Lions solid again on statewide stage

    Chestnut Ridge continues to keep itself among the current who’s who in Pennsylvania wrestling after another strong weekend performance in Hershey, with the Lions grabbing more hardware for their ever-expanding trophy case.

   The District 5 champions rebounded from a semifinal loss to eventual Class AA winner Saucon Valley with two victories on Saturday to finish in third place.

   More on Saucon Valley and the always hot topic of public vs. private in a bit, but let’s touch on the Lions first.

   Chestnut Ridge was making its 10th straight appearance in the Class AA duals and wound up with its sixth top-four finish, and its fourth time as the state’s third place medalist. The Lions were previously the runner-up in 2015, third in 2018, 2019, and 2020, and fourth in 2013. 

   Those six medals are second best over that time frame in Class AA behind Reynolds. The Lions have come up short in some recent state semifinals, but if you get there enough, you’d like to think getting to another final and maybe winning a title will come at some point.

  By the way, Chestnut Ridge’s junior high team crowned five champions and rolled to another Mountain Conference championship on Saturday, so it doesn’t appear that the Fishertown school’s hold on the local wrestling scene is going away anytime soon.

   Speaking of the Mountain Conference, props to Northern Bedford and Bedford for finishing second and fourth, respectively, in the final team standings. The future looks promising for those two local programs.

- Hail to the Panthers -

   What a finals performance it was for Saucon Valley in its 29-22 triumph over Notre Dame Green Pond.

   Obviously, any championship is special, but this one has to be especially sweet for the Panthers. Just last weekend, Notre Dame humbled Saucon Valley 50-5 for the District 11-AA crown. 

   From a 50-5 loss (SV won two bouts but lost a team point) to a 29-22 victory in seven days. I can’t recall such a turnaround by any team, certainly not one in that short of a time frame.

   So what changed?

   For starters, there’s no love lost between these two teams right now, so motivation on Saucon’s side seems rather easy from where I sit. Given that margin of a loss (and a 35-15 one in the regular season), I would guess that Chad Shirk’s message to his team was wrestle with a “nothing to lose” mentality. 

   Saucon Valley also was about as healthy as could be with everyone available in Hershey. That included two-time state champ Ryan Crookham, who of course and just to add fuel to the fire won both those titles in a Notre Dame singlet.

   In the final, the Panthers scored some huge bonus points early before securing things in the next to last bout that allowed a meaningless forfeit to ND ace Brandon Chletsos at the end.

   Before moving to Bedford County, I briefly covered wrestling in the Lehigh Valley and worked a few Saucon Valley showings. I found Shirk to be a likable interview and a good young coach at that time. In kind of a similar fashion to Chestnut Ridge, Saucon Valley has turned itself from a strong program in its own area into one of the best in the state on an annual basis.

   It should also be noted that local officials Mike Eichelberger and Jeff Beach worked the Class AA championship match between Saucon Valley and Notre Dame. I’m not certain, but I’m not sure that District 5 officials have ever done a team dual state final before. Kudos to them.

- Public-Private debate rages on -

   Barring some kind of decision from the PIAA that splits state championship events into one with public schools and one with private, or non-boundary, schools, the vocal battle over the current setup is sure to continue.

   Even with Saucon Valley’s somewhat unexpected win in Class AA against a private school, don’t expect the debate to simmer down.

   Most of the chatter comes down to whether the private programs actively engage in recruiting, which reared its ugly head around here with the sanctions handed down against Bishop McCort in Johnstown. The penalties were upheld by the state and in the courts, that suspended its coach and banned the wrestlers from competing in the upcoming PIAA postseason.

   I’ve read a few social media comments suggesting schools such as McCort, Notre Dame, and Bethlehem Catholic (which won its fourth Class AAA team title on Saturday) be moved to wrestle at the prep level with programs like Blair Academy and Wyoming Seminary.

   As talented as Becahi and Notre Dame are currently, they’re nowhere on the level of the top prep schools. Earlier this season, Blair beat Notre Dame 52-6 and the only Crusader points came via a forfeit in the last weight. In 2018, Wyoming Seminary shut out a very good Becahi team, 56-0. 

   I’ve also seen the usual “public schools do it too” comments in regards to recruiting talent. 

   Look, are there wrestlers moving between public schools? Absolutely, but I don’t view that sentiment as a totally fair assessment. Public schools may get one or two here and there (Crookham an example in going back to Saucon Valley which he did last year but didn’t wrestle), but it’s the multiple kids year in and year out that isn’t sitting well (in most sports) among the public programs that largely abide by their district’s boundaries while others can be made up of anyone from any address.

   To be clear, I don’t fault any athlete for attending a private school. The onus in my opinion is on the PIAA to separate the classes. 

   Another commenter I saw suggested Notre Dame move up to Class AAA, as Bethlehem Catholic did several years ago.

   Don’t bet on it anytime soon. One, the new classification cycle (every two years) was recently released and ND did not do a voluntary move up. Also, remember that Bethlehem Catholic won four straight Class AA dual titles before voluntarily moving up. After this weekend, Notre Dame is still seeking its first.

   It’s not breaking news, but across the river in New Jersey, they get it by separating the publics and privates. Sure, crowning seven team champions (5 public, 2 private) can be argued as too many perhaps, but you don’t hear a lot of bickering back and forth. Oh yeah, and one individual champion at each weight. Simply put, a better postseason format.

- College update -

   As with high school, local collegiate wrestlers are eyeing the postseason with hopeful eyes.

   Among them is Bedford native Kaden Cassidy, who is turning in a solid first season at 141 pounds for George Mason.

   Cassidy is 15-5 and posted one of his best wins with a 3-2 decision last week over Saul Ervin of Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, who is a returning NCAA qualifier at the weight.

   Also in Division I, Chestnut Ridge product Justin McCoy has a 12-1 record at 165 pounds for Virginia. McCoy will be seeking a third straight NCAA berth when the Cavaliers host the ACC Tournament next month.

    Everett alum Garret Cornell has a 23-6 record at Messiah this winter. Cornell is looking to improve on his fifth-place medal from the NWCA nationals a year ago.