Tal-Reese Flemming was hoping he’d have a rematch with Bethlehem Catholic’s Matt Mayer following a loss in the District 11 semifinals. His shot at redemption finally came in Hershey.

Flemming (106) battled back from a quarterfinal loss at the PIAA 3A wrestling championships all the way through the consolation bracket to top Mayer 5-4 to grab a bronze medal Saturday night at the Giant Center.

He was one of two Liberty wrestlers to come home with hardware, as Matt Maloney finished fifth at 113.

Flemming certainly saved his best wrestling for the final weekend of the season, as his 1-0 quarterfinal loss to Seneca Valley’s Alejandro Herrera ultimately ended up being a defeat to the eventual state champion, leaving Flemming, a junior, with plenty of upside heading into next season.

“It gives me a lot of confidence heading into the offseason,” said Flemming. “I’m going to be wrestling in a lot of offseason tournaments to just try and get better.”

Saturday’s win over Mayer was also a perfect cherry on top for the Hurricane grappler.

“I really wanted to be a district champ and to lose to him at districts was kind of heartbreaking,” Flemming said. “I was really looking forward to getting this rematch and learned to just be more calm on my feet and pushing the pace. Being able to get the win for my coach was also nice.”

Maloney, a junior, made a run to the state semifinals, but lost 5-2 to Shaler’s Ryan Sullivan, who also ended up winning the state crown.

Unfortunately, his bid for a bronze medal came up short when he lost to Northeastern’s Cole Wilson 5-3, setting himself up in the fifth place bout against Nazareth’s Andrew Smith, where he finally recovered from the day’s earlier disappointment en route to winning 6-3.

The win also marked the 100th of Maloney’s career, adding more to his celebratory night of bringing home his first state medal.

“I did not want to end the season with 99 wins,” he said. “After losing in the semis, I don’t think my mind was quite in my next consolation bout. I beat that kid in the first round [4-0] and then to lose to him was disappointing, but I was happy to come back and finish out strong with a win.”

Liberty’s district and regional champion Damen Moyer (182) had a surprise quick exit from the tournament, getting bounced after going 0-2 in the first day of action. Moyer lost his opener to Brendan Shaffer of Lower Dauphin 9-6 and then fell to Christian Sequete of Butler 2-0 to end his junior season.

With the Hurricanes having three underclassmen coming back with Hershey experience, the prospects of next season look bright for the trio.

“I didn’t make it to Hershey last season, so coming out here and winning a medal also gives me motivation to come back and stand on top of the podium,” said Maloney. “But for now, I’m just happy that I can eat.”