The goal of every wrestler that heads to Hershey for the PIAA wrestling tournament is to come back with a medal. That is clearly the goal for Liberty and Freedom wrestlers as they descend upon the Giant Center for Thursday’s opening day of action.

Liberty’s Javien Deleon (132) and Christian Reid (160), along with Freedom’s CJ Horvath (120) and Jared Karabinus (172) are the four qualifiers for both schools.

It will be introductory appearances for all the wrestlers outside of Deleon, who is making his third trip to this stage of the season.

However, his previous two appearances have ended coming home without any hardware, which is something that head coach Brandon Hall changes in his senior’s final trip to Chocolate town.

“This is his third time and he hasn’t medaled, so he knows how important this last chance is,” Hall said. “I tell our guys to empty the gas tank and leave it all out there this time of year. If they do that, they’ll be proud of themselves for years.”

Deleon and Reid each finished fourth at regionals following consolation round defeats.

Deleon lost to Pittston’s Julian Everitt 7-4 in his third place bout, falling behind 5-0 in the first period after getting put on his back.

Reid failed to score against Parkland’s Adrian Gacek in a 3-0 consy loss to settle for fourth.

Now, the page turns to preparing for the state tournament, where Hall believes his guys will be ready.

“Hershey is a true clean slate,” said Hall. “It doesn’t matter what anyone did last year, it’s a fresh start for all these guys. We want to use this week to heal some injuries and retool some little things, but at this point of the season, you know what you do well and there isn’t much you’re going to change.

“Two years ago we came back without any medals and that was tough. I think they’ll be ready for what’s out there.”

Freedom’s contingent hopes Horvath can bring home a medal on his last voyage to Hershey.

He lost to Sean Logue of Father Judge by an 8-0 major decision in last week’s consy round, but to finally crack through to the Giant Center was something head coach Dante Terenzio was happy to see.

“We figured two guys would have a good shot to advance and we’re really happy that they’re moving on,” said Terenzio. “I think they’ve proven that they can medal at Hershey with how they’ve performed the past two weeks. Just need to stay confident and have a good week of training.”

Karabinus was the only wrestler of the four to win his consolation round bout to take third, as he knocked off Soulemayne Diarra of Overbrook by a 10-8 decision.

With Karabinus making his first trip as a sophomore, Terenzio is even more excited about the potential he brings for the program moving forward.

“I’m excited about what he’s been able to do at this weight for being so young,” he said. “These guys believe in what we tell them, they train hard and I’m very proud of them. You want to make sure you capitalize on these opportunities. With everything they’ve done this season, they deserve to be in this position.”

Freedom’s Noah MacIlroy (160) and Liberty’s Ryan Santiago (145) both took fifth place last week, but came a spot short of the top four to move on to Hershey.