Wednesday, October 28, 2015

D5 opts for UPJ

   On Wednesday, the District 5 committee voted to have this season's district wrestling tournament at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown's Sports Center.
   The second point of that is it will be held all in one day, on Saturday, February 20, 2016.
   As reported by Spring Into Sports earlier this month, there were two options in regards to the district tournament after longtime host Windber Area High School is unable to have it this year due to ongoing construction at its campus.
   1) - A two-day tournament at either Bedford, Chestnut Ridge, or North Star, wrestled on the normal dates as usual (districts-regionals-states over three consecutive weekends)
   or
   2) - A one-day tournament at UPJ
   District officials opted for the latter, with D5 vice chairman Jeff Batzel saying that overall polling among coaches, athletic directors, and principals from the district schools was in favor of the UPJ deal.
   The one-day tournament does carry a couple of major differences with it, though. PIAA rules state that wrestlers can only compete in five bouts per day as a maximum.
   So pigtail round losers will see their season end rather than have at least one consolation bout. Wrestlebacks will only be contested from the quarterfinals on.
   Secondly, the date of February 20 means there will be a two-week break between the district tournament and the Southwest Regional, which is set to take place on March 4 and 5. This is like District 6-AA has dealt with for years as D6 holds both of its tournaments at the Altoona Fieldhouse.
   While the vote passed, not all coaches are enamored with the idea, one being Chestnut Ridge's Greg Lazor.
   "I definitely don't like it," he said. "Even with them restructuring it to have pigtail losers out, to have the tournament the week before just isn't something I wanted to see happen. That week in between (districts and regionals) means more time without live competition than we are used to. Usually, we already had a whole week or more of practice anyway before the district tournament. Now, it will be the other way around with a lot of teams finishing up their dual seasons right before the tournament, which is only the second biggest tournament of the year."
   As Lazor points out in that last quote, late-season scheduling could be forced to change. Among local schedules, Bedford wrestles Everett on February 16, and Chestnut Ridge faces Tussey Mountain on February 17, just a few days before the new date.
   "It's a concern for sure," said Lazor. "I know the district was in a tough spot this year. Windber would usually have a half-day of school too, so we could start earlier on Friday. I know either us or probably Bedford or North Star didn't have that built in, so we would be back to a later start and maybe have to use three mats.
   "In the end, it is what it is. It's not ideal in my opinion, but it will be a good tournament as always, regardless."

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Sheldon takes over Hornets' program

UPDATE - I have a story on this for Friday's Gazette.

   It isn't all that surprising that Logan Sheldon would eventually land himself a head coaching opportunity.
   Since graduating from Hyndman in 2009, Sheldon has served as an assistant coach for several years at the school under Gary Satzer, Jake Snyder, and most recently Chadd Sines. With the departure of Sines to return to Meyersdale after one season, HOPE for Hyndman had an opening and Sheldon was recently hired to take over the reigns.
   I'll have more on this for the Bedford Gazette at an upcoming date, but I do know that Sheldon was the only applicant for the position. He was initially hesitant to move into the head chair as he has other time commitments, but when nobody else put in their name, Sheldon wanted to make sure there was a coach in place.
   To me, this is a win-win scenario for the school and for the former state runner-up. In being on staff for a number of years despite the change in school (public to charter), Sheldon has built a good rapport with the Hyndman kids. The Hornets always seem to struggle with filling weight classes, but they do tend to have standout wrestlers from time to time despite the low numbers. Sheldon was one of them for sure, and his experiences should benefit those athletes who are in the room.
   Sheldon's hire has added to a busy time amongst District 5 schools changing wrestling coaches. While we already knew of Sines' return to Meyersdale, Eric Knopsnyder recently reported that Somerset hired former D5 official Brandon Boburchock, while Conemaugh Township will have James Otten at the helm. That link is here - http://wrestlingpa.com/2015/10/new-coaches-in-district-5/.

Bedford Gazette File Photo
   Hyndman native Logan Sheldon, seen here in the 2009 state tournament where he finished second at 130 pounds, was recently named HOPE for Hyndman's varsity coach. Sheldon was a three-time state qualifier with the Hornets and won 120 bouts in his high school career.

Friday, October 16, 2015

Class AA State Team Rankings - Preseason Edition

   One month from today, wrestling teams in Pennsylvania can begin official practices for the 2015-16 high school season. Of course, there are plenty of happenings set to go already from a national standpoint, with the Who's No. 1 and Night of Conflict events taking place this weekend, and the Super 32 Tournament over the Halloween weekend.
   Locally, it is a much anticipated year with a number of storylines. I plan to have much more on those things in the coming days and weeks.
   Just to whet your appetite for now though, I've put together my top five preseason teams in Class AA.

Spring Into Sports Class AA Team Rankings - Oct. 16
1. Reynolds
   Why the Raiders are here - Reynolds, third in the state duals last season, is primed to do better this time around. Four state placewinners, including champion Cole Matthews (42-6 at 120) and runner-up Seth Hogue (41-6 at 126), are set to return. The other two are heavyweights Cole Rickert (36-11 at 220) and Gene Ringer (42-11 at 285), who were seventh and sixth in the state, respectively. Also back is Gage Bayless (34-13 at 113), while incoming freshman Beau Bayless (PJW qualifier) could make an strong impact in the lightweights. The key for Reynolds appears to be how the lineup from about 145-195 fills in.
2. Chestnut Ridge
   Why the Lions are here - The defending state runner-ups are definite title contenders again in 2015-16. With three returning state placewinners and some other good talent, Chestnut Ridge is positioned to be the best team in this region. Lehigh recruit Aaron Burkett is a two-time state medalist after taking second last year (41-6 at 106). West Virginia signee Conner Buttry took third at 195 (42-5), and Justin McCoy was sixth at 120 (38-8). Dylan Williams, Levi Hobson, and Morgan Deremer are other names to watch for the Lions. And we can't forget about freshman Jared McGill, who's a former PJW champion and multiple-time placewinner at the junior level. He was second last season. Buttry appears to be fully healthy after suffering another knee injury in February, while Williams also looks like he's on the quick mend after an offseason injury.
3. Wyalusing
   Why the Rams are here - Wyalusing was one of the surprises of last year's Class AA state duals, taking fourth after losing in the semifinals to Chestnut Ridge. The Rams are slated to have seven wrestlers who had at least 24 wins last year back, fronted by fourth-place state medalist Collin Edsell (44-7 at 138). Creighton Edsell (44-7 at 132) and Josh Haley (41-9 at 120) also had over 40 wins and were state qualifiers.
4. Montoursville
   Why the Warriors are here - I put another District 4 team in the mix here with Montoursville, where five state qualifiers, including three medalists, should be back on the mat. Keith Batkowski (38-6 at 138) and Gavin Hoffman (41-6 at 170) were sixth in Class AA, while Garrett Hoffman (44-3 at 182) was eighth after entering the state tournament undefeated. Overall, Montoursville has 12 potential returnees who won at least 10 bouts in 2014-15.
5. Bermudian Springs
   Why the Eagles are here - Three state qualifiers and 10 wrestlers who won in the double digits a season ago have Bermudian Springs as my top team in District 3 and No. 5 in my preseason state rankings. Austin Clabaugh (42-9 at 120), Noah Fleshman (30-13 at 160) and Brady Linebaugh (36-4 at 285) all reached Hershey, while Ashton West won 33 bouts at 152. Bayley Oberlander was 25-4 at 106, and would have likely been at least a state qualifier had he not suffered a season-ending injury. Bermudian should also have incoming PJW champion Chase Dull in the lineup.
Others to keep an eye on
 — Boiling Springs, Brookville, Greenville, Northern Lehigh, Saucon Valley, South Fayette

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

District 5 Tournament to relocate?

   It seems very likely that the District 5 Tournament will not be held at Windber in late February.
   Due to the ongoing construction project at WAHS, whether the gymnasium will be ready and the lack of parking because of it means the event will probably be held at a new location in 2016.
   Rumors have persisted regarding this for a few months, and I've had more than a handful of people in the past couple of weeks ask me about it.
   While nothing has been set in stone yet, there are two options that are reportedly being looked at.
— The tournament will be held at either Bedford, Chestnut Ridge, or North Star, and be run as a two-day event on February 26-27.
— The tournament will be a one-day event at UPJ on February 20. With this option, there would be a two-week break between the district and regional tournaments, as is the case each year with District 6-AA.
   I spoke with Bedford athletic director Dan Baker, who told me he hadn't yet been contacted about any such proposal, though he would welcome it with open arms. Of course, Bedford does hold the Thomas Subaru Tournament each January, which usually fields between 25 and 30 schools. Despite some drawbacks regarding seating, parking, and other variables, I think the Bedford people do an excellent job with it, and it would be a suitable alternative for the district tournament and its 12 teams. I would also think that Chestnut Ridge and North Star could be fine sites to use.
   In hindsight, if Everett had been able to construct a new gymnasium as part of its renovation project a couple of years ago, that probably would have been the alternative. At the time, before the gym idea was scrapped from the construction, I had all but confirmed that Everett and Windber would have held the district tournament on a rotational basis.