HERSHEY — Alejandro Herrera-Rondon is only a freshman.

But the big stage of the PIAA Wrestling Championships has not been too large for one of the smallest grapplers at the state tournament.

The Seneca Valley 106-pounder punched his ticket to the Class AAA semifinals with a 2-0 win over Tal-Reese Fleming of Liberty Thursday night at the GIANT Center.

Herrera-Rondon will face Kyle Waterman of Council Rock Saturday morning with the chance to advance to the final in the evening.

“He's definitely peaking right now,” said Seneca Valley wrestling coach Kevin Wildrick. “He's gotten more comfortable as the season has gone and he's increased his skill.”

Herrera-Rondon beat Fleming on a reversal in the second period for the only points he'd need.

Herrera-Rondon has not been scored upon at the PIAA championships. He's earned a pair of shutouts.

“That's his style,” Wildrick said. “He's not going to score a lot of points on you and be flashy, but you aren't going to score a lot of points on him.”

Herrera-Rondon is an undersized 106 pounds. While many in that class have to cut down to make weight, he doesn't have such concerns.

Wildrick believes that may be a benefit to him.

“Especially at this time of the year,” Wildrick said. “Some have a tough time at weigh-ins in the last couple of matches of the season, so it's definitely an advantage to him.”

Herrera-Rondon, though, has to wrestle smart against the sometimes-stronger competitors in his class.

“He has to wrestle matches a certain way,” Wildrick said. “But he does a nice job with that.”

While it was a good day for Herrera-Rondon, it was a disappointing one for his teammate Louis Newell.

The 120-pounder lost a 4-0 decision to JJ Wilson of Cedar Cliff in the quarterfinals to end his quest for an elusive state championship.

Newell was second at 113 pounds last season and runner-up at 106 pounds as a sophomore.

He placed eighth at 106 pounds as a freshman.

“He had a tough one in the quarters,” Wildrick said. “He had a tough time getting his offense going. He's a fast wrestler and when you start off slow, it becomes a struggle.”

Newell, though, bounced back and beat Brandon Meredith of Spring Ford, 5-3, in the consolations.

After suffering a surprising first-round loss Wednesday, Butler 182-pounder Christian Sequete is still alive after a pair of rousing wins, including a 21-10 victory over Luigi Yates of Cathedral Prep in the consolation.

Sequete has won three matches since his initial loss and will meet Mason McCready of Hollidaysburg in the Class AAA consolation semifinals Saturday.

Mars 145-pounder Alex Hornfeck also finds himself in the Class AAA consolation semifinals after a loss in the quarterfinals to Micah Hoffman.

Hornfeck led 2-1 before Hoffman got a takedown with four seconds left in the match.

Hornfeck recovered with a 2-1 win on the consolation quarters.

In Class AA, Slippery Rock's Mike Doerflinger is also still alive in the 145-pound consolation semifinals.

Doerflinger won 3-0 and 3-1 decisions to advance.