Sophomore Xavier Arner has the opportunity to extend his wrestling season into March, and that’s the place where he hopes to lead the rest of his teammates in the coming years.

Arner advanced to the 3A Northeast Regional Wrestling Tournament by defeating Parkland’s Bryan Diaz 3-2 to earn fifth place during last weekend’s District XI 3A Individual Wrestling Tournament at Liberty’s Memorial Gymnasium.

He was among four Whitehall wrestlers who were in the 5-6 matches as Wilfred Jimenez (106), Johnny Colon (125) and Randy Okungu (220), were also on the cusp of advancing to this week’s regionals which will be held at Liberty High School once again.

Arner is the first Zephyr to make it to the Northeast Regional tourney since Matt Bonshak in 2013. He won four matches en route to securing the regional spot, and will now look to advance to Hershey and the PIAA 3A Individual Wrestling Championships.

Arner understands that suiting up an again and representing Whitehall on the mat is something that can’t be understated. It’s been a while since a maroon and gold singlet has appeared in the Northeast Regional tourney, a history he’s well aware of as he prepares for the upcoming weekend.

“It’s pretty exciting and pretty interesting because I feel like not only is this going to change the culture of Whitehall wrestling, but this is going to further improve the result of coming out of districts,” said Arner. “And I feel like since I made fifth, I feel like anyone can go fifth and onto regionals.”

Fellow underclassmen Colon only lost by three points in his pivotal regional qualifying match, underscoring Arner’s belief that the postseason tide is about to turn for the Zephyr program.

Arner will face Nino Cinti from Wilkes-Barre Area High School out of District 2. Arner said that he doesn’t watch tapes of his opponent or focus too heavily on what moves he may prefer while on the mat.

“I don’t really look ahead, I just try to focus on what I’m going to do,” said Arner.

He said the goal is to make it to the PIAA tournament and will have to crack the top three in order to do so.

Bethlehem Catholic’s Kenny Hermann won the 132 lb. title, defeating Stroudsburg’s Patrick Noonan 7-5 in the finals. Arner has faced Noonan twice this season, losing in their dual meet and in the district tourney. Arner said that in their first encounter he wrestled more defensively, but altered his game plan in their second meeting, favoring an attacking style.

“I just let it fly and I tried to go,” said Arner.

The Stroudsburg senior was able to fend off that aggression, winning 14-1. Arner battled back in the consolation bracket, defeating Easton’s Colby Duffy 9-4 and East Stroudsburg North’s Avia Bibeau with a pin.

Arner said that Noonan’s strength is probably his biggest asset, and it’s something that’s a huge advantage when wrestling at 132.

In his match with Diaz to get him into the regional tournament, Arner said he was confident he could come out on top.

“I wanted it, and since it was for going into regionals, I’m going to win this match,” said Arner.

Whitehall finished in 10th place at the district tourney, amassing 67 points. It was an outstanding performance by a team that’s wrestling against kids who are among the best in the state.

Seniors Jimenez and Okungu ended their careers a bout away from wrestling in the regional tournament. Head coach Tim Cunningham said that when Jimenez won just two matches as a freshman, and to see him finish among then top six in his weight class in District 11 is a testament to his heart and determination. The same holds true for Okungu who just kept pushing forward, getting better every day.

Their success at the district tourney is something they can keep building upon once this season officially wraps.

“We’re seeing some strides being made,” said Cunningham.