With the Berks League and Schuylkill League wrestling tournaments in the books, area teams will turn their attention back to dual meets.
While the Schuylkill League division championships won't be decided until mid-February, time is running short to qualify for - and improve your seeding in - the district team championships.
Commonly referred to as District Duals, the tournaments set the field for the PIAA Team Championships, scheduled for early February in Hershey.
In District 3 Class AA, Hamburg (15-1) is the No. 2 seed behind No. 1 Boiling Springs (7-1) according to the latest power ratings. The top eight teams qualify, with No. 3 Northern Lebanon (11-0), No. 4 Bermudian Springs (19-5), No. 5 Wyomissing (12-5), No. 6 Schuylkill Valley (9-3), No. 7 ELCO (16-6) and No. 8 Bishop McDevitt (5-4) also in through Monday's action. Future matches could change those seedings.
The quarterfinals (6 p.m.) and semifinals (7:30 p.m.) will be held Jan. 29 at the two highest-seeded schools. The final will be at 11 a.m. on Feb. 1 at Milton Hershey High School. The top two teams qualify for states.
District 11 used to be a straight-forward, single-elimination bracket like that, but this year, teams will wrestle back for a "true'' second place.
Twelve teams will qualify in each bracket (Class AA and AAA), with first-round and quarterfinal duals held at host schools - two in each class - at 6 and 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 30.
The remaining eight teams in each division will gather Feb. 1 at Bethlehem Freedom High School.
Championship and consolation brackets will be formed, with the undefeated team at the end of the day earning the No. 1 berth in states.
Those with one loss will continue to compete until just one one-loss team remains. That squad will go to states as District 11's No. 2 entrant.
Wrestling will begin at 9 a.m. and conclude with the "true'' second-place match at 7:30 p.m.
In Class AA, eight teams have clinched spots in the tournament: No. 1 Bethlehem Catholic (7-0), No. 2 North Schuylkill (15-1), No. 3 Saucon Valley (15-1), No. 4 Northern Lehigh (11-6), No. 5 Catasauqua (13-4), No. 6 Pine Grove (11-7), No. 7 Pen Argyl (10-8) and No. 8 Palisades (14-9). No. 11 Panther Valley (5-7), No. 13 Jim Thorpe (6-7) and No. 14 Schuylkill Haven (5-7) could also qualify.
In Class AAA, No. 1 Stroudsburg (12-0), No. 2 Bethlehem Liberty (13-1), No. 3 Parkland (10-1), No. 4 Pocono Mountain East (18-4) and No. 6 Dieruff (12-4) have qualified. No. 14 Blue Mountain (8-4) needs some wins and some help.
We'll see how this goes, but at least the state berths will be decided on the mat, not by seeding or a bad draw. With nationally ranked Bethlehem Catholic the overwhelming favorite in Class AA again this year, teams in Becahi's half of the bracket will get their opportunity to wrestle back.
Exception to rule
While much of the focus will be on dual meets, three interesting tournaments are on tap for this weekend.
Locally, Tamaqua, Col-Mon Vo-Tech and Jim Thorpe will visit Panther Valley to compete in the Coal Cracker Round Robin. Action will begin at 9 a.m.
Meanwhile, Blue Mountain and Pottsville will compete Friday and Saturday at the New Oxford Tournament.
At the same time, Tri-Valley and North Schuylkill will be in Bedford for the annual Thomas Subaru Wrestling Tournament.
The event brings together 28 teams, mainly from Districts 5 and 6. Others in the field include Bedford, Berlin Brothersvalley, Beth Center, Burrell, Cambria Heights, Central, Chestnut Ridge, Claysburg-Kimmel, Conemaugh Township, Everett, Jefferson-Morgan, Newport, North Star, Northern Bedford, Northern Garrett (Md.), Meyersdale, Mount Pleasant, Mount Union, Penn Cambria, Richland, Shade, Somerset, South Fayette, Tussey Mountain, Tyrone and West Branch.
This tournament will be a great test for the Dawgs and Spartans to see where they are less than a month away from districts.
Busy week
Here are some other big events to watch in the coming days:
- Today - Pottsville at North Schuylkill and Halifax at Upper Dauphin (Armed Forces Night);
- Thursday - Panther Valley at Schuylkill Valley and Blue Mountain at Lehighton;
- Saturday - Upper Dauphin at Williams Valley and the Berks Team Tournament at Wyomissing.
Tough individuals
Though it's won just one dual meet this season, Tamaqua finished fifth in the 14-team Schuylkill League Wrestling Tournament.
Colin Mashack (126) and Dylan Rynkiewicz (132) won championships for the Blue Raiders.
Adam Toth (152) and Colin Moyer (182) placed third, while Tanner McHugh (113) took fourth.
Wrestlers of the Week
After their performances at the Schuylkill League Wrestling Tournament, Blue Mountain's Zach Yackenchick and North Schuylkill's Nate Gadinski both deserve the honor.
In a strong 195-pound division, Yackenchick (17-5) won three bouts en route to the title, including a 13-4 major decision over top-seeded Richard Nase (15-2) of Panther Valley in the finals.
At 285, Gadinski posted falls in 1:27, 1:38 and 3:44 to capture the gold. In the finals, Gadinski (21-1) pinned Schuylkill Haven's Nate Kramer (20-2).
(Lipsky is the wrestling beat writer for The Republican-Herald)