On a night where the Panther Valley wrestling team honored the past, it also showed how bright the future is.
The Panthers (10-6) earned a tightly contested, 36-31 victory over Schuylkill League rival North Schuylkill on Alumni Night, assuring itself a spot in District Duals this coming weekend.
The contest went back-and-forth form the very beginning, with neither team winning more than two consecutive bouts through the first 10 matches. Both teams knew each point was crucial.
North Schuylkill (10-3) held its biggest lead of the contest after Garet Grove pinned Matt Buss at 170 to give the Spartans a 31-21 advantage.
That was the last match the Spartans would claim on this night.
Panther Valley reeled off four consecutive match wins, starting with Dylan Moyer's 10-6 decision over CJ Steinhilber at 182. Rich Smith won the next match for the Panthers by way of forfeit, and Richard Nase and Rian Schubeck earned decisions at 220 and 285, respectively, to seal the win.
Panther Valley coach Tim Robb felt the team fed off of the energy in the gym all night.
"The kids just wrestled and it w