There is only one stop left on the road to Hershey.

This weekend, wrestlers will descend on Liberty High School for the Class 3A Northeast Regional Tournament, and Wilson West Lawn High School for the Class 2A Southeast Regional Tournament.

What’s at stake is a spot in next week’s PIAA Championships in Hershey – every wrestler’s desired final destination.

A total of 18 Times News area wrestlers qualified for the Southeast Regional event.

Fresh off his third district title, Northwestern’s Caleb Clymer will look to improve on last year’s runner-up finish at the regional tournament with another strong showing this weekend.

“I’m definitely excited,” Clymer said of his postseason prospects. “Senior year, you gotta be excited for it. Win or lose, going out there and compete and having fun, that’s what it’s all about.”

Clymer has been firing on all cylinders this season, and wants to end his career with a state title.

“He definitely believes he can win gold at Hershey this year,” said Northwestern head coach Jim Moll. “I think last year, he knew he had a chance. But I don’t know how much he believed it, confidence-wise, and that makes all the difference.”

Clymer was third in Hershey a year ago, and sixth at states as a sophomore.

Clymer’s gold medal highlighted a strong district tournament for the Tigers, who also had Matt Peters and Jackson Bernhard in the finals.

Northwestern placed second in the team standings with 166 points, just behind Saucon Valley (166.5), and Moll was also named Class 2A Coach of the Year.

The Tigers have an area-best seven wrestlers headed to regionals.

“It’s nice to have this many guys in the room that all like to compete,” said Moll. “And that’s what I tell my kids every year, every match, is go out and compete. You don’t worry about winning or losing. If you compete in every situation, focus on scoring points, the wins take care of themselves.

“That’s what most of our guys did all weekend (at districts). We wrestled well.”

Northwestern’s Colin Rex qualified for regionals last season as an injury replacement, and turned that opportunity into a trip to Hershey. This season, Rex is headed to regionals after placing third at 138 pounds at districts.

Moll is looking for even more from Rex this time around.

“I think he was that good last year, obviously he showed it,” Moll said of Rex. “He just didn’t have a good district tournament last year. He got lucky, and took advantage of it.

“But now he knows that he’s good enough to be at states. So he’s wrestling with a lot more confidence, and that makes all the difference in the world.”

Moll is hoping that confidence leads to even more success this weekend.

“They have to go out and wrestle regionals with the same confidence they wrestled at districts. And most of them should … most of them have a really good shot at making it to states. They should know that in their head; we just have to remind them sometimes.”

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REGIONAL PAIRINGS

... Here is a look at first round matchups for Times News area wrestlers at this weekend’s Southeast Regional Tournament at Wilson West Lawn High School. These are preliminary pairings as the brackets are always subject to change.

106 - Jake Dellicker, Northwestern (District 11-3) vs. Brandon Breidegan, Northern Lebanon (District 3-5)

113 – John Newhall, Jim Thorpe (District 11-2) vs. Korey Smith, Bermudian Springs (District 3-7)

120 – N/A

126 – Harrison Bernhard, Northwestern (District 11-4) vs. Collin Nester, Boiling Springs (District 3-2)

132 – Matt Peters, Northwestern (District 11-2) vs. Dylan Griffie, Bermudian Springs (District 3-7); Pierce Demetriades, Tamaqua (District 11-4) vs. Tanner Bell, Pequea Valley (District 3-2)

138 – Colin Rex, Northwestern (District 11-3) vs. Jacob Hammaker, Susquenita (District 3-5)

145 – Lucas Christman, Palmerton (District 11-2) vs. Zachary Renninger, Annville-Cleona (District 3-7); Chris Whiteman, Lehighton (District 11-4) vs. Gabe Miller, Pequea Valley (District 3-2)

152 – Jackson Bernhard, Northwestern (District 11-2) vs. Caleb Bentley, Trinity (District 3-7)

160 – Caleb Clymer, Northwestern (District 11-1) bye; Tanner Kennedy, Panther Valley (District 11-2) vs. Steven Heck, Upper Dauphin (District 3-7)

170 – Hunter Kennedy, Panther Valley (District 11-2) vs. Daniel Eagle, Kennard-Dale (District 3-7); Cody Scherer, Lehighton (District 11-4) vs. Dalton Group, Susquenita (District 3-2)

182 – Derrick Beckham, Panther Valley (District 11-2) vs. Colby Tennyson, Boiling Springs (District 3-7); Austin Williams, Jim Thorpe (District 11-4) vs. Luca Colestock, Camp Hill (District 3-2)

195 – Ethan Mordaunt, Jim Thorpe (District 11-2) vs. Ben Weidenhammer, Hamburg (District 3-7)

220 – Bronson Strouse, Tamaqua (District 11-2) vs. Micah Springer, Camp Hill (District 3-7); Quin Moyer, Northwestern (District 11-4) vs. Joe Coblentz, Pequea Valley (District 3-2)

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LAST TIME

… Ryan Farber edged Panther Valley’s Hunter Kennedy 4-2 in the 160-pound final at last year’s Southeast Regional Tournament. The contest was a rematch of the previous week’s District 11 final, which Farber won 13-3. Northwestern’s Baily Wehr (120) and Caleb Clymer (152), along with Northern Lehigh’s Jason Schaffer (285) and Palmerton’s Jared Mooney (182), placed second. A total of nine Times News area wrestlers advanced to the PIAA Wrestling Championships with top-six finishes in the Class 2A regional tournament. Tamaqua’s Tanner McHugh (132) made it to Hershey with a third-place result. In addition to Clymer and Wehr, Colin Rex (132) and Jackson Bernhard (145) also qualified for states with sixth place finishes.

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OTM

… After capturing his third district title over the weekend, Northwestern’s Caleb Clymer remains third at 160 pounds this week in the ninth issue of Off the Mat’s Class 2A state rankings. The Tigers’ Jackson Bernhard stayed in the fifth spot at 152, while teammate Colin Rex is 15th at 138. Panther Valley’s Hunter Kennedy held firm at sixth at 170 pounds, while Tamaqua’s Bronson Strouse moves down from No. 14 to 15th at 220. Palmerton’s Lucas Christman retains the No. 16 spot at 145 pounds. Panther Valley’s Tanner Kennedy reenters the rankings at No. 16 at 160 pounds after a runner-up finish at the district tournament. Jim Thorpe’s Ethan Mordaunt also moves into the rankings for the first time this season, coming in at No. 16 at 195 pounds. Saucon Valley is still ranked ninth in the Class 2A team rankings. Wilson remains 19th, while Northwestern Lehigh stays in the 21st spot despite taking second in the team standings at the district tournament over the weekend.

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ICYMI

… Jim Thorpe’s John Newhall secured his place in the semifinals at the district tournament in style, pinning Saucon Valley’s Kevin Dyer to record his 100th career victory. “It means a lot to me,” said Newhall. “I came into the season knowing I was close. That was one of my first goals this season.” The moment was a special one for Olympians’ head coach Shawn Albert. “It’s always awesome when you see your guys accomplish milestones,” said Albert. “One hundred wins is just something that doesn’t happen all the time. And I’m very proud of him.”

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STRONG SHOWING

… Lehighton’s Cody Scherer worked his way back after missing the beginning of the season recovering from an injury. With limited mat time this season, Scherer was seeded 11th for the district tournament, but knocked off No. 6 seed Braydyn Lugardo of Saucon Valley in the first round before getting a 9-2 decision over third seed Alec Snyder to reach the semis. The senior finished fourth to punch his ticket to regionals.