Wrestlers throughout the Times News area will enter this weekend's District 11 Class AA and AAA tournaments with high expectations in hopes that this will be their year.

The 67th Annual District 11 Wrestling Championships kicks off a second season of sorts as the first stop on the road to Hershey and the state tournament.Perhaps no team is more eager to get back to action than Northern Lehigh, which wrestled inside the Giant Center at the PIAA Team Wrestling Championships earlier this month.The Bulldogs also have five returning place winners from last year's district tournament, led by Colten Rex (106), Matt Schmall (126), Ryan Farber (138) and Nate Farber (152), who all took fifth, while Austin Arnold (160) placed sixth."We are hoping we can improve on those finishes this year and move some guys on to regionals," said Northern Lehigh head coach Steve Hluschak. "I also definitely feel wrestling in some tough matches at District Duals and at the state tournament will benefit us over the next few weeks.In addition to those that placed a year ago, watch out for Seth Fronheiser (106), CJ Young (152), Jason Schaffer (220) and Cameron Kates (285) to also make noise this weekend in the Class AA bracket, which will also feature Jim Thorpe, Lehighton, Northwestern, Palmerton, Panther Valley and Tamaqua.Lehighton and Panther Valley return the only two state qualifiers from a year ago in Connor Frey (182) and Rian Shubeck (220), and both have lived up to expectations this season.Frey is currently 28-3 and ranked fourth at 182 pounds among Class AA wrestlers in the state by Off the Mat. Shubeck, who recently got his 100th career win, is 19-2 and ranked seventh at 220 by Off the Mat.Lehighton head coach Danny Williams is hoping Frey's experience on a big stage a year ago will not only benefit him, but also several of his teammates that could be in position to join him in Hershey this time around."I think that individually we have a really good chance at having a number of guys progress through the postseason," Williams noted. "Connor's experience out at states last year was very valuable and I think it will help him tremendously. Getting that feeling and experience of being in Hershey helps you minimize the moment and not make it seem like a bigger tournament than it really is."And I think that the experience that Tegan (Durishin), Tyler (Cann) and Zach (Kemmerer) have had the past couple of years is certainly going to help them make a push to place higher and get out to regionals the following week."Durishin placed fifth at the district tournament last year, while Kemmerer took sixth. Cann recently returned from an injury and should be primed for a good result this weekend.Also look for freshman Nathan Kemmerer (106) and junior Wyatt Clements (220) to make an impact in what will be their first district tournament.Unlike Frey, Shubeck wasn't the only member of his team to go to Hershey last season, as the Panthers also sent Lenny Ogozalek and Richard Nase, with the latter winning a medal.Despite the departures of Ogozalek and Nase, Panther Valley coach Tim Robb still expects this year's group to once again contend in the postseason."We are close to being the best we can be, and I think last year's success has really helped," he said. "Their goals are not to get to regionals our guys want to get to the state tournament. All three of those guys (Ogozalek, Nase, Shubeck) getting over the hump last year was huge."Darren Goida returns after placing sixth last season. Junior Ali Capobianco also placed sixth a year ago, but was competing for Jim Thorpe at the time.Dylan Moyer (182) was a runner-up to Frey at the Schuylkill League Tournament and the two could meet again here. Freshmen Hunter and Tanner Kennedy have enjoyed breakout seasons and there's no reason that can't continue this weekend.Senior Hunter Davidyock has been on a roll of late, and he could surprise some with another strong performance this weekend.Though Northwestern returns only two medalists in Baily Wehr (sixth) and Quentin Bernhard (fourth), the Tigers have a great deal of confidence after a stellar regular season that included a spot in the Colonial League Team Championships and the District Dual tournament last month.Along with Wehr and Bernhard, expect freshmen Matt Peters and Caleb Clymer and junior Jarret White, a regional qualifier his freshman year, to lead the Tigers this season."I am definitely looking to these guys to help set the tone for our team in the tournament," said Northwestern head coach Jim Moll. "They know the preparations that they need to take eat the right things, warm-up properly and mentally prepare for each match. That is what our leaders need to do, and help the others do the same thing."After qualifying for states two years ago, Palmerton's Zach Graver looks to be on track to make one more run as a senior after finishing third at districts last season."He has battled some injuries this year, but is finally healthy and getting better everyday in the room," said Palmerton coach Justin Petersen. "His work ethic alone is giving the leadership needed to help guys like (Jarred) Mooney and Tre (Nelson), who don't have the experience he has."Having said that, his goal this year is not to just make it out of districts, or make it out to states. His goal is to be on that medal stand out at Hershey, which I think he is more than capable of."While Nelson is a senior in his first year of varsity competition and Mooney is only a sophomore, both have steadily progressed throughout the season and should benefit from having Graver in the room everyday.Dan Russo, who fought back to finish sixth at 126 pounds a year ago, will also look to finish his senior year strong and earn another medal.Jim Thorpe's Kevan Gentile, who was fourth in last year's district tournament, has been dominant all season, with his only loss coming in the Schuylkill League Tournament after he was called for an illegal slam and disqualified from the match."I can assure you, Kevan has used that as both a learning tool and something that will motivate him throughout the next few weeks," said Jim Thorpe head coach Shawn Albert.Tamaqua will be counting on two-time Schuylkill League champion and regional qualifier Dylan Rynkiewicz, and Schuylkill League runner-up Tanner McHugh to improve on solid showings a year ago.Rynkiewicz, a senior, was third at last season's district tournament, while McHugh was fifth in his freshman campaign.Pleasant Valley, the lone Class AAA school in the Times News area, will return a pair of district third place finishers in Brody Keefe and Ahmad Curtis."The experience Brody and Ahmad have from last year is huge for them," said Pleasant Valley head coach Justin Micklos. "They have been there so they know what to expect for this year and have their goals set at making it into the state tournament."They have been great leaders all year, our kids seem to feed of the success they have had and want to accomplish what they have."If that trend continues, Keefe and Curtis might have company at the regional tournament this year with Jason Jacobi, Anthony McCue, Trevor Dorn, Garrett Gouger and Trent Thomas all wrestling at a high level this season.*****IT'S TIME … Here is the information for the District 11 Class AA and AAA individual tournaments:The Class AA event will be begin on Friday at Freedom High School, while the AAA event will open on the same night at Liberty High School. Both will conclude on Saturday night at Liberty, with the AA and AAA finals taking place simultaneously on two mats at roughly 7:15 pm.Five wrestlers will advance to the Northeast Regional in AAA, while four will move on to the Southeast Regional in AA. Six wrestlers will receive medals in the AAA District 11 tournament; five will receive medals in the AA event.It is, indeed, time.*****THE PRELUDE … This past weekend, East Stroudsburg South High School hosted the District 11 Wrestling Coaches Association's junior varsity tournament. The event gives junior varsity wrestlers a chance to shine while many look ahead to this weekend's more publicized varsity tournament. Five Times News area teams participated in the two-day event and returned home with some hardware.The following is a list of place winners by weight class:113 - Anthony DiCataldo, Northwestern, second.120 - Mathew Shetayh, Northwestern, second.126 - Malik Zver, Panther Valley, sixth.132 - Jackson Bernhard, Northwestern, first.145 - Xander Kern, Panther Valley, third.170 - Hunter Kerestes, Panther Valley, sixth.220 - David Neff, Northern Lehigh, fifth; Conrad Bevans, Northern Lehigh, sixth.In the team standings, Northwestern led the Times News area with a 10th place result, finishing with 69 points. Panther Valley took 13th with 57 points; Northern Lehigh was 20th with 31 points; Pleasant Valley came home 23rd with 14 points; Palmerton was 28th. Easton was the overall and Class AAA champion with 224.5 points, while Saucon Valley took the AA title with 90 points.*****BY THE NUMBERS …20 The number of Times News area place winners from last year's District 11 tournaments who are returning.14 Bethlehem Catholic, which will now be in the Class AAA bracket, had 14 place in the top six last year, or one in every weight class. The Golden Hawks crowned seven champions and also took home three silver medals.5 Northern Lehigh leads all Times News teams with five medalists coming back. Colten Rex (106), Matt Schmall (126), Ryan Farber (138) and Nate Farber (152) all finished fifth, while Austin Arnold (160) placed sixth. Panther Valley and Lehighton will bring back three that placed a year ago, while Northwestern, Palmerton, Pleasant Valley and Tamaqua will return two apiece. Jim Thorpe has one returning medalist from a year ago, though Ali Capobianco placed sixth at 132 pounds in last year's event for the Olympians, but the junior will be competing for the Panthers this season.3 There are three returning state qualifiers from the Times News area that will be trying to make the trip back to Hershey. Lehighton's Connor Frey and Panther Valley's Rian Shubeck each qualified last season, while Palmerton's Zach Graver made it two years ago.0 The number of returning district champions from the Times News area. The best result was a second place from Palmerton's Josh Evans, who has graduated and is now wrestling at Eastern Michigan University.