The start of the PIAA District 11 wrestling tournament this week can mean only one thing: The road to Hershey begins now.

Specifically, the journey to the PIAA Championships for Class AA and AAA wrestlers starts at 4 p.m. Friday, with the former heading to Freedom High School and the latter beginning their quest for postseason glory at Liberty High School.If the regular season was any indication, TIMES NEWS area teams should be well-represented in the 66th annual tournament that will conclude Saturday at Liberty, with the AA and AAA finals beginning at 7:15 p.m.The only returning champion from a year ago is Tamaqua's Colin Mashack, who defeated Tri-Valley's Caleb Bordner for the 113-pound title by a 4-0 decision.Mashack enters this year's tournament with a 24-2 mark but is by no means the only Tamaqua wrestler performing well this season.Dylan Rynkiewicz is 30-3 this season and was a district qualifier a year ago, while freshman Tanner McHugh sits at 24-10 and looks to make his first appearance in the tournament.With several other talented wrestlers on the roster, Tamaqua coach Jon Mashack has high hopes for this weekend."I have high expectations for several of my wrestlers," the coach said. "If each is wrestling to their abilities, I should have at least three advancing to the regional tournament with an additional two on the bubble."McHugh won't be the only untested wrestler heading into this weekend, as the Raiders will be looking for solid performances from Collin Moyer (19-17), Kyle Oliphant (16-12) and Adam Toth (17-17), all of whom will be making their first appearances in the tournament.Postseason experience is something that should benefit a young but tested Lehighton squad.The Indians have three returning medalists in Tegan Durishin (5th), Zachary Kemmerer (5th) and Connor Frey (4th), who all placed as freshman last season."The expectation is for them to improve upon their place in the tournament this year," said Lehighton coach Dan Williams. "But we also have a couple of wrestlers who were very close to placing last year and I expect them to get on the medal stand this weekend."Outside of Durishin, Kemmerer and Frey, look for Tyler Cann (22-9), Anthony Farano (15-13), Antonio Lorenzo (13-12) and Ezra Neff (17-8) to make noise this weekend.The Indians got a taste of postseason success last year and this year in the district dual tournament, something that should benefit the team.Several other squads also competed in the District 11 Team Championships, getting an early sample of what postseason wrestling is about.Palmerton's Zachary Graver, 21-1 this season, was a state qualifier a year ago. Josh Evans (26-1) was on track for a semifinal matchup with Colin Mashack last season before failing to make weight and forfeiting the remainder of the tournament. Zack Christman (23-5) took fourth last year.Northern Lehigh, which sent Ty Herzog to Hershey a year ago, is full of wrestlers capable of advancing past this weekend.Nathan Farber (22-7), Ryan Farber (21-10), Austin Arnold (17-11), Colton Rex (18-9), Matt Schmall (24-6), Cameron Kates (20-12) and CJ Young (18-10) are some of the wrestlers the Bulldogs will be counting on.Jim Thorpe, which also qualified for district duals, returns several wrestlers that qualified for the tournament a year ago.Sophomores Ali Capobianco (27-8) and Kevan Gentile (28-3) and freshman Antonio Madera (23-12) should benefit from already seeing postseason action."Our kids have gained valuable experience wrestling some tough Lehigh Valley schools between some of the tournaments we wrestled this year and then being in the atmosphere of district duals," said Jim Thorpe coach Shawn Albert."The most important thing for us as a program is to continue to become relevant in District 11."A team that just missed district duals, Panther Valley, will have plenty of medal hopefuls.Richard Nase (23-4) and Rian Shubeck (26-5) were second last season, and Lenny Ogozalek (32-4) appeared to be on his way to a solid finish before withdrawing due to asthma-related issues.Darren Goida (20-11) is also a candidate for a medal.Pleasant Valley returned only two place-winners this year in Kenny Yanovich (26-3) and Garrett Gouger. Unfortunately for the Bears, Yanovich will be unable to compete due to a shoulder injury.Outside of Gouger (19-13), Pleasant Valley will look to some untested wrestlers such as Ahmad Curtis (15-7) and returning qualifiers Jason Jacobi (19-11) and Brody Keefe (22-11) to maintain what has been has been a remarkably stout program over the last few years."As a coach, I try to keep my wrestlers as motivated as possible so that they will peak in the postseason," said Bears' coach Justin Micklos.Northwestern, which sent Michael Ortiz to states last season, returns only one place-winner from a year ago in Jarret White (17-11), who took fourth and advanced to regionals.Quentin Bernhard (18-8), also a district qualifier last year will be looking to improve his position this time around.While the aspirations will certainly vary, there will be at least one constant this weekend for the hundreds of wrestlers taking part in the tournament."Goals for each wrestler will be different, but the expectation doesn't change for anyone," said Northwestern coach Jim Moll. "You are expected to wrestle as well as you can."*****THAT'S A WRAP ... For the regular season, that is. With all eight TIMES NEWS area teams completing their dual seasons last week, let's take a look at how they fared this year. Northern Lehigh (13-6), Jim Thorpe (7-7), Lehighton (8-9) and Palmerton (6-7) all qualified for the District 11 Class AA team championships this season. Panther Valley finished the season 5-8 and just missed out on a spot in district duals for a second consecutive year. Northwestern (4-14) and Tamaqua (1-14) made the most of the season despite giving up numerous forfeits on a regular basis. The Tigers and Raiders have talent, and will look to make noise in the upcoming individual district and regional tournaments. Pleasant Valley finished the season with a 10-10 mark, also just missing out on district duals in a highly competitive Class AAA field.