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To say that the PIAA Team Wrestling Championships have not been pleasant for Wyoming Valley Conference teams would be accurate.
Since its inception in 1999, only two WVC teams have ever won a dual in Hershey in the previous 17 years.
It doesn’t appear to get any easier this year, at least in the first round which starts on Thursday afternoon at the Giant Center. District 2 Class 2A champion Lake-Lehman faces 10-time WPIAL team champion Burrell at 4 p.m. After that match, Tunkhannock makes its state duals debut against nationally-ranked Bethlehem Catholic at 8 p.m. in the Class 3A portion of the state duals.
“You can’t prepare any differently. We go in and work on what we do and drill and prepare the best we can that way,” Tigers coach Bob Hegedty said. “We’ve been in this situation before. We wrestled Blair a few years ago when they were No. 1 in the country. Not much we can do about it. Every kid just has to wrestle their best and we’ll see where it can take them.”
The Golden Hawks (16-1) are ranked sixth in the nation by InterMat and their only loss this season has come to Blair Academy, the top-ranked team in the country. They have three grapplers ranked in the nation’s top 20 including 126-pounder Luke Karam (second), 170-pounder Michael Labriola (sixth) and heavyweight Andrew Gunning (20).
In last year’s state tournament, BECA high (16-1) faced D2 champion Scranton and won 63-6 only losing two bouts by decision, one by one point, en route to a third-place finish in the state.
The Tigers (15-1) are not a pushover though. They are ranked No. 20 in the state by PA Power Wrestling, have won six tournaments this season while racking up many individual and team accolades.
Lake-Lehman’s resume isn’t quite as impressive as its WVC-mate Tunkhannock, but the Black Knights (10-2) certainly don’t lack any accolades. They’re coming off their first District 2 Duals title since 2004, but have been a perrenial contender in the district and division for several years.
One of Lehman’s two losses this season was on Criteria H to Meyers in a dual that turned out to be the decider for the WVC Division 2 title.
Now they face Burrell (11-5), which is ranked No. 12 in the state by PA Power Wrestling and has the second most wins in the history of the state duals with 28. The Bucs are also coming off their 10th straight District 7 title to become the eighth WPIAL team overall regardless of sport, and the first wrestling team to accomplish that feat.
But this Burrell team is not as powerful as it has been in the past. The squad consists of many of the wrestlers from last season’s team that won just once at the state tournament. And even that win against District 2 champ Meyers wasn’t easy because the Mohawks were in the match until Burrell won the last two bouts of the dual.
Ten of the wrestlers on Burrell’s roster saw action in last year’s win over Meyers with half winning and half losing their individual matches.
Neither the Black Knights nor the Tigers are expecting to lose in Thursday’s first round action, but if a loss occurs, there are many positives to look for in the consolations.
First off, the only teams in WVC history to win duals in Hershey have occurred in the consy round. Also, every team is on the same level looking to bounce back after a loss.
Around Class 2A
Boiling Springs, the defending team champions, had to win a pigtail match on Monday to advance to Hershey. The Bubblers, who are the No. 2 seed from District 3, face District 5 champion Chestnut Ridge in Thursday’s opening round in a rematch of last year’s state final. The winner of that match will face the winner of the Burrell-Lake-Lehman dual on Friday.
Thursday’s winners will wrestle in Friday’s quarterfinals at noon, while the losers will participate in the first round of consolations at 8 a.m. The second round of consolations is also set for Friday with a start time of 4 p.m. The 2A and 3A semifinals will be held simultaneously at 8 p.m. Friday.
Around Class 3A
There will not be a repeat titlist this season as defending champion Franklin Regional did not qualify for one of the three spots from the WPIAL (District 7).
Cumberland Valley, which was state runner-up last season, will have to put forth its run without head coach Dave Heckard, who was involved in a pair of incidents during the heated District 3 final against Central Dauphin. Cumberland Valley will face District 7 No. 3 seed Kiski Area in Thursday’s first round at 6 p.m.
Father Judge, the champion from District 12 — which participates in the Northeast Regional with District 2 and 11 — will face Central Dauphin in Thursday’s opening round. The winner faces the winner of the Bethlehem Catholic-Tunkhannock match in Friday’s quarters at 2 p.m. The losers of both matches also square off in the first round of consolations, set for 10 a.m. Friday. The second round of consolations are scheduled for 6 p.m.
