Lehighton’s wrestling team in the district semifinals?

The thought of that before the start of the season might have been far-fetched, maybe even for their head coach, but after wins over Pine Grove and Mahanoy Area on Thursday, that’s exactly where the fifth-seeded Indians are headed.

A 29-27 victory over the Cardinals in the first round of the Class 2A team championships was followed by a 37-33 triumph over Mahanoy Area in the quarterfinals. Next up for Lehighton (11-4) is a matchup with No. 1 seed Saucon Valley on Saturday.

“In the beginning of the year, I was worried about being near .500 to be honest with you,” said Indian mentor Floyd Brown. “We’re missing a couple weight classes, and in double-A that’s big. For us to be in the semifinals, we definitely have overachieved.

“We have good leadership. Our seniors have been nothing but great in the room and motivating the kids. And this is a nice group. They listen. They want to learn. We have no issues. They go out and do what they’re asked. It’s been enjoyable with this group.”

One of those seniors, Logan Pagotto, rallied from a deficit in his opening match to record a key pin, and then hung on for a clutch decision to open the team’s second match.

“I knew I had to get wins, and I knew I had some tough matches,” said Pagotto. “Both of (my opponents) were place-winners at leagues, so I knew I’d have to wrestle well. Coach wanted me to get bonus points and I was trying. I wasn’t feeling the best today either, but I did what I had to do to help my team.

“This is great. I’m really proud of the team. Coming into the year, no one thought we were going to do anything. We thought maybe four or five wins, and now we’re up past 10 and we get to go to the semifinals in districts. I’m really excited.”

First Round

Lehighton-Pine Grove

Lehighton captured only four of the nine bouts that were decided on the mat, but gained two forfeits to Pine Grove’s one to help gain the narrow win.

Chris Whiteman got the Indians off to a fast start, registering 11 near-fall points during his 18-2 technical fall at 145 pounds. Pagotto, trailing 3-0 after two periods, rallied to tie his match with Gavin Harris before posting a third-period pin at 152 to quickly make the team score 11-0.

“Logan did a nice job for us tonight,” said Brown. “He was actually down by three at one point, and he battled back against a pretty tough kid. That was a big win for us from him.

“We didn’t win the toss, so there were a bunch of matchups where it would have been nice to control, but we weren’t able to control any of them. But it worked out in the end.”

The 12th-seeded Cardinals took the next three bouts, but even in those losses the Indians battled and didn’t give up any bonus points.

Senior Christian Rodriguez managed a hard-fought 5-2 win at 220, while junior Lucas Sangiuliano used three takedowns at 126 to help produce an 8-4 decision. Those results, coupled with a pair of forfeits at 113 and 120, clinched the match.

“Even some of our guys that lost turned in solid efforts,” said Brown. “Richard Fronheiser faced a really good kid in Kintzel (at 170). He battled him and only lost by a point or two. He wrestled tough for us ... Overall, I thought we wrestled pretty well.”

Quarterfinals

Lehighton-Mahanoy A.

Pagotto made his presence felt again in the quarterfinals, gutting out a 5-4 decision against Thomas Allison in the opening bout.

The 152-pounder trailed 4-2 early before using an escape and a takedown to take a one-point lead into the final period. Allison chose defense to start the period, and Pagotto kept him down for the full two minutes to record an important decision.

“I knew he’d be hard to turn,” said Pagotto. “I had a bar a few times, but I just couldn’t get it. I kept looking at the clock, and I just rode a tight waist out and tried to take the air out of him and maybe wear him down and get a turn. But I came out with a win, and that’s all that matters.”

“That was a nice win, and I knew we needed to win there,” said Brown. “They bumped a kid up to wrestle him, who was pretty good. I think he’s a 20-match winner. That was a big win there, and then Jon Ahner got a major decision.”

As Brown said, Ahner came through with a bonus point with his 11-2 victory at 160. The sophomore led 4-2 after two periods, before using a reversal and five near-fall points to win decisively.

Despite a 21-point run by fourth-seeded Mahanoy — thanks to three decisions and a pair of forfeits — the Indians knew they’d be receiving three straight forfeits from 106 to 120.

Lehighton sophomore Steven Fritzinger then dominated at 126, building a 14-1 lead before posting a fall to put the team score at 31-21.

A Mahanoy pin closed the gap at 132, but the two teams traded forfeits in the final two weight classes to clinch the win for Brown’s squad.

“I felt on paper we definitely had an advantage, not a huge one, but as long as we won where we were supposed to win and didn’t get pinned, I thought we had a good shot at both matches,” said Brown. “And it kind of worked out that way.

“I thought we had a nice spot in the bracket, but I knew both of them were going to be close.”

MOVING ON ... Lehighton will be decided underdogs against Saucon Valley in the semis, but the experience should benefit the Indians. “We just want everyone to go out there and battle, and hopefully we can keep winning as a team and keep moving on,” said Brown. “This is kind of like free extra matches for our guys, which is good getting them ready for the postseason. The more matches they can get, the more experience they get. They’re learning and getting to wrestle in this kind of atmosphere in tight situations.”

SITE AND TIME ... The semifinals will be held at Freedom, starting at 10:45 a.m. If the Indians lose to the Panthers, they will face the North Schuylkill-Northwestern winner at 12:30 p.m.

First Round

Lehighton 29, Pine Grove 27

145 - Chris Whiteman (L) tech. fall Christopher Charles, 18-2 (5:40); 152 - Logan Pagotto (L) pinned Gavin Harris in 5:16; 160 - Caleb Reiter (PG) dec. Jon Ahner, 10-4; 170 - Dillon Kintzel (PG) dec. Richard Fronheiser, 5-3; 182 - Hayden Kennemore (PG) dec. Alex Zigenfuss, 4-2; 195 - Christopher Schadle (PG) won by forfeit; 220 - Christian Rodriguez (L) dec. Peyton Nuske, 5-2; 285 - Double forfeit; 106 - Travis Anderson (PG) pinned Lukas Ferguson in :40; 113 - Mason Ferguson (L) won by forfeit; 120 - David Miller (L) won by fofeit; 126 - Lucas Sangiuliano (L) dec. Noah Venszi, 8-4; 132 - Ayden Ney (PG) pinned Steven Fritzinger in 1:46; 138

- Double forfeit.

Quarterfinals

Lehighton 37, Mahanoy Area 33

152 - Logan Pagotto (L) dec. Thomas Allison, 5-4; 160 - Jon Ahner major dec. Sam Quick, 11-2; 170 - Alexis Perez (MA) dec. Richard Fronheiser, 6-5; 182 - Danny Lawrence (MA) dec. Alex Zigenfuss, 3-0; 195 - Colin Fegley (MA) won by forfeit; 220 - Michael Ansbach (MA) dec. Christian Rodriguez, 8-1; 285 - Tommy Price (MA) won by forfeit; 106 - Lukas Ferguson (L) won by forfeit; 113 - Mason Ferguson (L) won by forfeit; 120 - David Miller (L) won by forfeit; 126 - Steven Fritzinger (L) pinned John Babinsky in 5:27; 132 - Cesear Rivera (MA) pinned Lucas Sangiuliano in :54; 138 - Bryson Soult (MA) won by forfeit; 145

- Chris Whiteman (L) won by forfeit.