Dalton Clymer was on the path to the probable finish.

The Northwestern freshman 145-pounder had shocked the district wrestling world when he captured the Class 2A championship. He also received the tournament’s outstanding wrestler award.

As he entered last week’s South East Regional at Central Dauphin High School with the odds in his favor, needing a fifth-place finish or better to move on to the Super Regional at Pottsville this Saturday.

Then reality struck in Harrisburg.

Dalton lost an opening-round 5-0 decision to Bishop McDevitt’s Andrew Christie, the runner-up in the weight class, and a 7-3 setback to Conwell Egan’s Hayden Mann.

His fairy-tale season struck midnight.

“I felt really good and ready to go,” noted Clymer. “The first guy I wrestled was a really defensive wrestler, and I like to be more offensive. I went for a take down, but he avoided it. He was strong, and I knew I had a battle.

“Going into the second match, I felt more confident. But I got down 4-0, and it was hard to come back.”

Clymer’s goal to get to the state tournament has heightened down the stretch of the season and into the postseason.

“Getting to states always has been the goal,” he stated. “Expectations definitely got higher under the circumstances. I really felt that I was at my best in the district tournament and had put it all together.”

Clymer has put everything into its proper perspective.

“I realized after this that I was at a whole new level from middle school,” he stressed. “I know what I have to work on in the offseason. I know I have to put on some more weight and get stronger.

“There always is room for improvement, especially now. I know I have to clean up some techniques.”

He hinted that there could be a move to either the 152- or 160-weight class next season.

“This was a good weight for me this season,” he said. “But I’ll get in the weight room and I’m not exactly sure where I will end up. I could go up to 160, and I have to see how everything will play out.”

His older brother, Ben, the current head coach at Faith Christian, reached out to his younger sibling at regionals. He is one of three older brothers who won a state championship as a member of the Tigers’ program.

“I spoke to him often there, and he always had been a role model for me,” said the youngest Clymer. “He’s been a big part of my success. He had some words of encouragement and told me to keep my head up. It was great for me that he was there.”