BETHLEHEM It wasn't the result that he wanted, but it might have been the one that he needed.

Despite losing a 4-2 decision to Bethlehem Catholic's Mike Labriola in his District 11 Class AA 138-pound championship match, Palmerton's Josh Evans knows what he has to do to take the next step."There's always something to improve; there's always something to work on," the senior said. "I need to work on pushing the pace. I think one of the problems I had in my match (with Labriola) was that I was gassed a little bit at the end."I just need to get in some hard work early this week and get back to that pace."Evans had no trouble working the top-seeded Labriola early in the match, getting a quick takedown to take an early 2-0 lead.But the senior had trouble generating any offense after that, allowing Labriola to control the match from the top and bottom positions and also take advantage of a late scramble to claim the win.Even in defeat, Palmerton coach Dave Lavin took several positives out of Evans' match."He showed that he's capable of scoring," the coach said. "He had several opportunities in the first period, now he just needs to work on keeping that pace up."He just needs to wrestle that style for six minutes, and he can do that."In addition to Evans, Palmerton will also have Zachary Graver, a state qualifier a year ago, advancing to this weekend's Class 2A regional tournament at Wilson West Lawn High School.After falling to eventual 160-pound champion Adam Soldridge of Bethlehem Catholic in the semifinals, Graver bounced back nicely to claim third with two convincing wins in the consolation bracket."I just wanted to come out and look better than I did in my previous matches," Graver said of his performances. "I'm just hoping to wrestle better next week (at regionals)."The Bombers' Daniel Russo did well to wrestle through the consolation rounds to place sixth at 126 pounds.Panther Valley will have strong representation at next week's tournament, with Lenny Ogozalek (106), Richard Nase (195) and Rian Shubeck (220) all advancing with third-place finishes.After being forced to withdraw from the district tournament a year ago, the opportunity to move on is one Ogozalek will savor."I'm just excited to be able to have the chance to compete," the senior said. "Wrestling through this weekend really gives me a lot of confidence moving forward."While Ogozalek wasn't able to participate in the regional tournament last year, both Nase and Shubeck were. That experience is something Nase will take with him this season."Having been there last year will help me a lot because now I know regionals is not a joke," the senior said. "I was a little skeptical going into it last year, but I realized after losing my first two matches that it's the real deal."You have to be ready, mentally and physically. Every aspect of wrestling comes into play out there."In addition to Nase, Ogozalek and Shubeck, the Panthers' Darren Goida also placed, taking sixth at 120 pounds.Tamaqua fared well on Saturday evening, with Colin Mashack (126) and Dylan Rynkiewicz (132) both placing third and advancing to regionals.Freshman Tanner McHugh placed fifth at 113 pounds.For Mashack, who lost 11-10 to Pius X's Dante Albanese in the semifinals, regionals can't come soon enough."I'm just going to leave everything I have out there," the senior said.Rynkiewicz claimed third with a 9-2 win over Catasauqua's Jake Rusnock after splitting the first two matches with the Rough Riders' senior earlier this season, making the experience that much more satisfying."Getting this win is so amazing," the junior said afterwards. "I just need to keep practicing hard and hopefully I'll get a good spot in the bracket (next week) with a chance to get on the podium again."Also making his first trip to regionals will be Jim Thorpe's Kevan Gentile, who placed fourth at 106 pounds."It's really exciting," Gentile said of the chance to move on. "It's a big improvement over last year. I would have liked to get third, or even first, but I'm really happy about advancing."Gentile wasn't the Olympians' only place-winner, as fellow sophomore Ali Capobianco took sixth at 132 pounds.Northwestern and Lehighton each had one wrestler advance to next weekend, with Quentin Bernhard moving on for the Tigers after taking fourth at 113 pounds and Connor Frey continuing his season for the Indians by taking third at 182 pounds.Several other TIMES NEWS area wrestlers did well to medal on Saturday afternoon.Northern Lehigh's Colton Rex (106), Matt Schmall (126), Ryan Farber (138) and Nate Farber (152) all placed fifth for the Bulldogs, while Austin Arnold (160) claimed sixth place.Lehighton's Tegan Durishin (120) took fifth while Zachary Kemmerer (113) and Anthony Farano (145) each placed sixth.Northwestern's Baily Wehr finished in sixth place at 106 pounds.