Lehighton girls wrestling picked up right where it left off last season.

In a highly anticipated matchup against Panther Valley on Wednesday, the Indians took the first 10 bouts — seven by fall — on their way to a dominant 60-18 victory.

With the night serving as the season opener for both squads, early nerves were evident, particularly for the Panthers, who rolled out several first-year wrestlers.

That inexperience showed in the lower weights, where Lehighton took full advantage.

At 100 pounds, Jeinilys Sanchez opened the meet with a fall over Jillian Remes in 4:19. Following a forfeit at 106, Zoey Diedel (112) needed just 39 seconds to pin Mya Reyes, keeping momentum firmly on the home side.

“Our kids were aggressive right out of the gate,” Lehighton head coach George Ebbert said. “We just got some momentum from (Jeinilys). She got a fall for us, and that kind of set the tone. You start to get momentum and you just snowball it down the hill, and everybody picked up on it. It was good.”

That Tribe snowball continued through 155, with five of the next six contested weights ending in pins. Claudia Pagotto (124) posted the quickest fall of the night at 38 seconds, followed by Blayr Strawser (130) in 1:56. After a forfeit at 136, Lillian Klotz (142), Keza Moyer (148) and Cassidy Litts (155) closed out a run of six straight Lehighton scoring wins — all by fall.

“Anytime you’re wrestling a top-tier team, you’re going to see some wins and some losses, and it’s not always going to go the way you want it to,” Panther Valley head coach Kris Nalesnik said. “We had a lot of brand-new girls out there and you could see their inexperience, but they wrestled hard and tried to win. It just didn’t turn out our way this night.”

Panther Valley found its footing in the upper weights. Anelia Bennick (170) and Alisa Williams (190) both earned pins, and the Panthers added a forfeit at 235 — a bout that drew attention from those hoping to see standout Brenda Banks on the mat.

Just one match into the season, PV is already eager for another shot.

“They hated losing that match,” Nalesnik said. “That’s something that can spur you on to do what you need to do to get the job done — that extra little bit to start pulling out some wins. There’s no way to replace mat time for experience in this sport.”

For Lehighton, the win also marked Ebbert’s first victory as head coach, having previously served as an assistant.

“They are more forthcoming to an assistant coach than the head coach, which is understandable because now I have a little bit of a different role,” Ebbert said. “But our kids are still great. You couldn’t ask for better kids. They did a good job in the room, and I’m glad they wrestled the way they did because they’ve been working hard.”

UNDERWAY ... Lehighton is right back in action Thursday with a trip to Wilson. Panther Valley returns next weekend at the Escape the Rock girls tournament at North Penn.

Lehighton 60, Panther Valley 18

100 - Jeinilys Sanchez (L) pinned Jillian Remes in 4:19; 106 - Charlotte Griffiths (L) won by forfeit; 112 - Zoey Diedel (L) pinned Mya Reyes in 0:39; 118 - Mia Guy (L) won by forfeit; 124 - Claudia Pagotto (L) pinned Ambar DeLatora Torres in 0:38; 130 - Blayr Strawser (L) pinned Amelia Spino in 1:56; 136 - Kennedy Quinn (L) won by forfeit; 142 - Lillian Klotz (L) pinned Adrianna Cabrera in 0:59; 148 - Keza Moyer (L) pinned Bailey Snyder in 3:00; 155 - Cassidy Litts (L) pinned Ashley Williams in 1:14; 170 - Anelia Bennick (P) pinned Alivia Reed in 2:46; 190 - Alisa Williams (P) pinned Kailey Evans in 1:18; 235 - Brenda Banks (P) won by forfeit.