Dominic Frontino of Shippensburg, right, fends off a single-leg attack by Jake Dailey of Bethlehem Catholic during a 152-pound first-round bout at the PIAA Championships on Thursday evening. Frontino won 12-2.

HERSHEY — Experience matters when it comes to the PIAA Wrestling Championships.

Karl Shindledecker of Chambersburg and Dominic Frontino of Shippensburg have competed at Giant Center before and they both won by major decision Thursday evening in the first round.

Two area wrestlers who were appearing in states for the first time — Aiden Hight of the Trojans and the Greyhounds’ Diesel Koser — dropped decisions. Ironically, they then met in the consolation round and Koser was a 7-1 winner.

Chambersburg’s Karl Shindledecker rides Oliver Fairchild of Easton during a 126-pound first-round match at the PIAA Championships on Thursday evening. Shindledecker won 10-0.

Shindledecker, a senior, is wrestling in his third state tournament. He was a runner-up last year and took third as a freshman, so he is one of the favorites this year at 126. He looked the part in a 10-0 dismantling of Easton’s Oliver Fairchild in the first round.

Fairchild took a quick shot, which was just as quickly turned into a takedown for Shindledecker. Before the period ended, he tacked on a nearfall after riding with bars and led 5-0. In the second, Shindledecker hit a single and switched to a double to go up 7-0. In the third he escaped and spun behind for another takedown.

“Experience makes it a lot easier to stay calm when you’re warming up,” Shindledecker said. “A lot of people get too excited. It’s such a great atmosphere and it is exciting to be here.”

In Friday afternoon’s quarterfinals, Shindledecker (22-1) will face freshman Maddox Shaw of Thomas Jefferson (38-5).

“They’ll be tough the rest of the way,” he said.

Trojan coach Matt Mentzer said, “Karl controlled the match and the scoring positions — he scored from all three — takedowns, back points and an escape, and he had a good ride. He kept scoring and looked very confident.”

Although Frontino said, “I try to take every match with the same intensity (as states),” he looked very comfortable in a 12-2 major over Jake Dailey of Bethlehem Catholic.

Dailey got in on several leg shots early, but Frontino countered, and finally ended a scramble by clamping Dailey in a cradle for a takedown. In the second period, Frontino escaped, then hit a single leg that he finished near the edge of the mat with another cradle. In the final seconds, he stopped a roll by Daily for a quick nearfall and a 7-1 lead. He got five more points in the third with a counter takedown and a nearfall on yet another cradle.

“Those cradles were just there,” Frontino said. “I’m trying to use Plan A every match (strategy-wise) and make it work so we don’t need a Plan B.”

Frontino (20-1) will take on Dylan Evans of Chartiers Valley (30-4) in the quarterfinals.

Koser wrestled a preliminary round bout at 189 and was edged 6-5 by Jake Allred of Conestoga. Allred scored three takedowns, but led only 6-4 when Koser hit a nice fireman’s that could have tied it, but he slipped and Allred got free. In the third, Koser rode the whole way and picked up one stalling point, but couldn’t turn Allred.

In the first round at 189, Hight had several near misses that Carter Chamberlain of Clearfield took advantage of and lost 9-3. Hight hit a nice slide by and was behind Chamberlain, but he fought out of it. Hight trailed only 4-3 at the end of the second when he nearly completed a bearhug. But it came at the buzzer, so he got no points. Chamberlain outscored Hight 5-0 in the third.

Mentzer said, “Aiden’s a sophomore and he’s feeling his way, but he keeps improving. He had several positions in the match that he could have taken shots and scored, but he hesitated and that’s when the kid attacked him. It’s a learning experience.”

Koser and Hight had met twice before this year and had split matches. This time, Koser won the battle on his feet. After a scoreless first, Koser rode Hight for the entire second period. Hight let him up for an escape, but with 0:48 left, Koser countered a Hight throw attempt to take a 3-0 lead. Hight escaped, but Koser again countered a desperation throw for a takedown and back points.

PIAA Wrestling Championships
PRELIMINARY ROUND
189 — Jake Allred (Conestoga) d Diesel Koser (Shippensburg), 6-5
FIRST ROUND
126 — Karl Shindledecker (Chambersburg) md Oliver Fairchild (Easton), 10-0
152 — Dominic Frontino (Ship) md Jake Dailey (Bethlehem Catholic), 12-2
189 — Carter Chamberlain (Clearfield) d Aiden Hight (Chbg), 9-3
1ST ROUND CONSOLATIONS
189 — Koser (Ship) d Hight (Chbg), 7-1