BETHLEHEM - The path is now clear.

The last stop on the Road to Hershey is in the rearview mirror, and all eyes are now on the final destination.

Four area wrestlers navigated the Southeast Regional Tournament and left with a ticket to this week’s PIAA Championships.

Lehighton’s Aidan Gruber and Northern Lehigh’s Matt Frame posted fifth-place finishes Saturday, while Northwestern’s Dalton Clymer and Lucas Miller both advanced with sixth-place results.

All are first-time state qualifiers.

“It’s been a journey,” said Gruber. “Just trying to figure out where I’m at, where I stand compared to all these kids.

“We knew that every kid here was really good, and just wanted to try to come out on top, just try to do the best that I can and have fun wrestling.”

After a run to the 113-pound district final a week ago, Gruber was on the doorstep of another championship final at regionals.

Gruber and West Perry’s Deven Jackson were tied 4-4 midway through the second period in the semifinals.

Jackson, the eventual runner-up, got an escape with 0:56 left in the second period, and another escape with 1:47 remaining in the third period to secure the 6-4 win.

“He wrestled really tough in the semis,” said Indians’ coach Floyd Brown. “A couple more seconds left in that match and he probably ties it up and takes it to overtime. But he wrestled really tough.

“That kid was fourth in the state two years ago, and he battled with him.”

After trailing 4-1, Gruber got an escape and a takedown in the first 11 seconds of the second period to tie it against Jackson.

“I think I’ve proved that I can hang with the big dogs,” said Gruber. “And be able to feel free on the mat, just do my own thing. In some matches be on top, be in control the whole time, and just focus on each match one at a time.”

The sophomore fell 12-0 to Saucon Valley’s Aiden Grogg in the consolation semifinals. Grogg pinned Gruber in 3:52 in last week’s district final.

Gruber finished strong, posting a 4-0 decision over Notre Dame Green Pond’s Cooper Feltman in his fifth-place match. Gruber had takedowns in both the first and third periods.

While Gruber placed third at districts last year and just missed advancing to regionals, Frame returned to wrestling this season after not competing a year ago.

The senior seems to be hitting his stride at the right time after a lengthy football season that included a district title and a run to the state semifinals.

Frame bounced back after his quarterfinal round loss, a 10-0 defeat to eventual champion Brad Morrison of West Perry at 215 pounds.

The senior pinned Belmont Charter’s Laminakil Long-McKenzie in 0:51 in his second round consolation match.

A 4-3 decision in the ultimate tiebreaker over Central Catholic’s Mitchell Miller in the third round of consolations secured Frame’s spot in the top six.

“I wrestled him already twice, so I kind of knew what to prepare for, and that he was going to expect certain things,” said Frame. “I knew it was going to be a little bit of a different match, more nerves because that match was to get me qualified for states.

“I didn’t really feel anything that was opening up, so I was kind of letting him come to me. It really just came to the flip of a coin, so it could have went either way.”

The senior posted an 8-2 decision over Miller for third place at last week’s district tournament.

Frame trailed Saucon Valley’s Dante Mahaffey 5-4 in the consolation semis, but Mahaffey held on for a 7-4 decision. Mahaffey claimed the district title a week ago.

Frame finished with a 7-1 Bishop McDevitt’s Michael Gontis in his fifth-place match.

“He’s riding a big high right now,” said Bulldogs’ coach Scott Snyder. “He could have gone into that fifth-place match and said, ‘I’m happy. I made it.’

“But he didn’t. He went out and put together a great offense, and he had some really nice singles, and he did some good riding on top for a little while. He was very smart; he didn’t give up any easy points. He just went out and wrestled very hard until the end of the match and for fifth place, that’s great. It was an important match, and I’m glad that he took it seriously.”

Clymer suffered a 12-2 loss to Notre Dame Green Pond’s Keegan Ramsay in his 152-pound fifth place match.

Ramsay went ahead with a takedown and two back points in the final 10 seconds of the second period to build a 5-1 lead.

After a Clymer escape early in the third period, Ramsay got a takedown and two back points with 0:33 left, before adding another three back points.

“It’s been a humbling one to say the least,” Clymer said of his regional tournament. “Dealing with injuries and stuff the whole season, it’s been a turning point to see where I’ve really been. And these last two weeks have showed that. Some big, tough matches where I don’t have it all figured out, and I saw the mistakes and the errors, especially today. Losing some matches where, maybe I should have lost, but not the way I did.

“I know I didn’t wrestle my greatest, especially in that last match. It’s not the place that I wanted, but at the end of the day, I move on to states. It’s a step up from last year, going 0-2 (at regionals). But I made it out, that was the goal, so it’s not where I want to be, but it’s where I’m at, and I’ve got to figure it out.”

Clymer, a district champion last season, posted a 7-2 decision over Jim Thorpe’s Gabe Heaney in his second round consolation match, and pinned Faith Christian Academy’s Lincoln Hower in 2:56 in his third round match to secure his spot at states.

The sophomore suffered an 11-0 loss to West Perry’s Justice Hockenberry-Folk in the consolation semis.

Miller had a scoreless first period in his fifth-place match with Bishop McDevitt’s Lucas Lawler at 172 pounds.

Lawler got a reversal midway through the second period before securing the fall in 2:17.

“My whole goal was just to make it to states,” Miller said. “I got that on the first day. I wanted to place as high as I could. All of these guys are really good, and I just wasn’t at my best.

“I definitely learned a lot. I need to know the pace I need to succeed out at states, and a lot of things I have to work on this week to make sure I do my best.”

Miller was pinned in 1:32 by eventual champion Jake Jones of Saucon Valley in the semifinals.

The junior suffered a 1-0 loss to Berks Catholic’s Gabriel Davis in the consolation semifinals. Miller beat Davis 6-4 in the first round.

In an unforgiving - and sometimes unfair - tournament, both Clymer and Miller showed their mettle.

“You see it anywhere. There are kids here at regionals who are ranked third in the state who don’t make it out,” said Tigers’ coach Jim Moll. “You get to this level, and it’s a little bit that separates a lot of guys.”

DISTRICT 11 DOMINANCE

... Notre Dame Green Pond led the way with three individual champions at the regional tournament. Adam Schweitzer (120), Brandon Chletsos (132) and Holden Garcia (160) all left with gold Saturday. The Crusaders also claimed the team title with 216.5 points, and will be sending 11 wrestlers to states. Saucon Valley crowned two champions, with Ryan Crookham (138) winning his third and Jake Jones (172) capturing his second. The Panthers were second in the team standings 181.5 points, and will send nine wrestlers to states. Tri-Valley’s Jacob Scheib won his first regional title with a 13-0 major decision over Saucon’s Ty Csencsits. Csencsits posted a 5-3 decision over Jacob in last week’s district final.

Class 2A Southeast Regional

SECOND ROUND CONSOLATIONS

113

- Cooper Feltman (Notre Dame GP) maj. dec. Gabe Erbe (Tamaqua), 9-1

126

- Noah Doi (Camp Hill) tech. fall Ridge Snyder (Jim Thorpe), 18-3 (4:26)

152

- Dalton Clymer (Northwestern) dec. Gabe Heaney (Jim Thorpe), 7-2

160

- James Brady (Columbia) dec. Mason Brensinger (Northwestern), 3-2; Cooper Gill (Northern Lebanon) tech. fall Daniel Lucykanish (Palmerton), 15-0 (3:16)

189

- Owen Hussie (Springfield Township) pinned Caleb Mcdermott (Jim Thorpe) in 2:11

215

- Matthew Frame (No. Lehigh) pinned Laminakil Long-Mckenzie (Belmont Charter) in 0:51

SEMIFINALS

113

- Deven Jackson (West Perry) dec. Aidan Gruber (Lehighton), 6-4

172

- Jake Jones (Saucon Valley) pinned Lucas Miller (Northwestern) in 1:32

THIRD ROUND CONSOLATIONS

152

- Dalton Clymer (Northwestern) pinned Lincoln Hower (Faith Christian Academy) in 2:56

215

- Matthew Frame (No. Lehigh) dec. Mitchell Miller (Central Catholic), 4-3 (UTB)

FOURTH ROUND CONSOLATIONS

113

- Aiden Grogg (Saucon Valley) maj. dec. Aidan Gruber (Lehighton), 12-0

152

- Justice Hockenberry-folk (West Perry) maj. dec. Dalton Clymer (Northwestern), 11-0

172

- Gabriel Davis (Berks Catholic) dec. Lucas Miller (Northwestern), 1-0

215

- Dante Mahaffey (Saucon Valley) dec. Matthew Frame (No. Lehigh), 7-4

FIFTH-PLACE

113

- Aidan Gruber (Lehighton) dec. Cooper Feltman (Notre Dame GP), 4-0

152

- Keegan Ramsay (Notre Dame GP) maj.dec. Dalton Clymer (Northwestern), 12-2

172

- Lucas Lawler (Bishop McDevitt) pinned Lucas Miller (Northwestern) in 2:17

215

- Matthew Frame (No Lehigh) dec. Michael Gontis (Bishop McDevitt), 7-1