ORWIGSBURG By now, Panther Valley's wrestling team is tournament-tested.

Entering Friday night's Schuylkill League championships at Blue Mountain High School, the Panthers had already competed in a number of quality tourneys this season.While the experience at those events isn't the only reason PV advanced six of its grapplers into Saturday's semifinal round, it definitely hasn't hurt."We wrestled pretty well tonight," said Panther Valley head coach Tim Robb. "We wrestle a pretty tough schedule and I think that helps us a lot. I remember going to the Penn Manor tournament early in the year and they were all scatter-brained. This is our fourth tournament and they go exactly where they need to be now and are mentally right."(Saturday) is going to be a tough day, though. Every match gets harder, and this tournament is as good as it's been in a while."Panther Valley represents half of the 12 Times News wrestlers to win quarterfinal matches Friday. Lehighton had three reach the semifinals, while Tamaqua advanced two and Jim Thorpe one.Leading the way for the Panthers was its only top seed, 220-pounder Rian Shubeck. Last year's runner-up at the league meet used a 40-second fall to earn his spot in the semis. PV also had pins from Darren Goida (126 pounds) and Dylan Moyer (182). Ali Capobianco kept his title hopes alive at 138 with a 14-1 major decision in the quarters while Tanner Kennedy (120) and Hunter Davidyock (145) earned decisions to advance."We were hoping to get that many through," said Robb. "We were optimistic. We're probably at where we thought we'd be. Hunter maybe snuck in with a mild upset, but everybody else is where we expected."Our top guys did what they had to do. They didn't go out and play around. They scored a bunch of points and we got some falls. Our goal is to be ready in February. We haven't been ultra-high intensity but we started turning it up about a week ago. We just want to peak at the right time. We're getting there and tomorrow will be a good test."Tamaqua's Dylan Rynkiewicz passed the test a year ago when he captured the league title at 132 pounds. The only area returning champion put himself in position for another crown by posting a 1:00 fall in the quarters. If the top seed at 138, who earlier this season gained his 100th career win, reaches the finals he is guaranteed to face another area wrestler. Capobianco and Lehighton's Tegan Durishin square off in the other semifinal matchup."Dylan just (cut weight) and it wasn't an easy cut for him, so he's been going through that the last few days," said Raider head coach Jon Mashack. "Now he's coming out of it and is starting to get confortable there. He has a tough semifinal bout (with Pine Grove's Marcus Kassab) and I expect him to work through that and make the finals. Still, you have to take one bout at a time and nothing is given."Before Rynkiewicz takes the mat, his teammate Tanner McHugh will have already learned his fate. The 126-pounder scored a quick fall in his quarterfinal match and now meets PV's Goida."Tanner is an aggressive kid and has a very tough bout against (Goida). He knows what to expect and there will be no surprises. He just has to go out and get it done."Kevan Gentile of Jim Thorpe defined "getting it done" as his 13-second fall was the fastest during the entire preliminary and quarterfinal rounds. The undefeated junior, seeded first at 106 pounds, is the only Olympian with a chance at gold."He understands he has two more shots to win a league title and understands the opportunity in this tournament," said Thorpe mentor Shawn Albert. "He just has to keep winning. And you take a win when you can get it. He's very focused right now."The Schuylkill League tournament kind of models what districts will be like, so this is a great experience for all our guys. It's certainly a learning experience for our younger kids."For Lehighton, the Schuylkill League tournament is a new experience. After years without a league championship, the Indians are already making their mark known.Besides Durishin at 138, top-seeded 182-pounder Connor Frey and 126-pounder Zach Kemmerer have reached the final four in their respective weight classes. Durishin and Frey registered pins while Kemmerer scored a decision."Our guys are just wrestling tough," said Lehighton head coach Dan Williams. "Connor is obviously where we expect him to be and Tegan the same thing. Even our guys that didn't advance to the semis are alive for medals and we hope they can wrestle back in the consolations."We were looking forward to this because we didn't have this in the league we were in. The Schuylkill League is one of the stronger leagues in (Class) AA so we're really getting to see a lot of the competition we'll see at districts. It gives our guys an opportunity to really see their competition and prepare for it and know what they're going to face when they get to the postseason."Saturday's semifinals have been pushed back to 10 a.m. while the consolation semis will follow. The championship finals, as well as third and fifth place matches, will start at 4 p.m.