It was a day to remember for the Chambersburg wrestling team.

On the first day of the District 3 Championships on Thursday at Giant Center, the Trojans hit their stride early and never let up. Chambersburg finished the day with an 11-6 record among its eight qualifiers, and five Trojans advanced into the semifinals.

That’s the first time Chambersburg has ever placed five in the semis. And to boot, the Trojans lead in the team standings with 50.5 points to 48 for Central Dauphin.

Shippensburg’s Cole Forrester remained unbeaten at 220 pounds, taking just 2:13 to pin two opponents and reach the semifinals, which begin Friday about 5:15 p.m.

“We came out and were aggressive and tough and we wrestled to win our matches,” Chambersburg coach Matt Mentzer said. “Every match we won — with one exception — we scored bonus points.”

Seth Runshaw (132 pounds) was the biggest highlight for the Trojans. Coming in with an 18-15 record, he was a big underdog to Garden Spot’s Christian Schilling (28-8). But he controlled the action, hitting three takedowns in a dominating 8-0 major decision.

“He got in deep right away, but I felt I could scramble out of it,” Runshaw said. “And I was able to hit my attacks after that and push the pace.”

In his second bout, against Central York’s Mason Myers, Runshaw hit a lateral drop for five points and added another nearfall for an 8-0 lead after one. He kept pouring it on, finally ending the bout at 4:31 with a 15-0 technical fall.

“After that lateral drop, I felt in control of the match,” Runshaw said, “and he slowed down some.”

Mentzer said, “All the kids in practice this week worked hard and we came in focused. I told Seth this morning that I knew he wasn’t happy with his season, but he could make amends today. He wrestled like he’s capable of today.”

Also for Chambersburg, Cole Grove (126), Tate Nichter (145), Drake Brenize (152) and Luke Nichter (170) went 2-0. Spencer Runshaw (138) was 1-2 and Guy Lozius (182) and Wyatt Hull (220) were 0-2.

Grove scored a pin and a 13-4 major, Brenize won by tech fall and 10-2 major, and Luke Nichter had a pin and a 9-0 major. Tate Nichter had a pin in his first bout, but had to work for the quarterfinal win, a 4-3 verdict over Lower Dauphin’s Joey Stoak.

“In the first period I thought he dictated the pace,” Nichter said. “But when I got that takedown in the second, I think he mentally broke.”

Stoak led 2-1 after one period and escaped in the second. But Nichter hit a double-leg takedown with 8 seconds left in the period to tie it up 3-3. Nichter escaped early in the third for a 4-3 lead, then held off a cradle attempt in the final 12 seconds for the win.

“I was comfortable in that situation at the end,” Nichter said. “I had a good base.”

The semifinal pairings for the Trojans include: Grove (28-8) vs. Dalton Rohrbaugh of Spring Grove (39-1); Seth Runshaw (20-15) vs. Michael Cassidy of Cedar Cliff (33-5); Tate Nichter (27-8) vs. Connor Finkey of Garden Spot (30-1); Brenize (31-5) vs. Stefahn Mayo of Muhlenberg (29-4); and Luke Nichter (33-6) vs. Nyiem Flucas of Hershey (24-4).

Forrester, despite wrestling just over a period of time, racked up five takedowns before getting his pins. He will face Joseph Bearinger of Cocalico (11-3) in the semifinals.

Three other Franklin County wrestlers are still alive in the consolations, including Shippensburg’s Jeffery Russell at 113, Waynesboro’s Matthew McCann at 120, and David Henke of ‘Boro at 285. The top four in each weight advance to the PIAA Tournament.