Wrestling teams jockey for position in WPIAL team tournament

By: Paul Schofield
Tuesday, January 18, 2022 | 5:33 PM

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The upcoming WPIAL Team Tournament will feature some minor changes as the section regular season ends Wednesday.

The top two finishers in each sub-section advance to the section tournament. There is no fifth-place match between third-place finishers.

“We originally did it to give teams extra matches,” WPIAL committee chairman Frank Vulcano Jr. said. “But we decided to end that practice.”

The Class AAA tournament, which is scheduled to begin Feb. 2, will feature 16 teams and Class AA 12. The finals are slated for Feb. 5 at sites to be determined.

The section tournament will be Jan. 26 at the top finisher in sub-section B. The wrestling committee will set up the playoffs Jan. 27.

Waynesburg (Class AAA) and Burrell (Class AA) are the returning champions.

Vulcano said seeding the Class AA tournament will be difficult because of so many good teams.

He said Class AAA won’t be as difficult with Waynesburg, Latrobe and Connellsville established as the top teams. Seeding fourth, fifth and sixth could be difficult.

“We’ll see how things end up,” Vulcano said.

Here is a breakdown of the section sub-sections heading into Wednesday:

Class AAA

Section 1-A: Kiski Area (4-0) is a match ahead of Armstrong (3-1) and Highlands (3-1). The Cavaliers can clinch the No. 1 spot with a win. A Highlands (3-1) win and an Armstrong (3-1) win at Indiana would create a three-way tie.

Section 1-B: Penn-Trafford (4-0) will host Franklin Regional (3-0) in a first-place showdown. Franklin Regional hosted to Gateway (2-1) on Tuesday.

Section 2-A: Connellsville (4-0) clinched the top spot and will host Albert Gallatin (2-2). Thomas Jefferson (3-1) will be the second seed.

Section 2-B: Latrobe (3-0) clinched the top seed. Norwin (2-1) hosts Hempfield (2-1), with the winner earning the second playoff berth.

Section 3-A: The winner of Tuesday’s match between Butler and West Allegheny clinches a playoff berth. Seneca Valley (3-1), which lost to West Allegheny, is hoping for an Indians victory so its match at Seneca Valley would determine the second seed.

Section 3-B: This section held a round-robin tournament Jan. 5, with North Allegheny (4-0) winning the sub-section and Pine-Richland (3-1) finishing second.

Section 4-A: Canon-McMillan (4-0) host Waynesburg (4-0) on Wednesday to decide the top two spots.

Section 4-B: Bethel Park (4-0) travels to Peters Township (4-0) to decide the top spots.

Class AA

Section 1-A: Burgettstown (4-0) will host Chartiers-Houston (3-1). A Bucs win and a Fort Cherry (3-1) win against Washington would create a three-way tie.

Section 1-B: Beth-Center (4-0) clinched the top spot. The winner of the Jefferson-Morgan (3-1) at Frazier (2-2) match clinches the second spot.

Section 2-A: This section (Ambridge, Blackhawk, Central Valley, Ellwood City, Freedom and Laurel) held a round-robin tournament at Laurel on Tuesday to decide the top two spots.

Section 2-B: Quaker Valley (4-0) clinched the top spot and Montour (3-1) the second spot.

Section 3-A: Burrell (4-0) owns the top spot and can clinch with wins against South Allegheny and Valley. Knoch (4-1) is second and visits Summit Academy (4-1) to decide the other spot.

Section 3-B: Mt. Pleasant (4-0) is the top seed with a win against Derry. Southmoreland (3-1) will earn the second seed by defeating Ligonier Valley. Wins by Derry and Ligonier Valley would create a three-way tie for second place.

Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.