HERSHEY - Jim Thorpe's Kevan Gentile had marked off almost all the boxes on his to-do list.

A second straight gold medal at the District 11 tournament? Check.

Back-to-back Southeast Regional championships? Check.

But one item was missing from his resume - a state title.

One year after taking fourth at the PIAA Wrestling Championships, Gentile returned with a renewed sense of purpose and an unwavering will to win as a senior.

Gentile capped a dominant tournament Saturday afternoon with a 7-1 decision over Southern Columbia's Jaret Lane in the Class AA 106-pound final to capture Jim Thorpe's first state championship.

"It's really hard to put into words how much this means to me," said Gentile, who also achieved his school record 142nd career victory with his triumph over Lane. "I've been working for this for my whole high school career, constantly pushing and doing offseason tournaments just to get better and finally it paid off."

The win was especially gratifying for Jim Thorpe head coach Shawn Albert, who has watched Gentile grow into one of the most talented wrestlers in the state.

"I'm so proud of him right now," Albert said of Gentile. "He's accomplished every one of his goals; he's now the all-time wins leader here at Jim Thorpe; and he's the first state champ in school history. He has set the tone for what we would really love to have here at Jim Thorpe.

"He's absolutely a role model. He's taught me a ton. Just the mindset that it takes to get to this level. He's much tougher than I am, that's for sure. He came in (to the finals) with a calm, cool and collected attitude and it showed out there. He has one focus, and that's to win."

Gentile's title was one of many highlights for Times News wrestlers at the three-day tournament. Including Gentile, a total of six area athletes stood on the podium at Hershey's Giant Center.

Lehighton's Connor Frey posted a third place finish at 195 pounds.

Northern Lehigh's Ryan Farber and Northwestern's Caleb Clymer each took sixth at 160 and 145 pounds, respectively.

Palmerton's Jared Mooney (182) and Tamaqua's Tanner McHugh (126) both placed eighth.

Check out Monday's edition of the Times News for complete coverage of the event