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Glendale's Zeke Dubler's last two losses to Laurel's Grant MacKay have been by paper thin margins -- 1-0 in the Southwest Regional Tournament finals the last two years.
Dubler's march to a rematch in last year's PIAA Class 2A Championships was halted by Notre Dame-Green Pond's eventual champion Holden Garcia, 3-0, in the semifinals. Dubler went on place fourth for his first state medal.
Dubler and two-time finalist MacKay are in the opposite brackets of the state tournament again this season. So there's a chance they could be wrestling in the state finals at 160 pounds on Saturday afternoon at Hershey's Giant Center.
"That's the plan," Dubler said after the regional finals. "I've had the state tournament marked on my calendar for awhile. That is the guy between me and a gold medal this year. So, I'm definitely super excited."
To get to the finals, Dubler (39-4) will have a big hurdle if he can return to the semifinals. He'll likely get either Grove City's second-ranked Hunter Hohman (39-1), who beat an ill Dubler, 8-4, at the Fred Bell Tournament, or Williamsburg/Huntingdon's Andrew McMonagle (37-5).
McMonagle could wrestle Hohman in the quarterfinals. Dubler's tiebreaker win over McMonagle in the District 6 Tournament finals was a classic.
There will be plenty of excitement for all wrestlers and fans when the state tournament begins at 9 a.m. Thursday with a short preliminary round, followed by a first round. A win in the first round means wrestlers are done until Friday. A loss means they will have to wrestle in the consolations at 1:15.
Friday is always the longest day of the 2A tournament. Wrestling begins with the Class 2A quarterfinals and second-round consolations at 9 a.m. Quarterfinals winners will wrestle in the semifinals at 7:30 p.m. The consolation semifinals are scheduled for 9:30 p.m.
The finals and other medal bouts are at 2 p.m. Saturday. The top eight in each weight earn medals.
Seven Class 2A wrestlers from the Mirror coverage area have goals of making it to Saturday's medal rounds.
Penn Cambria's two-time regional champion Trent Hoover (145), Tyrone's regional runners-up Kyle Scott (172) and Braden Ewing (285), Glendale's third-placer Daniel Williams (285) and fifth-placer Britton Spangle (189) will join Dubler and third-placer McMonagle.
Hoover, Spangle and Ewing are making their second straight appearances in Hershey. Hoover, of course, has been motivated since leaving last year's state tournament without a medal, going 1-2 after an opening-round pin.
"That's where my goals are. I've got some business to handle," Hoover said after winning his second regional title.
"I'm excited for Trent to get back down there," Penn Cambria coach Todd Niebauer said. "He personally wants to change things. Last year didn't go quite as well as he wanted it to.
"Trent's been in a lot of big stages. He was in the PJW semifinals a couple times and the Fargo (National Championships) happened during the summer. I'm hoping that bigger stage helped him prepare. I'm not saying we went down and were in awe, but I don't think he wrestled as well as he could have."
Hoover (38-2) could very likely be facing Meadowbrook Christian's fourth-ranked and two-time state placewinner Cade Wirnsberger (38-3) in the quarterfinals. Wirnsberger faces Faith Christian Academy's returning sixth-placer and fifth-ranked Max Stein in the first round. Hoover has moved up to sixth in the PA Power Wrestling rankings.
"I think he's right there with anyone," Niebauer said. "Rankings don't mean anything. You saw it in the Big Tens with (Penn State's) Levi Haynes beating the No. 1 and undefeated guy (Nebraska's Peyton Robb). Any dog can have his day. The weight class is super difficult. I get it. But if we're on and we're focused, we're right there with anybody."
Ewing (32-8) went 2-2 in Hershey last season, getting eliminated in the blood round - the round prior to the medal rounds.
The sixth-ranked Ewing, who avenged two losses to Williams in the semifinals, wrestles Benton's Andrew Wolfe (34-9). The winner will likely get Bishop McDevitt returning state champ and two-time finalist Riley Robell (33-2).
"Hopefully, let's get on the podium this year," Tyrone coach Quentin Wright said. "In his second match, I'm excited to see if he can get that first big upset on someone. He's good enough to beat anybody. He's excited. He's got a little bit of extra energy in him. He got the monkey off his back by beating the Glendale kid."
The seventh-ranked Williams (39-8), a freshman who is in the same bracket as Ewing, faces Canton's Mason Nelson (18-7) in his first state tournament. The winner will likely get Port Allegany's 33-0 Carson Neely, a sophomore making his first Hershey appearance.
Spangle (35-11), who was 0-2 in Hershey last year as a junior, has to wrestle a pigtail bout against Faith Christian Academy's Jason Singer (32-10). The winner gets Brookvlle's Northwest Regional champ Jackson Zimmerman (35-4).
Scott (33-9), a 14-year-old freshman, will try to overcome the nerves and a familiar opponent in Towanda's Mason Higley (39-7). Scott beat Higley, 3-0, at the Ultimate Warrior. The winner will likely face Faith Christian's top-ranked freshman Adam Waters (40-1) in the quarterfinals.
The wrestlers will get a workout in at the Giant Center tonight. It's a chance to get used to the arena and check out their opponents.
"We always like to get that good first workout in at the Giant Center, and get used to it," Wright said. "It will be important for Scott because he's never been there before. Ewing knows what to expect because he was there last year. It won't be as surprising for him."
And then the wrestlers will try to navigate deep weight classes and nerves in the toughest state tournament in the nation.
"I love going to Hershey," Niebauer said. "If you get kids to Hershey, it's the best experience that they can have. Obviously the postseason is super important to them, super important to the program. Just being in that atmosphere is amazing."