HERSHEY — Travis Erdman wants a third shot in as many weeks at his summer wrestling teammate, Luke Frey.
Frey did his part in Thursday's PIAA Class AA preliminary round with an easy 15-0 technical fall in 3 minutes, 56 seconds over Jesse Gardner of Biglerville at 140 pounds.
A few minutes earlier, Erdman dispatched Seneca's Garret Smith by a 6-2 decision. But the Line Mountain senior won't let himself think about another round with the Montoursville senior and former state champion. Not yet.
Erdman was one of 11 Valley wrestlers to advance to this morning's quarterfinals (8 a.m. in the Giant Center), along with three others who stayed alive in the tournament with first-round consolation wins.
In addition to Erdman and his teammate, as well as 2010 state 103 champ Zain Retherford and Lewisburg's returning 171 runner-up Nathaniel Brown, the other Valley quarterfinalists are Shamokin's senior trio of former place-winners Brandon Pesarchick (130), Josh Lahr (135) and Wes Tillett (285), Southern Columbia's Brian Watkins (145), Mifflinburg's Ty Walter (160), Lewisburg's Brandon Smith (189), Milton's Ryan Solomon (215) and Danville's Dylan Dailey (also 215).
Bouncing back from preliminary losses to win in the first round of consolations were Mifflinburg's David Sheesley (112), Line Mountain's Seth Lansberry (125) and Mount Carmel's Nick Duscendschine (125).
Erdman, who missed last year's postseason with an injury, said he wanted to have fun in his final trip to Hershey, where he placed eighth as a sophomore and watched his brother, Tyler, win the gold in 2008.
"I'm having fun. Now I have (three teammates) and we are having a good time. But I am also serious, and taking one match at a time," he said.
Erdman took Smith down and gave up an escape to lead 2-1 after one period. He did the same in the second for a 4-2 advantage and clinched it with a third-period reversal.
But it wasn't as easy as it sounds. Smith, who won his first-round consolation to improve to 38-8, had Erdman in potentially dangerous situations twice. Erdman not only scrambled out of both, but scored a takedown on one and a reversal on the other.
"My game plans is always to get that takedown in the first period and he got in deep on my leg there and I just had to work my defense and stay out of it," he said. "I'd say I'm a good scrambler. I was in on his leg, and I was getting pretty high but there was a short time on the clock, then you just have to hang on."
Walter (37-4) trailed early but was in control most of the way before pinning Jonathan Blank of Notre Dame-Green Pond in 5:19.
Blank took him down early and picked up a penalty point when Walter was called for fleeing the mat (he said he was trying to escape and Blank was pushing him). But Walter bounced back with a reversal and a pair of nearfall points, then escaped in the second for a 5-3 lead.
Walter tilted Blank for two points in the third and then finished it with a fall.
"He had a weird style, it was one of the weirdest that I have ever wrestled," said Walter, who was making his first visit to the state tournament.
"I wasn't really nervous because I have been in big arenas wrestling Greco (tournaments), but I really wanted to get that first win put away and move on to the quarterfinals," Walter said.
Today, he faces Hickory senior Tyler Gargano (46-2) and he said he watched one of his matches on film last week and he is "tough."
Solomon (32-2), who placed sixth a year ago as a freshman at 189, eked out a 1-0 win over Matthew Wolf of Bermudian Springs at 215 with a third-period escape.
"I didn't really know what he was going to do, but I got a (win)," Solomon said. "I pretty much knew it was going to be a close one. And when we got to the third period and it was still zero-zero I went (on the bottom position), I was feeling pretty good about that."
Solomon got the escape with 57 seconds left, leaving plenty of time for Wolf to come back or for Solomon to draw a stalling call.
"There wasn't too much panic, because he didn't really shoot at all," Solomon said.
Dailey (23-2), who missed more than a month of the season because of illness, had a short stay in the prelims, pinning Wyomissing's Tyler Rank in 50 seconds.
Smith (31-3), who lost to Solomon last year for the final state berth, had a successful Hershey debut with a 1-0 victory over Devin Hornbake of Forest Hills. Smith, a sophomore, made an escape with 1:27 left in the second period stand up.
Pesarchick (30-7) and Tillett (32-5) both won by fall, Pesarchick in 2:58 over Matthew Bryer, Cochranton, and Tillett in 4:34 over Shane Morris of Central Cambria. Pesarchick was fourth last year and sixth as a sophomore at 130 and Tillett was seventh at 285 last year. Lahr (33-5) rallied for an 8-6 win over Newport senior Eric Kemble. Lahr placed sixth two years ago.
Watkins (31-5), a senior in his first state tournament, used a takedown with 28 seconds left to hold off Tri-Valley's Sam Scheib 5-3.
