PIAA to vote on a revamped postseason

The road to Hershey’s Giant Center is about to get a lot tougher.

The PIAA is expected to vote at its Dec. 9 executive board meeting on a proposal for a retooled postseason that will include a “super regional” round in both the Class 2A and 3A individual tournaments. That round will add another step on the path to the PIAA championships, which was already among the most rugged tournaments in the country.

The PIAA wrestling steering committee met Monday, Nov. 23, and laid out a plan aimed to maximize the number of wrestlers who can compete while also limiting all tournaments to oneday competitions.

The proposal is in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and PIAA recommendations that include avoiding tournaments that require overnight stays.

In both 2A and 3A, that would mean 8-man brackets in the PIAA championships and one extra stop between regionals and states. Those “super regionals” will be a battle of qualifiers from multiple regionals.

In Class 2A, sectional championships are proposed for Feb. 19, followed by districts (Feb. 20), regionals (Feb. 27), super regionals (March 6) and states (March 12).

One Class 2A super regional will include the Northeast (Districts 2/11/12) and Southeast (Districts 1/12/3/11), and the other will be the Northwest (Districts 9/10) and Southwest (Districts 5/6/7).

In Class 3A, sectional championships for Districts 1, 3 and 7 are ticketed for Feb. 20, while district tournaments are wrestled in other parts of the state on the same day. Regionals are scheduled for Feb. 27, followed by super regionals (March 6) and states (March 13).

One Class 3A super regional will include the Northeast (Districts 2/11/12) and Southeast (District 1), while the other includes South Central (District 3), Southwest (District 7) and Northwest (Districts 4/9, 6, 8 and 10).

Class 3A wrestlers from District 3 will go from having a week off between regionals and states to now having to do battle at a super regional that will include WPIAL powerhouses such as Waynesburg, Kiski Area, Hempfield Area, Mt. Lebanon and Seneca Valley, which combined for seven state finalists last season.

“It’s going to be a pretty intense tournament,” WPIAL chairman and PIAA steering committee member Frank Vulcano Jr. said. “When I was first looking at this, I was thinking, ‘I’ve got to put these three regions together?’ That’s going to be an unbelievable tournament itself. If you can get through this meat grinder, you’re a pretty darn good wrestler.”

The plan is for four wrestlers to qualify from each of the super regional tournaments for a total of eight PIAA qualifiers in each of the 13 weight classes. That proposal was first drawn up by Vulcano and presented at the start of the most recent PIAA steering committee meeting.

His proposal was determined to be the best path through the COVID-related challenges ahead.

“The committee didn’t want to limit participation, but was obviously aware of the occupancy limits that exist and our own recommendations,” PIAA chief operating officer Mark Byers said. “The committee was quick to recognize that an 8-wrestler format was in our best interest.”

There’s room at the start of the postseason for the same number of participants as in previous years. Those decisions will be finalized by individual districts based on their ability to comply with community and state guidelines. Size of the facility and adequate warm-up space are among the factors to consider.

The District 3 wrestling steering committee is currently scheduled to meet Dec. 10 to start making those plans, assuming the PIAA proposal is finalized the day before.

District co-chairs Mike Craig and Greg Goldthorp will discuss everything from facilities to the district’s number of sectional, district and regional qualifiers, though Craig added that early signs point toward the need to reduce sectional qualifiers.

“We’re kind of working backwards from the state and then figuring out what we’re going to do, as far as districts and regionals,” Craig said. “Once it’s finalized how it’s going to work, we want to figure out what’s the best way for us to do this safely and still make sure we’re advancing our best wrestlers.”

The PIAA will also consider changes to its team wrestling tournament, including a reduction from 20 to 16 teams where only semifinalists and finalists wrestle at Giant Center.

The first round and quarterfinals of the PIAA team tournament in Class 2A and 3A are scheduled for Feb. 8, and Feb. 10, respectively, at host sites.

Semifinals, finals and consolation finals in Class 2A will be wrestled Friday, Feb. 12. In Class 3A, those matches will be wrestled Saturday, Feb. 13.

If all goes to plan, Byers said wrestling at the Giant Center could also allow for limited spectator seating.

The trimmed-down postseason plan is part of a number of adjustments being made to try and wrestle through a pandemic where COVID-19 cases are surging statewide.

The Mid-Penn Conference pushed back the start of its competition schedule to allow for additional time for districts to get the required 15 preseason practices for competition.

There’s also an ongoing discussion about the usage of masks during competition, which are decisions the PIAA determined must be made at the school district level.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health has recommended all winter sports athletes wear masks, including during practice and competition, with exceptions made for safety.

Early-season tournaments all over the state have already been canceled, which has changed the early complexion of the wrestling season. Instead of leaning on individual and large dual tournaments as has become customary, teams are looking for more dual, tri and quad-meets.

Even then, schools will initiate their own protocols and procedures with an expectation for COVID-related disruptions along the way, just as there were during the fall seasons.

Byers had high praise for the way schools handled their COVID protocols then, which offers hope to grind through a winter season and get to the best postseason option available.

We’ll find out at the PIAA board meeting on Dec. 9 if the latest proposal is the one that will be put into motion in February and March.

“It’s not going to be a normal year, but we’re going to do all we can for kids to have a postseason,” Byers said.