What to watch for in WPIAL sports on Feb. 12, 2022: Gold up for grabs in gymnastics, wrestling

By: Don Rebel
Saturday, February 12, 2022 | 12:35 AM

District championships will be captured in gymnastics while state titles are up for grabs in team wrestling on a golden Saturday.

Once again, Moon High School will host the 2022 WPIAL gymnastics championships.

After the host Tigers won the team title Friday night, individual championships on the vault, bar, beam, floor and all-around will be awarded in the Intermediate I, Intermediate II and Advanced categories Saturday.

You can watch both the morning session starting at 9 a.m. and the afternoon events at 1 p.m. only on Trib HSSN.

Gold is gone

There will be no state gold coming back to Western Pa. after Friday night at the Giant Center in Hershey.

Both defending 3A champion Waynesburg and Latrobe lost in the WPIAL Class 3A team wrestling semifinals, bumping both teams to the consolation bracket.

Latrobe will face the winner of the Williamsport vs. Mifflin County match in one consolation semifinal while Waynesburg will battle the Connellsville-Abington Heights winner in the other.

None of the three WPIAL teams in Class 2A was able to reach the consolation quarterfinals round.

In the championship finals Saturday, it will be a rematch of the District 11 finals in both classes as Bethlehem Catholic faces Nazareth in 3A while Notre Dame-Green Pond takes on Saucon Valley in 2A.

We hope you lose

Hopewell will be nervous spectators Saturday when Central Valley visits New Castle.

Hopewell is done with section play and finished with a 5-9 record and needs a Central Valley loss.

Central Valley is 5-8 in Section 2-4A and has clinched a playoff berth. New Castle is 2-11 and lost by 31 points in the first meeting of the year between the teams.

If New Castle can pull of a Jacksonville Jaguars-like upset on the final day of section play, Hopewell will tie Central Valley and both teams will qualify for the 4A playoffs.

Also on Saturday, Sewickley Academy and South Side could be playing both of their makeup games against each other. A sweep by one or the other could help earn a playoff berth as the Panthers and Rams battle Aliquippa in Section 1-2A for fourth place.