Wednesday will be moving day in the Schuylkill League.
After this week’s action, Blue Mountain, North Schuylkill, Pottsville and Tri-Valley improved to 2-0 in the Division I standings.
Now they’ll go head-to-head. So, after Pottsville hosts North Schuylkill and Blue Mountain entertains Tri-Valley on Jan. 14, just two unbeatens will remain.
That’s not all.
On that same night in Division II, leader Mahanoy Area visits Schuylkill Haven, and in the Berks League, Hamburg travels to Brandywine Heights in a key Section II dual meet.
Blue Mountain has turned it on in the new year, winning six dual meets by a combined score of 350-65. The 65 is the impressive part as the Eagles are allowing 11 points per match during the stretch.
In 62 contested bouts in 2015, the Eagles have gotten pinned just twice. Blue Mountain has 25 wins by fall during the same stretch.
“In the league, there’s going to be a lot of close matches, so it’s going to come down to those bonus points,’’ Blue Mountain coach J.J. Fasnacht said. “Our guys have the understanding that you’ve gotta get them when you can and not give them up whenever possible.
“We don’t have a lot of depth in our room, so we’ve been doing different things because the same guys have to wrestle each other every day,’’ he added. “We’ve been doing different things to give kids different looks from different kinds of people so that we’re more well-rounded when we get out there.’’
In the District 11 Team Tournament ratings, Blue Mountain (12-0) comes in at No. 2 in Class AAA, behind only Nazareth.
In Class AA, Tri-Valley (9-0) ranks No. 1 and North Schuylkill (14-0) is No. 2. The Dawgs and Spartans are coming off 5-0 days at Panther Valley’s Anthracite Duals.
District Duals are scheduled for Jan. 29 and 31. The local teams still have a lot of work to do to close the gap on the Lehigh Valley teams.
“We’re still trying to put stuff together,’’ Fasnacht said. “Some of the older guys have that sense where they can flow a little more. A lot of our younger guys are one move ... one move ... one move. You have to see that once you go from this move and the guy’s pulling you off or his defense what’s there next.’’
Next generation
The annual Schuylkill League Junior High Tournament will be held today, but not at North Schuylkill High School as originally scheduled. Thursday’s fire at the school near Fountain Springs forced the event to be moved.
Spartans coach Chris Edwards said Thursday night that Upper Dauphin volunteered to host the event, so now everybody’s headed to Elizabethville.
The following teams will compete: North Schuylkill, Blue Mountain, Pine Grove, Tri-Valley, Panther Valley, Pottsville, Tamaqua, Schuylkill Haven, Upper Dauphin, Halifax, Williams Valley, Jim Thorpe, Mahanoy Area, Shamokin, Mount Carmel, Danville and Athens.
The tournament will begin at 9 a.m. and run to completion.
Berks gathering
Hamburg and the remainder of the Berks League will spend the weekend at Reading’s Geigle Complex competing in the BCIAA Individual Tournament.
The tournament began Friday night.
Today’s afternoon session starts at 12:30 p.m., with the medal round slated for 5:30 p.m.
Schuylkill tourney
A week later, Friday-Saturday, Jan. 16-17, Blue Mountain will host the Schuylkill League Wrestling Tournament.
Day 1 action will begin at 5 p.m. with preliminaries, quarterfinals and two rounds of consolations.
Day 2 will get under way at 10 a.m. with the semifinals. The bouts for first, third and fifth places will be held on three mats beginning at 4 p.m.
The seeds will be released Jan. 15, so check out the Jan. 16 edition for a tournament preview.
Moving Saturday’s rounds earlier in the day should be a welcome change for wrestlers and fans alike. Wrestling should conclude around 7 p.m., meaning everybody can travel home at a decent hour.
In addition, the league will charge one admission each day of the tournament. Normally the league charges two admissions Saturday.
The admission prices Friday are $6 for adults and $3 for students. The admission prices Saturday will be $10 for adults and $5 for students.
Well done, Schuylkill League.
Dual doings
Lehighton will host seven other teams, including Pine Grove, today at the Indian Duals.
Lehighton, Pius X, Southern Lehigh and East Stroudsburg North make up Pool A, with Pine Grove, Allentown Central Catholic, Palmerton and Springfield-Delco comprising Pool B.
Action begins at 8 a.m., with eight rounds of duals continuing through roughly 6:30 p.m. until a champion is crowned.
Also today, Jim Thorpe will compete in the Line Mountain Duals that start at 10 a.m.
The Olympians are in Pool A with Line Mountain, Mifflinburg and North Star. Pool B has Canton, Hickory, Lewisburg and Mount Union.
Rankings review
Off the Mat has released its first Class AA rankings of the new year, and several area wrestlers and teams are included.
Here’s a sampling:
Teams — 1. Reynolds, 2. Boiling Springs, 3. Chestnut Ridge ... 10. North Schuylkill, 11. Saucon Valley ... 14. Tri-Valley;
106 — 4. Kevan Gentile, Jim Thorpe;
113 — 8. Willy Girard, Williams Valley; 14. Connor Boyer, Upper Dauphin;
120 — 8. Sean Stanish, Hamburg; 13. Coy Campbell, Upper Dauphin;
126 — 8. Caleb Bordner, Tri-Valley;
132 — 6. Sammy Hepler, Tri-Valley;
138 — None;
145 — 4. Chase Schaeffer, Tri-Valley; 14. Dylan Rynkiewicz, Tamaqua;
152 — 6. Anthony Snyder, Tri-Valley;
160 — 7. Hunter Harner, Tri-Valley;
170 — None;
182 — 4. Connor Frey, Lehighton;
195 — 4. Alek Hummel, North Schuylkill;
220 — 11. Danny Scheib, Tri-Valley;
285 — 3. Nate Gadinski, North Schuylkill.
Wrestler of the Week
Nate Gadinski
North Schuylkill
At Panther Valley’s Anthracite Duals, the senior 285-pounder became the first Spartan heavyweight to reach the 100-win milestone.
Considering the talent North Schuylkill has had over the years, that’s saying a lot.
Gadinski started the day with a 3-2 decision over Anthony Greggo of Pius X, then registered four falls to raise his career win total to 102. He picked up a forfeit win Wednesday for victory No. 103 that raised his season record to 19-0.
(Lipsky is the wrestling
beat writer
for The Republican-Herald)
Power Poll
Team W-L Pvs
1. Blue Mtn. 12-0 2
2. N. Schuylkill 14-0 1
3. Tri-Valley 9-0 3
4. Pottsville 8-4 4
5. Hamburg 7-2 5
— Compiled by Bob Lipsky
As reported by coaches and/or recorded on trackwrestling website through matches of Jan. 7. Minimum 8 bouts, 5 wins above .500
KEY:
Blue Mountain (BM), Columbia-Montour Vo-Tech (CMVT), Halifax (Hal), Hamburg (Ham), Jim Thorpe (JT), Lehighton (Leh), Mahanoy Area (MA), Mount Carmel (MC), North Schuylkill (NS), Panther Valley (PV), Pine Grove (PG), Pottsville (P), Schuylkill Haven (SH), Shamokin (Sham), Tamaqua (Tam), Tri-Valley (TV), Upper Dauphin (UDA), Williams Valley (WV)
106 pounds
Owen Boyer (NS) 16-3
Landon Bruner (Hal) 14-2
Josh Mason (BM) 13-3
Ryan Green (P) 12-6
Kevan Gentile (JT) 11-0
113 pounds
Willy Girard (WV) 19-2
Connor Boyer (UDA) 13-5
Romeo Eaddy (Ham) 13-8
Ben McQuillen (BM) 12-3
120 pounds
Sean Stanish (Ham) 21-4
Mason Madden-Edwards (NS) 16-2
Coy Campbell (UDA) 16-3
Tanner Kennedy (PV) 16-7
Kyle Stephen (TV) 15-5
Richie Bentz (P) 14-4
Hunter Blankenhorn (BM) 14-4
Austin Engle (SH) 13-4
Zach Kemmerer (Leh) 11-5
126 pounds
Tanner McHugh (Tam) 19-2
Luke Gardner (P) 18-1
Caleb Bordner (TV) 15-3
Shane McGrath (NS) 14-4
Darren Goida (PV) 12-2
Devin Pietkiewicz (Sham) 11-4
132 pounds
Sammy Hepler (TV) 14-4
Jess Wetzel (NS) 14-5
Preston Gehring (SH) 13-2
Kale Yacko (CMVT) 12-3
Danny Diaz-Walton (PG) 12-4
138 pounds
Tegan Durishin (Leh) 15-3
Nathan Cromyak (P) 14-6
Reese Mason (Ham) 13-7
145 pounds
Dylan Rynkiewicz (Tam) 20-1
Christian Gosch (BM) 19-2
Cole Painter (P) 16-5
Chase Schaeffer (TV) 15-3
Ali Capobianco (PV) 15-7
Joe Alexander (NS) 13-6
Dylan Miller (Ham) 10-4
152 pounds
Anthony Snyder (TV) 15-3
Lucas Forbes (BM) 15-4
Tyler Deiter (P) 15-5
Trevyn Fessler (SH) 14-3
Matt James (Ham) 10-5
160 pounds
Hunter Harner (TV) 17-3
Ian Cagle (BM) 17-5
Jackson Kennerly (UDA) 14-4
Tyler Cann (Leh) 11-6
Blake Panko (MC) 10-1
Nathan Batz (SH) 10-5
Matt Lewandowski (MA) 10-5
Josiah Miller (Sham) 9-2
170 pounds
Brady Mickatavage (NS) 16-3
Devon Krammes (BM) 16-5
Kolby Kleckner (P) 13-7
Nolan Fegley (MA) 12-4
Brandon Kessock (P) 11-6
Robbie Geisinger (JT) 8-3
182 pounds
Connor Frey (Leh) 15-2
Ignacio Reynoso (Ham) 15-9
C.J. Steinhilber (NS) 13-6
Dylan Moyer (PV) 12-6
Devon Rabuck (WV) 9-4
195 pounds
Alek Hummel (NS) 19-0
Allen Yancoskie (MC) 10-3
220 pounds
Dane Tarantelli (NS) 17-1
Erech Noecker (BM) 17-2
Kirk Dougherty (BM) 17-5
Jake Paul (Hal) 16-0
Danny Scheib (TV) 13-4
Max Kline (Ham) 12-7
Ben Hower (SH) 11-4
Ian Minnich (WV) 11-4
J.J. Cox (WV) 11-6
285 pounds
Nate Gadinski (NS) 19-0
Max Motko (SH) 12-6