Jeff Becker cruised to the Class AA Northwest Regional championship. Trevor Gallo took it by force.

While their paths to the regional title Saturday at Sharon High School were different, the results were just the same for the Slippery Rock High School wrestling pair.

Both will head into the PIAA wrestling championships, which begin Thursday in Hershey, on a roll.

"I'm pleased with the way they are progressing," said Slippery Rock coach Fred Powell. "I don't know how they could have prepared any better mentally and physically."

Becker, a senior who enters the state tournament at 26-0 and as the only undefeated wrestler in the 145-pound weight class, beat Manny Carpin of Clarion 4-2 to win the title.

Despite the close score, Becker was never threatened.

"Jeff had a very controlled match," Powell said. "He was very cautious and just did what he needed to do to win. Trevor, on the other hand, was just the opposite."

Gallo, also a senior, steamed into his 171-pound final against Andrew Kimmy of North East and early in the championship bout was nearly disqualified when he picked Kimmy off his feet and slammed him down on the mat.

"(Before the match), Trevor was real apprehensive and nervous," Powell said. "I told him, 'That's good. That's when the adrenaline gets flowing.'"

It flowed a little too much and had Kimmy not been able to continue after injury time, Gallo would have lost.

"He picked him up and threw him down just like he would a quarterback," Powell said. "The guy almost blanked out."

But Kimmy returned and Gallo defeated him 5-2 to run his season record to 28-1.

Jeff Kline (130 pounds) nearly joined Becker and Gallo as state qualifiers, losing for the second time in the tournament to Nikko Leitzel by pin to finish fourth.

"Kline won 40 matches in two seasons," Powell said. "He's been a great contributor for us."

As a team, Slippery Rock finished fifth in the region with 43 points.

Becker will face Alex Evans of Washington in his first-round match in Hershey on Thursday. Gallo will square off against Andrew Nave of Everett.

Becker finished third at the state tournament last year and Gallo placed fifth.

"I hesitate to say too much because we are still in the thick of it," Powell said. "We still have work to do, but we're going to continue to roll and keep rolling."

While things went well for Slippery Rock over the weekend, they were not so good for Seneca Valley and Butler in the Southwest Regional championships.

Mike Bianco entered Saturday's 215-pound semifinal match on a roll, but didn't win a bout to finish fourth. Only the top three qualified for state.

It was still a remarkable run for Bianco, who spent a year and a half away from the mat recovering from a nearly fatal automobile accident. He finished his senior season with a 26-4 record.

"Taking a year and a half off and coming back the way he did was just outstanding," said Seneca Valley coach Lee Mullett. "There's nothing more I could have asked of him."

Lee Layton (135) did not place for the Raiders.

It was also a tough day for Butler's 119-pound freshman Ian McLaughlin, who failed to qualify for the state tournament.

McLaughlin lost to Ryan McGarrity of Pine-Richland 15-5, eliminating him from the tournament.

McLaughlin finished the season 33-7 and set single-season school records for wins and pins (26) by a freshman.

"He does have tremendous potential," said Butler coach Scott Stoner. "But one of the goals was to get him to state, and not getting there is disappointing.

"He's still a freshman and he has to learn to take it up a notch, not just in matches, but in practice, too."

Mars wrestlers Adam Smetana at 119 pounds and Matt Perri at 112 were eliminated during the Class AA Southwest Regional in Johnstown.