feeling before. It was an added bonus for us that we got to do that, and on top of it it was a tight match between us and Lehighton so it creates the atmosphere that you need to experience in order to learn how to deal with it, and overcome it.”

PINNING

... Richard Houser (285), Nick Zeigenfuss (132) and Lukas Ferguson (145) all had pins for Lehighton against Tamaqua. Chase Zeigenfuss (126) and Jacob Schlier (138) had pins for the Blue Raiders.

HOW THEY GOT HERE

... Tamaqua posted a 56-9 win over Schuylkill Haven in the first round on Thursday, before falling to Notre Dame Green Pond 76-0 in the quarterfinals.

CHAMPS

... Bethlehem Catholic (3A) and Notre Dame Green Pond (2A) collected team titles on Saturday. The second-seeded Crusaders defeated top seed Saucon Valley 50-5 for the 2A crown, while top seed Bethlehem Catholic downed No. 2 Nazareth 32-22 for the 3A title.

Consolation Semifinals

Catasauqua 37, Lehighton 33

106 - Jacob Hall (L) pinned Caroline Rodriguez in 0:43; 113 - Mikhail Hartranft (C) pinned Andrew Versuk in 1:03; 120 - Aidan Gruber (L) pinned Carlos Cruz in 1:29; 126 - Jon Cordon-Pinto (C) pinned Reese Scaturro in 0:52; 132 - Cole Brown (C) dec. Nicholas Zeigenfuss, 3-1; 138 - Gavin Fehr (C) pinned Jacob Ferguson in 1:52; 145 - Jaryn Hartranft (C) pinned Lukas Ferguson in 2:26; 152 - Ethan Buchert (L) pinned Trevor Regits in 3:04; 160 - Miles Melendez (C) maj. dec. Ethan Barachie, 10-1; 172 - Luis DelRosario (C) pinned Nolan Stein in 2:30; 189 - Deven Armbruster (L) dec. Christian Frye, 4-0; 215 - Wyatt Sherer (L) pinned Dominic Melendez in 0:43; 285

- Richard Houser (L) pinned Stewart Oakley in 4:20.

Consolation First Round

Lehighton 37, Tamaqua 35

285 - Richard Houser (L) pinned Anthony DeBellis in 0:21; 106 - Aiden Schlier (T) tech. fall Jacob Hall, 19-4 (4:15); 113 - Gabe Erbe (T) pinned Andrew Versuk in 2:51; 120 - Aidan Gruber (L) maj. dec. Brody Boyce, 14-1; 126 - Chase Zeigenfuss (T) pinned Reese Scaturro in 0:53; 132 - Nick Zeigenfuss (L) pinned Tim Edmonds in 1:07; 138 - Jacob Schlier (T) pinned Jacob Ferguson in 0:37; 145 - Lukas Ferguson (L) pinned Michael Steigerwalt in 1:29; 152 - Ethan Barachie (L) won by forfeit; 160 - Jacob Hehn (T) pinned Ethan Buchert in 1:49; 172 - Cole Eberts (T) pinned Nolan Stein in 2:33; 189 - Deven Armbruster (L) dec. John Buday, 3-1; 215

- Wyatt Sherer (L) pinned Jason Walker in 0:50.