NORTHAMPTON - Panther Valley was able to survive and advance to day two of the District 11 team wrestling championships.

The Panthers did that by splitting a pair of opening night matches at Catasauqua High School.Panther Valley, the No. 7 seed in the Class AA bracket, defeated No. 10 seed Williams Valley in its first round match, but fell to No. 2 seed Pen Argyl in the quarterfinal round. The end result is the Panthers advancing to Saturday where they will be part of the elimination bracket.Panther Valley made quick work of Schuylkill League rival Williams Valley in the first battle, winning 42-30 in a match that lasted just over 60 minutes."We knew it was going to be a close dual," Panther Valley head coach Timothy Robb said. "We knew they were going to win up top and we were going to win on bottom. We were missing a couple of guys today, but our kids did what they needed to do. They wrestled well."Williams Valley snagged the first two bouts of the match, but after that it was Panther Valley's showcase.The Panthers won the next seven bouts on their way to clinching a victory with four bouts left in the match. Kyle Rusnak, Tanner Kennedy, Ali Capobianco, Derrick Beckham and Xander Kern all won by fall during that stretch."We wrestled well," Robb said. "We didn't wrestle well last week, but earlier in the week we got a good practice in and I think that helped."After a short break, the Panthers hit the mat again, this time against Pen Argyl, which received an opening round bye. The Green Knights got the best of PV, 48-26."We planned for it going in," Robb said of facing the Green Knights. "We knew that they were good. We knew what we had to do."Early on it was going according to plan for the Panthers. The match was back and forth through 10 bouts, with Panther Valley leading 26-24 after Dylan Moyer won by fall in 2:25 at 182 pounds.But the Green Knights re-took the lead by virtue of a forfeit at 195 pounds and never looked back."145 pounds was a big match," Robb said after addressing his team. "If we win that, it's closer. Plus, our 220-pounder was not here today and that hurt us."That could have gotten us a few more points. We thought 106 pounds was going to be big as well, but (since Pen Argyl had already clinched the victory) it turned out not to be. We were there, but Pen Argyl is a solid team."SATURDAY SLATE ... With the loss, Panther Valley faces No. 6 seed Palisades on Saturday morning in the next round. That match is slated to begin at 9 a.m. at Freedom High School.FORFEIT FALLOUT ... The Panthers were forced to forfeit three bouts in each match, conceding 18 points to both opponents.First RoundPanther Vy. 42, Williams Vy. 30106 - Chett Pesta (WV) dec. Miguel Santiago 9-7113 - Willy Girard (WV) win by FFT120 - Kyle Rusnak (PV) pin J.T. Girard 5:16126 - Darren Goidd (PV) dec. Alex Raho 6-4132 - Tanner Kennedy (PV) pin Matt Kemble 2:50138 - Hunter Kennedy (PV) win by FFT145- Ali Capobianco (PV) pin Colten Rebuck 1:29152 - Derrick Beckham (PV) pin Jason Chamberlain 3:11160 - Xander Kern (PV) pin Travis Martin 2:56170 - Dylan Rabuck (WV) dec. Hunter Kerestes 9-4182 - Dylan Moyer (PV) dec. Devon Rabuck 3-0195 - Kallin Hoffman (WV) win by FFT220 - Daymian Shoop (WV) pin Chris Walkinshaw 1:55285 - Ian Minnich (WV) win by FFTQuarterfinal RoundPen Argyl 48, Panther Vy. 26113 - Kyle Rusnack (PV) pin Cody Lucca 2:35120 - Nick Reto (PA) pin Justin Ogozalek 1:12126 - Darren Golda (PV) tech. fall Jordan Sims 5:21132 - Tanner Kennedy (PV) dec. Phill Zito 4-2138 - Chase Anklam (PA) win by FFT145 - James Klinger (PA) dec. Hunter Kennedy 10-7152 - Ali Capobianco (PV) pin Adam Lipyanic 1:09160 - Steven Beltz (PA) pin Xander Kern 3:00170 - Jacob Holden (PA) dec. Hunter Kerestes 4-2182 - Dylan Moyer (PV) pin Sawyer Beltz 2:25195 - Nathan Black (PA) win by FFT220 - Brandon Kin (PA) pin Chris Walkshaw 3:12285 - Blake Fox (PA) win by FFT106 - Austin Buskirk (PA) pin Miguel Santiago 5:15