Wrestling notebook: Section tournament berths up for grabs Wednesday

By: HSSN Staff
Tuesday, January 16, 2018 | 11:40 PM

There is a lot on the line Wednesday for the final wrestling section matches in the WPIAL.

Section titles and section team tournament berths are up for grabs. Section team tournaments for the 10 sub-sections are Jan. 24.

Shaler and North Allegheny were granted an extra day to finish the season because their Jan. 10 match was postponed because of skin infections on some of the wrestlers.

If a tie between three or more teams occurs, the following is the tiebreaker procedure. A tie between three or more teams will be broken by comparing the head-to-head competition between the tied teams that may result in one or more of the teams demonstrating a higher cumulative total of victories. If the three or more tied teams have identical records against each other, the WPIAL tiebreaking system will be used until only two tied teams remain. Head-to head will then be used to break the tie between the two remaining teams.

Here's look at the sections in Class AAA:

Section 1A: The winner of Armstrong (4-0) and Kiski Area (4-0) will win the section and the other will be a runner-up. Third place will probably be the winner of Plum (2-2) at Gateway (1-2). If Gateway wins, it must defeat Penn Hills in a make-up match.

Section 1B: Hempfield (4-0) is the champ. Second and third place comes down to Greensburg Salem (3-1), Franklin Regional (2-2) and Latrobe (2-2). Greensburg Salem is at Latrobe while Franklin Regional faces winless Penn-Trafford. If Latrobe and Franklin Regional win, a three-way tie will occur.

Section 2A: The winner of Connellsville (4-0) at Belle Vernon (4-0) decides the top two spots. Thomas Jefferson (2-2) is third with a win against West Mifflin (1-3). If West Mifflin wins and Albert Gallatin (1-3) defeats McKeesport (0-4) a three-way tie will occur.

Section 2B: Peters Township (4-0) is the champion. Upper St. Clair (3-1) wrestles Bethel Park (2-2). If Bethel Park wins and Mt. Lebanon (2-2) defeats Baldwin (0-4), a three-way tie will occur.

Section 3A: Seneca Valley (4-0) and Butler (3-1) have qualified. Mars (3-1) wrestles Pine-Richland (2-2) and the winner is in.

Section 3B: Hampton (4-0) is in. North Allegheny (2-1) is in with a win against North Hills (0-4). Shaler is in with a win against Fox Chapel (2-1). Indiana (2-2) needs to beat Hampton and get help.

Section 4A: Canon-McMillan (4-0), Trinity (3-1) and Waynesburg (3-1) are in. Trinity battles Canon-McMillan for the section title.

Section 4B: Moon (4-0) and West Allegheny (4-0) wrestle for first. Ambridge (2-2) and Blackhawk (2-2) wrestle for third.

In Class AA:

Section 1A: Three teams have qualified. Chartiers-Houston (3-1) and Burgettstown (4-0) will square off and Fort Cherry (3-1) battles Washington (0-4). If Chartiers-Houston and Fort Cherry win, a three-way occurs for the top spot.

Section 1B: Freedom (4-0) is in and faces South Side (2-2). Beaver (3-1) clinches with a win against Laurel (1-2). Ellwood City (2-3) needs a South Side loss to get in.

Section 2A: McGuffey (4-0) is at Beth-Center (4-0) to decide first. Jefferson-Morgan (2-2) has clinched third.

Section 2B: Derry (4-0), Elizabeth Forward (3-1) and Mt. Pleasant (3-1) are in. Mt. Pleasant needs a win to create a tie. Elizabeth Forward faces Frazier (0-4).

Section 3A: Quaker Valley (4-0) and South Fayette (4-0) wrestle for first place. Keystone Oaks (2-2) clinches third with a win against Carlynton (1-3). Avonworth (1-3) needs a win against South Allegheny (0-4) and a KO loss.

Section 3B: Burrell (2-0) and Valley (2-0) wrestle for first and Riverview (0-2) and Summit Academy (0-2) wrestle for third.

Burrell, Derry duals bound

The top two teams in WPIAL Class AA, Burrell and Derry, will be heading for dual tournaments Friday and Saturday.

Burrell heads to District 9 for the Brookville Ultimate Duals, which features the top Class AA teams in the state. Brookville, Reynolds, Chestnut Ridge, Freedom and South Fayette will compete.

Derry heads to Virginia for the Strasburg Duals. Derry won the tournament last year.

Paul Schofield is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at pschofield@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Schofield_Trib.

Tags: Belle Vernon, Burrell, Franklin Regional, Greensburg Salem, Hempfield Area, Kiski School, Latrobe, Mt. Pleasant, North Allegheny, Norwin, Penn-Trafford, Shaler, Valley