With the postseason officially in full swing, opportunities abound for Times News area wrestlers heading into this weekend's regional tournaments.

For some, it's the chance to earn a bit of hardware.For others, it's a moment to breakout - and breakthrough - on the final stop before the season wraps up with the state tournament in Hershey.But for a certain few, it's an opportunity to gain a measure of redemption.While Jim Thorpe's Kevan Gentile, Lehighton's Connor Frey, Northern Lehigh's Ryan Farber and Palmerton's Jared Mooney left last week's district tournament with gold hanging around their necks, several other area wrestlers weren't as fortunate.After pinning Mooney earlier this season, Panther Valley's Dylan Moyer came up short in their Class AA 182-pound final Saturday."Jared (Mooney) did a good job against Dylan. It was very obvious that he had a game plan, and he executed it," said Panther Valley head coach Tim Robb. "Dylan was a little bit cautious, and our focus for next week isn't really aimed at Mooney, but at getting through the regional tournament."As Moyer's focus is sure to be aimed at advancing to his first state tournament, the loss to Mooney, while disappointing, is also an experience the senior can grow from."I think in wrestling, you learn more when you lose to a guy, than you do when you win," Robb noted. "We learned from it, and would love to see him again in the regional finals."A year after claiming district gold, Northern Lehigh's Colton Rex and Matt Schmall had to settle for silver in their respective final matches, as did CJ Young and Cameron Kates, who wereboth gunning for their first district titles.Like Moyer, Kates had also prevailed - by a 3-2 decision - in a regular season match against his finals opponent, Salisbury's Alexander Nicholas.This time, Nicholas triumphed 6-4 to take the 285-pound title."Every time we wrestle it's a toss-up," Kates said of facing Nicholas. "Most of the time it comes down to the flip of the coin, or a takedown. It's that simple."He caught me off guard with a takedown at the beginning, so that was disappointing. But I reversed him right away. I had a deep shot near the end of the match, but I slipped off and wasn't able to finish."If he gets another chance this weekend, expect Kates to make it stick this time."To be in the (district) finals was great," he said. "But all I know is that I'm going to get him at regionals if I see him again."Northwestern's Caleb Clymer and Quentin Bernhard also faced familiar foes in the finals. Clymer's 145-pound showdown against Palisades' Tyler Marsh was a rematch of last year's 138-pound tilt. Bernhard's 126-pound match against Saucon Valley's Jonah Zych marked the third meeting this season between the two.Clymer and Bernhard fell by the narrowest of margins, with Marsh claiming a 3-2 decision and Zych winning his third one-point bout against Bernhard, this time by a score of 5-4."Clymer and Marsh is a fun matchup. Both guys are talented and wrestled well," said Northwestern head coach Jim Moll. "There were a few things that Caleb could have done differently, but I think both guys wrestled very reserved, which happens a lot in the finals. I think if we can get Caleb to open up a little more it would favor us."While Clymer and Marsh might have been a bit more selective with their offense, that wasn't the case for Bernhard and Zych."I would say it was a little bit more open, with more action than the last two times we wrestled," Bernhard said. "There was more movement when we were on our feet; more takedown attempts. Before, it felt like we were stuck and always tied up."I had to adjust a little bit, but it was still tight. It was just a little bit different but still similar."And it's those nuances that Moll will be working on with Bernhard."Zych is tough," the coach said. "He does a good job of avoiding the positions that Quentin likes to be in. It's a match we can win, we just need to make a few small adjustments."In the Class AAA tournament, Pleasant Valley's Trent Thomas entered as the No. 1 overall seed at 220-pounds and made it to the finals with three decision victories.But the senior was unable to secure that all-important fourth victory, dropping a 4-3 decision to Freedom's Evan Callahan in the finals.Thomas will certainly be ready should he see Callahan again this weekend in the Northeast Regional."Trent wrestled Callahan very tough," said Pleasant Valley head coach Justin Micklos. "If Trent sees him again it will be another good match. We are working on some stuff with Trent this week so hopefully he can capitalize if he sees him again."Dealing with postseason rematches is something Northern Lehigh head coach Steve Hluschak, who racked up 147 wins when he wrestled for the Bulldogs, knows all about. And it's something he makes sure his team is prepared for when the situation presents itself."It's always hard to wrestle someone a second or third time," he said. "You want to try and let the match develop and take advantage of the opportunities when you get them."You don't want to try something different. Stick with what you've done all year and what's gotten you to this point."*******WELL DONE ... While much attention will be paid - and deservedly so - to those that came away with gold or advanced to the finals of the district tournament, several area wrestlers earned high marks for making it to the medal round and earning a trip to this weekend's regional tournaments.Lehighton's Wyatt Clements will be making his first appearance at the SE Regional after taking fourth at 220-pounds, dropping a 2-1 decision to Notre Dame's Julian Wismer in the third-place bout.Though Clements might be known more for his feats on the football field, his accomplishments on the mat in just two years of competing at the varsity level have been no less impressive."Wyatt has definitely come a long way in a short amount of time," said Lehighton head coach Danny Williams. "His athletic ability keeps him in every match. He's still learning even up to this point in the season. So as he gets more comfortable with different ways to score, I think that will translate into winning those close, overtime matches."As the No. 8 seed at 145 pounds, Tamaqua's Ty Hinkle went 4-2 in the Class AA tournament, defeating Saucon Valley's Angelo Mahaffey to earn the fifth and final qualifying spot for the SE Regional."Ty wrestled great and was impressive in beating Mahaffey for the fifth and final transfer spot," said Tamaqua head coach Jon Mashack. "Ty has always had the potential but is finally beginning to believe it. He had a very good tournament and my hope for him is that he won't mentally settle for a regional advancement. Fifth place is often a favorable route for District 11 wrestlers looking to advance to Hershey and it will come down to who wants it more as the rounds pass later into the tournament."Another wrestler that had an impressive showing over the weekend was Northwestern's Jason Hottinger, who as the No. 11 seed at 160 pounds, came within one victory of advancing to the SE Regional.Hottinger knocked off the Nos. 6 and 7 seeds, respectively. The senior also significantly closed the gap on No. 3 seed Michael Reif of Notre Dame Green Pond, dropping a 7-2 decision in the fifth place match after losing by technical fall to Reif in quarterfinals."Jason Hottinger was our wrestler of the weekend in my eyes," said Moll. "To come in as the No. 11 seed and upset two higher seeds on his way to the blood round was great."And even the match he lost in the fifth place bout was to a returning district runner-up who beat him by 15 on day one of the tournament, and he cut that deficit down to 5. I am very proud of his performance. He had a great tournament."*******MARK IT DOWN … Below are schedules for this weekend's Class AA Southeast Regional tournament and the Class AAA Northeast Regional event.Class AA SE RegionalWhere: Wilson West Lawn High SchoolSessions: Friday - Preliminaries (98 bouts) at 5:15 p.m., championship quarterfinals (56 bouts) at 7:45 p.m., first-round consolations (42 bouts) at 9:30 p.m. Saturday - Second-round consolations (56 bouts) at 9:30 a.m., championship semifinals (28 bouts) and third-round consolations (28 bouts) at 11 a.m., fourth-round consolations (28 bouts) at 1 p.m., championship (14 bouts), third (14 bouts) and fifth-place (14 bouts) matches at 5 p.m.Advancement: Top-6 wrestlers in each weight class advance to PIAA Wrestling Championships, March 10-12 at the Giant Center, Hershey.Class AAA NE RegionalWhere: Liberty High School, BethlehemSessions: Friday - Preliminaries at 4:30 p.m., championship quarterfinals at 6:30 p.m., first-round consolations at 8:30 p.m. Saturday - Second-round consolations at 9:30 a.m., championship semifinals and third-round consolations at 11 a.m., fourth-round consolations at 1:30 p.m., championship, third and fifth-place matches at 5 p.m.Advancement: Top-4 wrestlers in each weight class advance to PIAA Wrestling Championships, March 10-12 at the Giant Center, Hershey.Remember, time schedules are approximate. The next round will begin following the conclusion of the preceding round.*******ON THE DOORSTEP … Tamaqua junior Tanner McHugh posted a 3-2 record en route to a fourth place finish at the District 11 Class AA tournament and now has 99 career victories. McHugh will face Pequea Valley freshman Gabe Miller (35-7) Friday in the first round of the Southeast Regional tournament.*******OFF THE MAT UPDATE … The Times News area retained its strong presence in Off the Mat's Feb. 24 (Issue No. 9) Class AA state rankings, though these positions are sure to change following last week's District 11 tournament. Northern Lehigh continued to lead the way, with Colton Rex (120 pounds, 11th), Matt Schmall (138, 5th), Ryan Farber (160, 3th), CJ Young (170, 14th) and Cameron Kates (285, 10th) all earning recognition. Lehighton was close behind, as Nathan Kemmerer (106, 20th), Tegan Durishin (145, 8th), Connor Frey (195, 1st) and Wyatt Clements (220, 8th) all made the list for the Indians. Quentin Bernhard (126, 10th), Jarett White (16th, 132) and Caleb Clymer (145, 13th) were all honored for Northwestern. Panther Valley's Ali Capobianco (152, 13th) and Dylan Moyer (182, 5th) were selected, as were Tamaqua's Tanner McHugh (126, 15th), Jim Thorpe's Kevan Gentile (106, 2nd) and Palmerton's Jared Mooney (182, 8th).