Another busy weekend for Class 2A wrestlers
Tri-State Sports & News Service
WPIAL wrestlers competing in Class 2A will have a condensed postseason schedule for the second consecutiveyear.
Last year, the WPIAL wrestling committee held its section tournaments and WPIAL tournament the sameweekend at the same site.
“I wasn’t a big fan of it,” said Avonworth coach Tim Giel, who also serves as treasurer of the WPIAL coaches association. “It was alot of wrestling in one weekend.”
The change was made because participation in the section tournaments has been steadily decreasing over the years. The WPIAL wrestling committee considered eliminating the section tournaments, but the coaches were not in favor of that option.
“I realize that numbers are down, but dropping the section tournaments would be a big mistake,” Giel said. “The section tournaments give average wrestlers a chance to win a medal. If we take away the section tournaments,some of those kids will notcome out for wrestling.”
All three section tournaments will be held Feb. 16 at Canon-McMillan High School. The top four finishers in each weight class, from each tournament, advance to the WPIAL tournament, which will be held the following day, also at Canon-McMillan.
The top seven finishers in each weight class qualify for the Southwest Regional tournament, which has also been moved up one week to the weekend of Feb. 24-25 at IUP for thefirst time.
“Havingthe regional tournament at IUP will be a nice change of scenery,”Giel said.
The top six finishers in each weight class advance from the regional to the PIAA tournament, whichwill be held March 9-11 at Hershey. That means each PIAA qualifier will have a 12-day break before thestate tournament.
Only one WPIAL wrestler won a PIAA title last year in Class 2A, while two others were silver medalists.All three are back.
The following are 15 wrestlers to watch as the season begins, with last season’srecord and career record.
• Trent Bechtold, Burrell (Sr., 30-17, 78-62) — Bechtold is a threetime Southwest Region qualifier and two-time PIAA qualifier. Last season, he placed second in the WPIAL and fifth in the region at 120 pounds.
• Shawn Broadway, Derry Area (Sr., 30-15, 94-42) — Broadway is a three-time Southwest Region qualifier and two-time PIAA qualifier. He placed third in the region as a 113-pound sophomore and fourth lastyear at 126.
• Dominic DeLuca, Derry Area (Jr., 37-8, 68-18) — DeLuca was a WPIAL runner-up as a 170-pound freshman. Last year, he moved up to 182 and placed third in the WPIAL, second in the Southwest Region and thirdin the PIAA.
• WPIAL at 132 pounds as a sophomore.
• Manny Dovshek, Bentworth (Sr.,30-7, 87-30) — Dovshek is a threetime WPIAL finalist, one-time WPIAL champ and two-time PIAA qualifier. He finally won a WPIAL title last year at 113 pounds after two silvermedals.
• Dominic Fundy, Beth-Center (Jr., 39-1, 75-12) — Fundy is a twotime PIAA qualifier who came within one win of a title last year while competing at 182. He also won WPIALand Southwest Region titles.
• Tyler Griffiths, Southmoreland (Sr., 38-3, 116-16) — Griffiths is a three-time PIAA qualifier, two-time PIAA placewinner and two-time WPIAL champion. Last season, he placedsecond in the PIAA at 132.
• John Rocco Kazalas, Quaker Valley (Jr., 31-9, 60-22) — Kazalas wrestled for Moon as part of a co-op as a 113-pound freshman and recorded 29 wins. Quaker Valley made its WPIAL debut last season and Kazalas placed third in the WPIALand Southwest Region at 126 pounds, then became the school’s first PIAA placewinner by finishing fifth.
• Thayne Lawrence, Frazier (Soph., 37-6, 37-6) — Frazier made its WPIAL debut last season and Lawrence became the school’s first WPIAL champion and PIAA placewinner.Lawrence made his debut at 138 pounds and placed second in the Southwest Region and third in the state.
• Bishop McCoy, South Side Beaver (Sr., 34-6, 81-31) — McCoy, the son of Rams coach Bear McCoy, placed third in the WPIAL as a 220pound sophomore. Last year, he won a WPIAL title at the same weight, then placed third in the Southwest Region and fifth in the PIAA.
• Alex Miscovich, Mount Pleasant (Sr., 30-12, 95-43) — Miscovichis a three-time Southwest Region qualifier and one-time PIAA qualifier, in 2016. He placed second in the WPIAL as a 113-pound freshman, third as a 120-pound sophomore and fifthlast year at 132.
• Jett Pattison, McGuffey (Jr., 27-12, 64-19) — Pattison recorded 27 wins as a 120-pound freshman, but missed the postseason tournaments with an injury. Last season, he returnedat the same weight and won a WPIAL title, then qualified for the PIAA tournament by placing fourth inthe Southwest Region.
• Gavin Teasdale, JeffersonMorgan (Sr., 40-0, 122-0) — Teasdale has won three WPIAL titles, three Southwest Region titles and three PIAA titles, the last coming at 126 pounds. He has a chance to become the sixth wrestler in PIAA history to finish his career unbeaten and untied.
• Trent Valovchik, Burrell (Soph., 35-13, 35-13) — Valovchik made his debut last season as a 106pound freshman and qualified for the PIAA tournament. He won a WPIAL tournament, then placed sixthin the Southwest Region.
• Z.J. Ward, Freedom (Jr., 39-8, 70-16) — Ward is a two-time WPIAL finalist, one-time WPIAL champ and one-time PIAA qualifier. He won a WPIAL title as a 106-pound freshman, then placed second at 113 lastyear.