Bethlehem Catholic crowned seven champions at the District 11 3A wrestling tournament last weekend, but Nazareth was able to steal the shimmer of a golden night with the team title.

The Blue Eagles advanced all 13 wrestlers to this week’s Northeast Regional 3A tournament and crowned five champions in the process, which was enough to stump Becahi’s bid for the team championship, as they were snubbed by a 305.5 to 288.5 margin.

While failing to come away the team trophy was a damper on the weekend, there were still plenty of highlights for the Hawks in the championship round, as they won seven of the eight titles.

While the Hawks had several repeat champions, Luke Thomas (172) enjoyed his first experience of donning a district gold medal around his neck, as the Becahi junior methodically dispatched Freedom’s Jared Karabinus by a 13-2 major decision in the finals.

After missing last season because of injury, Thomas was grateful to have the opportunity to get back on the mat this year and stamp his name on the historic list of District 11 champions.

“After not being able to wrestle last year, it was heart breaking,” said Thomas. “Now that I’m living the dream of being a district champion, it’s a great feeling. We work so hard in the offseason and train all season long for moments like this, so it’s really gratifying to have this become a reality.”

Thomas got an added boost of motivation before heading onto the mat following a rousing matchup between teammate Landon Muth (160) and Nazareth’s Ryan Fairchild.

Fairchild erupted the crowd with a takedown with less than 10 seconds remaining to pull out the win and end Becahi’s run in the finals of four straight champions.

The energy from the deafening cheers for the Blue Eagles, coupled with one of his best friends losing in that fashion, was more than enough to give Thomas an added boost.

“Landon is my brother and it was tough going out after him,” said Thomas. “He lost and the whole gym erupted. That really motivated me.”

Andrew Harmon (145) picked up his second district championship, dispatching Northampton’s CJ Fritz 9-1. Harmon knocked off Fritz last year in the district championship and worked his way back this season after dealing with ankle surgery.

“It feels good to win again, but I’m not sure it’s a better feeling than last year,” Harmon said.” It feels pretty good, but the major thing that I’m looking for is a state title.”

The Hawks won the first four titles of the night with Dante Frinzi (126), Kollin Rath (132) and Tyler Kasak (138) leading the way to Harmon’s match.

Much like the motivation Thomas had coming into his bout after seeing his teammate fall, Harmon had similar feelings going into his rematch with Fritz.

“I was feeding off the other guys that won before me and I knew I had to win,” he said. “I felt I wrestled pretty well and that’s what I’m striving for this year. To get better every week. It’s really state championship or bust.”

Nate Desmond (106) took home his first district title, as the Hawks stellar freshman scored a 9-1 major decision over Easton’s Chris Kelly.

Cael McIntyre (120) rounded out the Hawks champions with a 3-1 decision over Nazareth’s Charlie Bunting.

In total, Becahi had 11 wrestlers move onto regionals including: Cole Campbell (113, third); Jake Dailey (152, third) and Eli Thompson (HWT).

Liberty’s Memorial Gymnasium is the site of this weekend’s action again taking place on Friday and Saturday.

Wrestling gets underway at 4:30 p.m. Friday with quarterfinals taking place at 6:30 p.m.

Semifinals are Saturday at 11 a.m. with all three medal rounds taking place simultaneously at 5 p.m.