If there was a wrestler that mirrored Pleasant Valley's Trent Thomas in the 220-pound weight class at the PIAA wrestling championships, it was Derek Berberick of Greensburg Salem.

Unfortunately for Thomas, his matchup with Berberick came in the first round of AAA action at the Giant Center in Hershey Thursday evening and left him with a 2-1 overtime loss.The defeat gave Thomas (32-5), who received a preliminary bye after winning the Northeast Regional tournament last week, all night to think about Friday's second day of competition, where he'll open wrestling in the second round of consolations against Isaiah Spriggs (36-9) of Bayard Rustin.Losing your opening bout at the PIAA tournament isn't a foreign concept, but it certainly makes a wrestler's march to a medal round more difficult.That's why Pleasant Valley head coach Justin Micklos knows that his lone representative in Hershey needs to put defeat in the rearview and focus on day two success."As long as he comes back tomorrow and wrestles strong, he has a shot at getting a medal," said Micklos. "Being able to refocus is probably the most important thing for him right now. We all know he's disappointed, but the tournament isn't over."The margin of error was so close for Thomas (32-5) in Thursday's matchup with Berberick, who was nearly identical in size and shape to his PV counterpart.Both wrestlers worked a scoreless first period trying to figure themselves out with tie-ups until Thomas took a 1-0 lead to start the second period, when he popped up from bottom 14 seconds into the frame.That score lasted until late in the period, when Thomas looked like he got his golden shot, a double leg near the edge of the mat with 13 seconds left, but the near takedown wasn't granted by the officials.Thomas then decided to start the third period in neutral, sacrificing a point to Berberick with the hopes of scoring a takedown in the final two minutes."It wasn't our plan to go neutral in the third," Micklos said. "It's just the way it worked out because we didn't think Trent would be able to hold him down. We thought his best chance to win was by taking him down."That never materialized for Thomas, as Berberick deflected every opportunity, nearly countering a shot late in the match for a potential takedown that never materialized.After both wrestlers went through the same dance in the first minute of overtime, Thomas wasn't able to escape from bottom in the first 30 second rideout.Berberick (37-5) didn't have that problem when it was Thomas's turn on top, as he slipped away five seconds into the period for the winning score.Like all sports, matchups can dictate outcomes, and both Thomas and Berberick seemed destined for overtime from the very beginning, but the reality of facing defeat this early on in the tournament isn't something the Bear had envisioned.Now, it's about battling back for two wins in the consolation rounds to claim the state medal that Thomas has been looking for his whole life."Wrestling can be a cruel sport at times," said Micklos. "Trent had high hopes coming in and just because he lost the first match doesn't mean he can't achieve what he wants."He just has to come back ready to go and I know he will."