Tri-Valley, North Schuylkill and Saucon Valley battled to the wire in the team race last February at the District 11 Class AA Wrestling Tournament.
The duel had the three teams go round and round, finishing three points apart in a spirited fight to the finish. The Dawgs scored 127 points, the Spartans 126 and the Panthers 124.
Too bad the battle was for second place.
As expected, the “All-Star team’’ from Bethlehem Catholic dominated the field, scoring a whopping 302.5 points to turn the team race into a coronation, a foregone conclusion.
Well, Bethlehem Catholic isn’t in Class AA anymore. They’re in Class AAA where they belong, considering the swath of territory, thousands in school populations and fertile grappling grounds the PIAA allows them to cultivate.
The athletes the Golden Hawks put on the mat are clearly elite. They work hard, care about the sport and deserve respect for their accomplishments.
But they belong with the other schools with huge student bodies like Easton, Parkland and Liberty. Becahi is doing quite well among the big dogs and has six No. 1 seeds in District 11 AAA.
The way they dominated Class AA statewide for half a decade proved the point that the system created an uneven playing field for the Tri-Valleys and Panther Valleys of the public-school world.
Enough about that. Let’s get to this weekend’s District 11 Class AA race, which should be nothing short of thrilling.
“It’s definitely wide open this
year,’’ Tri-Valley co-head coach Dave Boltz said. “A couple teams have the opportunity to win it this year.
“Everyone needs to score points,’’ he added. “They can do it if they all wrestle.’’
Though excellent dual-meet teams don’t always make great tournament teams, it’s instructive to review the District 11 Duals.
As a No. 4 seed, Northern Lehigh won the title, defeating No. 2 Tri-Valley in the final. No. 1 seed Saucon Valley then topped Tri-Valley in the “true’’ second-place match. No. 3 North Schuylkill and No. 5 Northwestern Lehigh also had solid runs.
Saucon Valley won four duals at team states, finishing in a tie for fifth place. Northern Lehigh went 1-2.
Any of those teams could get hot and make noise in the team race.
According to the seeds, though, the Dawgs are positioned quite well. Caleb Bordner (120), Sammy Hepler (126), Chase Schaeffer (145), Hunter Harner (160) and Danny Scheib (220) earned No. 1 seeds. Anthony Snyder (152) gained a No. 2. Injuries and lack of depth hurt the Dawgs, who will enter wrestlers in just 10 of the 14 weights.
Those potential points they leave on the table could hurt against a Saucon Valley, which has two No. 1 seeds and three No. 4s; or Northern Lehigh, which has two No. 2s and three No. 3s.
North Schuylkill has a pair of No. 1 seeds in Alek Hummel (195) and Nate Gadinski (285) and a pair of No. 2s in Mason Madden-Edwards (113) and C.J. Steinhilber (182).
“The kids have a job to do,’’ Boltz said. “Wrestle hard, use good technique and things will work out how they should.’’
Remember, seeds are important, but they’re no guarantee where a wrestler will place. He has to go out and do it, take what he wants, contest every point and be alert, intense and intelligent every second of every match.
As always, the championship semifinals and the wrestlebacks will play major roles in which team raises the big, gold trophy.
“It will take a lot of guys making some kind of contribution,’’ Boltz said.
Another edge Tri-Valley has is experience. The Dawgs sent five wrestlers to states last season, and some of them have been to Hershey multiple times. They understand the mindset needed to succeed at this level.
“That’s especially big this time of year,’’ Boltz said of the experience. “They’re talking to the younger guys on the team. It helps a lot to have guys who numerous times have been to states. It’s been helping a lot in the (practice) room.’’
All that remains is to get on the mat and get started. Wrestling begins at 4 p.m. today at Freedom (AA) and Liberty (AAA). Action resumes at 9 a.m. Saturday at both locations. The placing rounds will all be held at Liberty, with the consolation finals at 5 p.m. and the championship finals at 7:15 p.m.
“It’s going to be an exciting tournament,’’ Boltz said. “It think it’s going to come down to that last round.’’
Qualifying questions
In addition to the shake-up as to who’s in what class, the PIAA made a major change in expanding the state field from 16 to 20 qualifiers.
The organization made changes in the lead-up to states as well.
Here’s a quick breakdown:
• District 11 Class AA — Top 5 to Southeast Regional (up one);
• District 11 Class AAA — Top 5 to Northeast Regional (no change);
• District 3 Class AA — Top 5 to Southeast Regional (no change);
• District 4 Class AA — Top 5 to Northeast Regional (no change);
• Southeast Regional Class AA — Top 6 to PIAA Championships (up one);
• Northeast Regional Class AAA — Top 4 to PIAA Championships (up one);
• Northeast Regional Class AA — Top 4 to PIAA Championships (up one).
(Lipsky is the wrestling
beat writer
for The Republican-Herald)