Bethlehem Catholic moving to Class AAA

   In a move that surely will be applauded by several Class AA teams, state power Bethlehem Catholic is expected to wrestle in Class AAA beginning next season.
   The Golden Hawks are making the move in what is described as a voluntary upgrade, given the deadline for schools to declare up in classification for the PIAA's next two-year cycle has long since passed. Numbers for the next cycle were released for all sports in mid-December.
   The move was unanimously passed by the District 11 committee, and will take effect if it is also passed by the PIAA Board of Directors at their May 21 meeting. That is expected to happen.
   Through local media reports, Becahi coach Jeff Karam says the school has had internal discussions of such a move for about a year.
   "We're always looking for new challenges and always trying to find ways to improve," Karam told Nick Fierro of Allentown's Morning Call. "We feel like moving up now is the right time. I'm happy the District 11 committee approved it and I think it's going to be terrific to compete against the Triple-A teams in the postseason. We're just going to have to work extra hard."
   Bethlehem Catholic has won four consecutive PIAA Class AA Team Duals championships, and has also been a dominant force in the individual postseason.
   If nothing else, it certainly changes the landscape in Class AA, where it was a battle for second place in early February in Hershey.