HERSHEY - Disappointment couldn’t begin to describe the feeling.

It was a difficult moment for both Luke Fugazzotto and Buck Miller on Friday.

On the doorstep of securing a spot in the top eight at the PIAA Wrestling Championships, both Fugazzotto and Miller were dealt devastating defeats in the blood round.

But it didn’t diminish what the Northwestern duo had already done, or what they were still capable of.

Both left Hershey registering wins competing over two days at the state tournament.

For Fugazzotto, the trip to Hershey is one to build on and a visit he hopes to repeat in the future with a longer stay, while Miller closed out his high school career with his second straight appearance at the state tournament and a berth in the quarterfinals.

“They were competing,” said Tigers head coach Joe Killar. “They had a chance to make it happen, it just didn’t work out. They were close, they put the effort in, just sometimes things don’t work out.”

Fugazzotto fell 7-6 to Glendale’s Zeke Dubler at 160 pounds in the third round of consolations, while Miller lost a 4-1 decision to Faith Christian’s Jason Singer at 189 pounds in the Class 2A tournament.

Dubler is a Lehigh commit, who was a district champ and regional runner-up each of the last two seasons. He placed fourth at states a year ago.

The senior got a takedown in the first 10 seconds before an escape by Fugazzotto toward the end of the first period made it 2-1.

Dubler scored three back points near the midway point of the second period before another escape from Fugazzotto brought the score to 5-2.

The third period saw Dubler push his lead to five points with a reversal before Fugazzotto’s escape.

Dubler got a stall warning with 0:26, and Fugazzotto scored a takedown two seconds later to make it 7-5. Fugazzotto got a point when Dubler was hit for stalling with 0:09 left to make it a one-point match, which is how it would finish.

“Mentally, he wrestled tough and didn’t give up in that last match,” Killar said of Fugazzotto. “He was down by five and came back. Mentally, he’s a tough kid. It just didn’t happen today, and that’s how it goes. But I was proud of him. He wrestled really hard and didn’t give up. I can’t ask for much more.”

Fugazzotto, a league and district champion this season, has wrestled some of the best in his first trip to Hershey, facing Laurel’s Grant MacKay -a former state champion and runner-up who is committed to the University of Pittsburgh in the first round.

Singer, a freshman, was fourth at regionals last week, where he pinned Miller in 4:54. Miller had posted a 3-2 win over Singer in their match at the Coal Cracker Tournament in January.

After a scoreless first period, Singer went ahead 2-0 with a reversal with 1:34 left in the second. Miller got an escape with 0:48 remaining in the period, but Singer pushed his lead to 4-1 with a takedown with 0:36 to go in the second, a move that also provided the final margin after a scoreless third period.

“His goal was to place at states and he came up a couple points short of meeting his goal, but I’m really proud of him,” Killar said of Miller, who registered a pair of wins at states this year after going winless in two matches last season.

“They both tried, put the effort in, but sometimes stuff doesn’t work out.”

Fugazzotto stayed alive with a 4-3 decision over Milton’s Alex Hoffman (33-10), the Northeast Regional runner-up who won both his district and sectional tournaments, in the second round of consolations.

The freshman broke the seal with a takedown in the waning moments of the first period to take a 2-0 lead.

Hoffman got an escape in the second period to make it 2-1.

Fugazzotto got out from bottom and nearly had a takedown near the edge of the mat early in the third period. But the takedown was waved off and Fugazzotto was given an escape to make it 3-1.

Hoffman countered with a takedown to tie it at 3-3 with 1:29 remaining near the edge of the mat.

The pair restarted on their feet, with Fugazzotto getting a point for an escape to go ahead 4-3. He would hold that advantage for the remainder of the period to secure the win.

Miller fell 7-0 to General McLane’s Magnus Lloyd (31-8), the Northwest Regional runner-up, in the quarterfinals.

Lloyd scored first with a takedown after a reset with 0:31 left in the first period to take a 2-0 lead.

Lloyd got out from bottom off the whistle with 1:05 left in the third period and added a takedown to make it 5-0.

Miller wasn’t able to generate any offense, and another takedown by Lloyd with 0:35 left in the third period set the final score.

Win or lose, Fugazzotto and Miller - who will likely wrestle at Wilkes University - have been leaders for the Tigers both on and off the mat, setting an example that will extend well beyond their stay in Hershey.

“They were close to meeting their goals, just a little short of them,” said Killar. “But they’ll move on, the sun will rise.

“We’ll start wrestling more I’m sure. We’ll keep going, try to build on this and have a better performance next year I’m hoping.”

GIRL POWER

... Northwestern’s (District 10) Sierra Chiesa enjoyed a tremendous run during the 2A tournament at 107 pounds. After a 6-5 loss to Central Valley’s Antonio Boni in the first round, Chiesa bounced back with a pair of impressive wins in the consolation round, topping Oswayo Valley’s Andrew Coriaty 8-5 in her first consolation match before topping Philipsburg-Osceola’s Caleb Hummel 4-2 to reach the blood round. Chiesa battled Cranberry’s Dalton Wenner before falling 11-5 in a loss that would end her tournament. Chiesa was a section and district champion this season and placed seconds at regionals. She has a record of 66-20 over the past two seasons, and is clearly on her way to the medal stand in Hershey.

THE FINALE

... The 2A tournament will conclude Saturday, which includes the PWCA AA Coach of the Year presentation at 1:40 p.m., followed by the Parade of Champions at 1:45 and the finals, third-, fifth- and seventh-place matches at 2.