HERSHEY - When the PIAA wrestling championships get under way today, two local coaches will be able to bring the experience of wrestling to the final match in Hershey - and the experience of standing below the top spot on the podium.

It may not seem like much, but in a sport where winning is such a focus that even Vince Lombardi would shrug one off, that one loss is an omnipresent reminder of what it takes to get to the top in one of the toughest state tournaments in the nation.

Indian Valley's Joe Daubert had a dual experience here, winning a title as the last Chief Logan wrestler to walk on a mat, then coming up one short a year later as a Warrior.

"I still wrestle that match in my head probably every day," Daubert admits 20 years later. "What could I have done different? What should I have done, what shouldn't I have done? To come up short down there ... it's painful."

Mike Robinson knew that pain a quarter century ago, finishing his senior year at Lewistown as a runner up. And then he felt it again as a father.

"I've seen any number of No. 1 ranked kids in the state go down. I've witnessed it firsthand with my son," the elder Robinson recalled. "I've seen it happen many times at states. Anything can happen.

"There's nobody's name that is said going into that season that is going to win a state title," he said. "That match Saturday, that final match in that weight class, you're going to know who's won states. Until then, it's anybody's match."

The two coaches - Robinson is completing his first year at the helm at Juniata - agree that the most important thing any wrestler can do over the next 72 hours is live in the present.

"My whole philosophy in tournament wrestling is, you've got to beat the guy who comes out against you. You've got to win that match to move on. Do what you have to do to win that match," Daubert said. "I never paid attention to records, I never paid attention to who people were and what they did in the past. Go down there and worry about winning two? I want to win four of them."

Robinson's advice is the same thing he's been saying since November: Wrestle one match at a time. Don't overlook anybody. Don't underestimate anybody. But most of all, don't forget the core values that got you here in the first place.

"The biggest emphasis that I would put on these young men when they enter the state tournament is, 'Just continue to believe in yourself. Wrestle your style. Don't change a thing. And wrestle six minutes plus if needed,'" he explained, pointing out that each wrestler has spent four months working to get to this point.

"I've always built my values on (preparing) yourself, make sure everything's in place. Make sure that you give yourself every advantage that you can going into that match," he said. "The biggest thing, and I tell these guys, 'When you step on that mat, make sure the other guy knows that you own the mat.'

"I guess the biggest thing that you try to instill in these kids is to let them know that it's no fun losing."

Daubert uses one of his team members, a senior who will not be on the mat here, as an example. He asked the wrestler how it felt for his career to end, and the answer was, "I don't know."

"I can understand that. You've worked for 13 years to this point, to go as far as you possibly can your senior year, and you don't make it out of districts. What would you do different?," Daubert asks rhetorically.

It's a question several coaches have to answer here before the first day is over - a loss in the opener means a consy match on the same day, and a loss there means the end of the season. Four of the 16 entrants in each class will be done today; four more depart tomorrow.

"And that's tough. You see the kids that go down there and lose their first match, because of nerves, because they're overwhelmed, and can never bounce back through," Daubert said. "I know I beat guys at Hershey that there's no way I should have beat them. But I was focused, and wrestled each match like it was the last one."

Of course, as he explains, there was a bit more finality to his first trip down.

"Whenever I went down as a Mingo, I knew I was the last one to do it and I wanted to do it right," he explained. "I was fortunate enough to go through and win it all, and it was a great accomplishment. Coming up short then would have been devastating."

But still, he admitted, a devastation that requires a quick turnaround.

"I still look at it as a competitor - if (a wrestler) goes down there and he wins one then gets knocked down, he's going to have to tighten his headgear up a little bit and go," Daubert said.

"On any given day at Hershey, the state tournament, the brackets can turn around. Things can fall. You just have to make sure that you're prepared," said Robinson, echoing the mindset of his predecessor, Bob Hart, whose goal was focused as much on staying as on winning.

"I think Bob had it right - you win the first two," Robinson said. "It sounds really easy, but there's a lot of guys gunning for you."