Opportunities often are what you make of them.

For Colin Rex, it's the chance of a lifetime.When North Schuylkill's Mason Madden-Edwards, the District 11 runner-up at 132 pounds, was unable to compete at last weekend's Southeast Regional Tournament due to injury, it created an opening for Rex, who was the alternate after placing fifth at districts.Rex seized the moment.With a sixth-place finish in the Class 2A regional event, the Northwestern junior punched his ticket to the PIAA Championships, something Rex could have only dreamed of just a few days earlier."I wanted, personally, to make it out to regionals," Rex said. "I wasn't expecting to make it all the way to states or anything like that. So it definitely worked out in my favor. "Despite the short notice, Rex stayed ready."On Monday, my coach (Jim Moll) gave me a call and he was like there's a 90 percent chance that you're wrestling, 10 percent chance that the kid (Madden-Edwards) might still wrestle" Rex recalled. "So I kinda knew I was wrestling. I just practiced throughout the week. And later in the week he told me that I was in."But it certainly wasn't easy.After losing his first-round match by technical fall, Rex ripped off three straight wins in the consolation bracket to secure his spot in Hershey.Two of those wins came against opponents - Northern Lehigh's Ezra Neff and Saucon Valley's Justin Kyra - Rex was a combined 0-5 against this season.Rex knocked off Schuylkill Valley's Hunter Williams, 11-9, in a first-round consolation bout before erasing a 7-1 deficit to edge Neff, 10-7, prior to taking down Kyra, 9-3, in a third-round elimination match.Kyra, who had defeated Rex three times this season, won their last meeting, 14-2, at last week's district tournament to keep Rex out of the third-place match."I know he's known for big throws and stuff like that," Rex said of Kyra. "So coming into the match, I knew I just couldn't get thrown and that I had to wrestle my match and use my stuff and take it to him."I think it makes it a lot better, especially getting this win, since this is the one that takes you to states. My mindset was to go out there and win. I'm in states and it's going to be a great experience for me. I think it just shows that I've gotten better over time. It feels great."That hard work has shown throughout the season, which has given Rex more confidence each time he takes the mat."I think I grew a lot," he said. "My coaches told me that they wanted to see me in the room, and just really focus, and get things done. I just went in (to the practice room), told myself I was going to get some hard work in, and come out better and stronger. I definitely grew a heck of a lot from the beginning of the season."While Rex counts his improved dedication as a part of his enhanced performance, he also credits the commitment of the Tigers' coaching staff for helping him get better."They tell me what I need to do and what I need to work on," Rex said. "They always tell me I have potential; I just need to work a little bit harder in the room. So when I see that, I see how much they care about me, then I just want to go out there and perform better."It also doesn't hurt to have three other state qualifiers on your team, two of which - Caleb Clymer and Baily Wehr - have been in district and regional finals in back-to-back weeks. Jackson Bernhard also placed sixth at regionals to make it to states."It was a whole new experience for me," Rex said of competing in his first regional tournament. "Caleb (Clymer) helped me through it. He kinda showed me the ropes."It was just kinda cool to train and warm-up with all the big guys, and all these good wrestlers. It was definitely a great experience."What lies ahead is another chapter in Rex's season that's still to be written, one he can't wait to get started."I'm ready to go out there and wrestle and just see what it's like," he said. "Just to be on that stage, and to see what it's like."**********PIAA SCHEDULE ... The Class 2A schedule for the PIAA Wrestling Championships:THURSDAYPreliminaries and First Round - 9 a.m.First Round Consolations - 1:15 p.m.FRIDAYQuarterfinals and Second Round Consolations - 9 a.m.Third Round Consolations - 11:45 a.m.Semifinals and Fourth Round Consolations - 7:30 p.m.Fifth Round Consolations - 9:30 p.m.SATURDAYParade of Champions - 1:45 p.m.Finals, Third, Fifth and Seventh Place Consolations - 2 p.m.**********PAIRINGS ... A look at the early matchups for Times News area wrestlers at the PIAA Championships, which will be held at the Giant Center in Hershey.Preliminary132 - Colin Rex, Northwestern (SE Regional-6) vs. Collin Klinger, Line Mountain (NE Regional-4)145 - Jackson Bernhard, Northwestern (SE Regional-6) vs. Kenny Boyer, Line Mountain (NE Regional-4)First Round120 - Baily Wehr, Northwestern (SE Regional-2) vs. Cole Hauck, Line Mountain (NE Regional-3)132 - Tanner McHugh, Tamaqua (SE Regional-3) vs. Lukas McClain, Ridgway (NW Regional-2)152 - Caleb Clymer, Northwestern (SE Regional-2) vs. Josh Haley, Wyalusing (NE Regional-3)160 - Hunter Kennedy, Panther Valley (SE Regional-2) vs. Gage Arnold, Coudersport (NW Regional-3); Ryan Farber, Northern Lehigh (SE Regional-1) vs. winner of Joe Galvin, Iroquois (NW Regional-4)/Cody Jenkins, South Allegheny (SW Regional-6)182 - Jared Mooney, Palmerton (SE Regional-2) vs. Anthony Marra, Burrell (SW Regional-3)285 - Jason Schaffer, Northern Lehigh (SE Regional-2) vs. Jeffrey Kraemer, North East (NW Regional-3)**********ANOTHER MILESTONE ... As Northern Lehigh's Ryan Farber collected his third District 11 title and first Southeast Regional championship in consecutive weeks, the triumphs were also landmarks for the Bulldogs' coaching staff. "It means a lot," said head coach Scott Snyder. "It means a lot to him, it means a lot to us. I was happy last week, myself and coach Hosford, being a part of our first three-time district champ. And now this week, we come in a week later and we get to be a part of our first regional champion together. A lot of milestones we've hit these last few weeks, and it makes me really happy to see the progress of Ryan throughout his career."**********PREVIOUSLY ... Northern Lehigh's Ryan Farber and Northwestern's Caleb Clymer each took sixth at 160 and 145 pounds, respectively, at last year's PIAA Championships. Palmerton's Jared Mooney (182) and Tamaqua's Tanner McHugh (126) both placed eighth.**********OFF THE MAT ... In Off The Mat's 10th issue of Class 2A state rankings, Northern Lehigh's Ryan Farber retained his No. 1 ranking at 160 pounds, while Northwestern's Caleb Clymer stayed at No. 3 at 152 pounds. Clymer's opponent in Saturday's Southeast Regional final, Susquehanna Township's Edmond Ruth, was ranked first. Ruth defeated Clymer 5-3 in overtime. Tamaqua's Tanner McHugh dropped two spots to fifth at 132 pounds. Palmerton's Jared Mooney was ranked fourth at 182 pounds. Mooney lost an 11-4 decision in Saturday's 182-pound regional final to Northern Lebanon's Luke Funck, who is ranked second. Northwestern's Baily Wehr moved up to fourth at 120 pounds. Wehr advanced to the regional final by knocking off the previously second-ranked wrestler at 120 pounds, Upper Dauphin's Bronson Garber, 6-5. The senior fell to third-ranked Josh Jones of Saucon Valley in the final. Despite falling to Farber in the regional final, Panther Valley's Hunter Kennedy remained 10th at 160 pounds. After advancing to district and regional finals in back-to-back weeks, Northern Lehigh's Jason Schaffer enters the rankings and is 12th at 285 pounds. The top-ranked wrestler at 285, Tri-Valley's Dan Scheib, pinned Schaffer for the district and regional titles ... District 11 had two teams in Off the Mat's final top-25 Dual Meet rankings. Saucon Valley was seventh, while Wilson ended 16th.