Bobby Fehr knows he's close. He was close in a 2-1 loss to Easton's Evan DiSora. He was close in a 3-2 overtime loss to Bethlehem Catholic's Connor Hedash.

And he was close in a 9-8 defeat to Whitehall's Matt Bonshak.

All three of the aforementioned opponents are considered to be the top dogs in a highly competitive 160-pound bracket heading into the postseason.

Only Hedash will be out of the equation, as Becahi competes in AA.

Nonetheless, Fehr knows he's right there with the elite.

He just has to beat them once the District 11 wrestling tournament kicks off eight-days from now at Liberty's Memorial Gymnasium.

"I feel like I'm right there," Fehr said. "I know I can compete with the best around. With that mentality, I feel that I can medal at states."

Fehr, a junior who finished 23-11 last year and took sixth at districts, missed out on a spot to Hershey with a loss in the regional consolation match last February.

If he wants a chance at advancing this year, he'll have to do better heading into regionals.

"I was nervous last year going into districts and I wasn't able to really focus on what I needed to do," he said. "I don't see that happening to me this year."

Fehr got a forfeit Tuesday night for Northampton on a road trip to Pleasant Valley, which resulted in a 34-22 loss.

He hoped the night would turn our better for the Kids (7-8), but he also knows how important it is for Northampton wrestlers to keep marching on through the postseason.

"It's very important for us to do well," said Fehr. "A lot of the younger guys look up to us and we don't have a lot of veterans on the team.

"We want to make everyone in our room work harder and when they see guys doing better, hopefully that motivates other guys to step up."

Fehr (27-7) feels that he's stepped up his game this season as well, as he's increased his training load to prepare himself physically and stamina-wise for the individual postseason.

Now it's on him to not stay close, but to get ahead of the race.

"I've been working a lot harder and I really feel my stamina has gotten better," he said. "Now, I just have to go out there and wrestle."