HERSHEY — A victory over a returning state champion, another last-second upset and at least one state finalist: This morning was good to local wrestlers.

Thirteen wrestlers from The Tribune-Democrat's coverage area will bring home medals from the PIAA Class AA Wrestling Championships.

Perhaps none is more surprising than North Star's Richard Baker. The 140-pounder was the fifth-place finisher in the Southwest Region, but he's one of four wrestlers at the weight with a chance to win a state title.

After scoring four points in the final seconds on Thursday morning in an upset victory, Baker needed more drama this morning. His takedown with three seconds remaining gave him a 3-2 victory over Dereek Shingara of Shamokin and a spot in the semifinals, which begin at 6:30 tonight at the Giant Center.

“Whatever I can do to win, it doesn't matter,” Baker said. “I just try to keep moving, keep the match interesting. Then, at the end is where I go all out and try to win the match. I just try to keep it close to the end.”

He'll take the same strategy into tonight's matchup with Seth Beitz, who has pulled off some upsets of his own. The Juniata wrestler was a fourth-place finisher in the Southeast Region but beat Central Cambria's Phil Steinberg – a runner-up at 135 a year ago – on Thursday.

For Baker, his success in Hershey is making up for a few rough patches in a season that saw him lose seven matches.

“I feel great,” he said. “I've never been here, and I always wanted to come here. It really means a lot. I had some upsets this season. I wrestled a few bad matches, but up until districts I've been working hard. This is what really counts, and I'm trying to make the most of it.”

Westmont Hilltop's Tanner Hough made the most of his opportunity this morning, as he knocked off Juniata's Arty Walsh at 119 pounds. Walsh entered the day with a 44-0 record and was the state champ at 112 pounds last year.

A third caution on Walsh helped Hough tie the score at 2 after two periods. Walsh escaped 30 seconds into the third and fought off Hough until the Westmont junior scored on a double-leg takedown with 10 seconds remaining.

“I wasn't sure if I was going to get the takedown or not,” said Hough, who has struggled to finish his shot at times. “I just knew I had to come up a lot quicker and make sure I finished clean, so that's what I tried to do.”

The road to the finals doesn't get any easier for Hough. He'll get Reynolds' Mason Beckman – who is 47-0 – in the semfinals, but Hough said he's fine with whatever happens in the tournament because he's guaranteed to finish in the top six.

“I already know I'm going to be on the podium,” he said. “There's no pressure now. I just have to go get the next one.”

One local heavyweight will get a shot at a state championship – it's just a matter of which one. Richland's John Rizzo and Westmont Hilltop's Josh Duplin each won their 285-pound matches and will square off in the semifinals tonight.

Duplin pinned Forest Hills' Bob Oshaben in the semifinals while Rizzo beat Milton Hershey's Cris Ramirez 6-4 in overtime. Rizzo led 3-0 entering the third period, but a Ramirez takedown and two stalling calls in the final 15 seconds sent it to overtime.

Rizzo has beaten Duplin three times this season, including the past two in overtime.

North Star's Nick Roberts certainly didn't need overtime to reach the semifinals. In fact, the defending champion at 103 pounds didn't need two full periods for a 16-1 technical fall over Smethport's Nate Schwab. Roberts will face Line Mountain's Zain Retherford, who has been ranked No. 2 for much of the season, in tonight's semifinal round.

Portage's Shawn Perich cruised to the semifinals with a 7-1 victory over Garrett Russell this morning. This evening's match will be a much bigger test for the 145-pounder, as he faces Jordan Moss of Sharon. Moss is 44-0 this season and will be seeking a second state title after winning the 135-pound championship in 2008.

Seven local wrestlers are still alive in the consolation rounds and will finish in the top eight of their respective weight classes. A pair will face off tonight, as Westmont Hilltop's Josh Polacek and Penn Cambria's Evan Link are scheduled to meet at 112 pounds. Polacek lost 3-1 to Union City's Shane Rankin in the quarterfinals but bounced back with a 12-2 victory over Tyler Roberts of Jamestown in a second-round consolation match. Link scored a takedown with a two seconds remaining for a 3-2 victory over Shady Side Academy's Phillip Elias – the same wrestler who beat him in last week's Southwest Regional tournament.

Bedford's Cory Thomas lost 11-3 to Beckman in the quarterfinals but responded with a 9-2 victory over Claysburg-Kimmel's Ty Dively at 119 pounds. Thomas will face Octorara's Brandon Arnsberger – who eliminated Walsh, the state champ at 112 last year – in the semifinals.

North Star's Joe Lascari was pinned by Reynolds' Dylan D'Urso in the quarterfinals but stayed alive in the tournament with a 6-3 victory over Juniata Valley's Taylor Boyd at 125 pounds. Lascari will face Cochranton's Matt Bryer tonight.

Bedford's Trey Easter reached his goal of earning a state medal by beating Westmont's Trevor Kushner 2-1 in their consolation match at 135 pounds. Kushner, who lost 7-5 to Ridgway's Garet Pisani in the quarterfinals, held a 1-0 lead in the third period, when he took a poor shot and Easter spun around behind him for a takedown. Easter then rode Kushner out for the final 34 seconds and the victory. The Bedford senior will face Schuylkill Valley's Mike Georgio in the third round of consolations this evening.

Steinberg continued on his quest for third after being upset on Thursday. Steinberg beat Chartiers-Houston's Michael Innes 4-3 in a rematch of their 140-pound Southwest Regional final from last week. Steinberg will meet Greenville's Cody Copeland in tonight.

Penn Cambria's Zak Newton scored four first-period points and then held on for a 5-1 victory over Saucon Valley's Ian Gimbar at 189 pounds. Newton will meet Fort Cherry's Gary Kiefer in the consolation round tonight.

Forest Hills had all three of its wrestlers eliminated today, as Chris Gallaher (160 pounds), Zack Glessner (189) and Oshaben (285) each lost in the third round of consolations.

Conemaugh Township's Tanner Cahill (125 pounds), Somerset's Luke Lohr (140) and Central Cambria's Anthony Risaliti (14 5) were also eliminated.