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WEST LAWN - You couldn't blame Dan Fultz from getting caught up in the 285-pound quarterfinal being wrestled on an adjacent mat while he was awaiting his debut in the Class AA Southeast regional state qualifier Friday night.

That's because, one mat away, Fultz's arch nemesis over the past two weeks - Milton Hershey's Cris Ramirez - was being pushed around by Tylor Unger, of Boiling Springs.

Juniata coach Mike Robinson was quick to jump in, reminding Fultz to stay focused on the match he still had to wrestle.

Ramirez lost. Fultz won - and gave the Indians a 5-for-5 performance in the quarters. Those five semifinalists will look for a trip to Giant Center, while two others saw their seasons come to an end.

"(It was) definitely a mental lift," to see Ramirez drop, Robinson admitted. "Let's face it, Ramirez has had his number the last two matches. But I just want to make sure that Dan stays focused on each wrestler in his bracket that he has to wrestle."

Action begins again today at 9:30 a.m. at Wilson High School in West Lawn, outside Reading. Consolation finals will be wrestled at 4:15 p.m. and the championships at 6. Five wrestlers advance into the bracket for next week's state tournament at Hershey.

All four of last week's district finalists got a pass to the quarterfinals - they earned it, Robinson was quick to point out - but there was no expectation of an easy night in the round. In fact, only two Juniata grapplers got out quickly - Zac Beitz (125 pounds), who pinned Tri-Valley's Ty Shoffstall in just under two minutes, and Arty Walsh (119), who did the same to Jaydon Rice, of Bethlehem Catholic, in 39 seconds.

"Arty just stays focused no matter what. He's a kid that's typically tough to rattle," Robinson said, but so was Beitz - especially after dropping a major decision in the district final. "(Zac) wasn't satisfied with that. He went right out there and went after it."

Dylan Treaster also got out early, but not without a lot of work. The 160-pounder, who has squeezed his way through the postseason to this point, got takedowns in all three periods and tilted Panther Valley's Michael Weaver twice for a 16-1 technical fall.

"I think he turned it up a notch," Robinson said. "Today he wrestled with the confidence that he has and you could see it. You build that confidence and they start to believe in themselves."

Seth Beitz (140) had the nail-biter of the day, giving first points but then reversing Pine Grove's Allen Daubert in the first, and stayed in control through a scoreless second against the Cardinal, but was flummoxed in his quest for back points. Beitz made it a 4-2 match with a reversal after choosing defense to start the third - but gave back a two-pointer with just 17 seconds to go in the match.

Daubert seemed unready for an aggressive jump by Beitz to start the winner-takes-all overtime, and Beitz took the win with a double-leg takedown.

"Seth is a kid who decided to wrestle at his natural weight for the year. He's healthy, he can definitely go six minutes plus - we've already seen that," Robinson said. "A lot of times he's going to wear those guys out.

"Daubert is one of the toughest wrestlers in that bracket, and I can honestly say that Seth had his number."

Fultz went on the offensive in the second period of his match after a scoreless first. He used an escape, a takedown and two long turns to build a 9-0 lead, all but putting the bout out of reach for Octorara's Matt Harper. Although Harper scored twice on reversals, it was not enough to overcome Fultz's lead, which ended as a 12-4 major decision.

The opening round was a hard one for Juniata, which saw just one grappler - Seth Beitz - win his preliminary match, taking command of Springfield Township's Adrian Wint and putting him on the mat in the first period to advance.

Things were a bit harder for Jacob White (103), who scored the first takedown but then suffered a technical fall at the hands of Pen Argyl's Matt Williams, the third-place winner from District 11, which encompasses the wrestling-rich Lehigh Valley. Brandon Rowles made it through a scoreless first and rode out half the second on Northern Lehigh's Nikko Stevens at 135, but was unable to turn the Bulldog grappler and finally lost control - then lost the match as Stevens scored a quick takedown and went on to an 8-2 decision.

White's season ended at the hands of Robert Ritschard, the Oley Valley wrestler he lost to in the District 3 consolation finals. Rowles' loss of Pen Argyl's Luciano Burriesci was even harder to take - he led the match well into the third period, carrying a 5-2 advantage when Burriesci completed a five point move and pinned Rowles.