High School Wrestling: New PIAA cycle prompts changes in league, district

Panther Valley head coach Kris Nalesnik.

The beginning of a new two-year PIAA cycle that started with the fall season brings about changes.

That’s true for Schuylkill League wrestling, too, as the league has undergone major realignment.

Starting this season, Jim Thorpe and Lehighton officially have departed the Schuylkill League to join the Lehigh Valley-based Colonial League. Some local teams will still get to see the Olympians and Indians in day-long duals or tournaments, but it won’t be the same.

The departure of Jim Thorpe and Lehighton continues the Schuylkill League’s trend of losing schools to other leagues.

A long time ago, Mount Carmel and Shamokin were Schuylkill League wrestling schools before the Red Tornadoes and Indians left for the District 4-based Heartland Conference, Columbia-Montour Vo-Tech, a league member in wrestling for a few years, moved on as well.

The Schuylkill League lost Millersburg when the school folded its wrestling program into a co-op with Upper Dauphin. More recently, Upper Dauphin and Halifax, which were competing in both the Schuylkill League and Tri-Valley League in wrestling, decided competing in two leagues wasn’t in their programs’ best interests.

And now, two of the larger schools in the league, Jim Thorpe and Lehighton, are gone.

What remains are 10 teams in the Schuylkill League. To create two five-team divisions, Panther Valley has moved up to Division I. The Panthers join Blue Mountain, North Schuylkill, Pottsville and Tamaqua. Mahanoy Area, Pine Grove, Schuylkill Haven, Tri-Valley and Williams Valley will comprise Division II.

“Losing teams like Lehighton and Jim Thorpe is unfortunate, but I still believe the league is strong, and adding Panther Valley to Division I this year will help balance things out,’’ North Schuylkill coach Corey Fetterolf said.

Area teams still will gather Jan. 18 at Blue Mountain for the Schuylkill League Wrestling Championships.

“It’s a shame the league has shrunk this season due to two teams leaving, but we look forward to another season of tough duals, and it’s always nice to wrestle in the league tournament,’’ Blue Mountain coach Alex Gosch said.

Other changes:

District 11 Team — Two area teams, Blue Mountain at Jim Thorpe, are moving up to Class 3A for this two-year cycle. Pottsville is also a 3A squad.

In addition, perennial powerhouse Notre Dame-Green Pond has opted up to Class 3A. The Crusaders join Bethlehem Catholic, Nazareth, Northampton and Easton in an even more loaded district. The District 11 Team Wrestling Championships in February will be interesting as those five teams battle for two berths into the state tournament.

Meanwhile, in Class AA, the departure of Notre Dame-Green Pond opens the door for another team to challenge Saucon Valley for district supremacy and take one of the two spots in team states.

District 11 Individual — The shuffling of classes by teams across the state has resulted in some significant changes for some local wrestlers.

In girls’ wrestling, District 11 will continue to qualify three wrestlers for the Southeast Regional. Districts 1 and 12 will qualify five wrestlers to the regional. The top four will advance to the PIAA Championships. That remains unchanged from last year.

In Class AA boys, the top four placewinners from District 11 will qualify for the Southeast Regional. Those four will join three from District 1, six from District 3 and three from District 12. The top five regional placewinners will qualify for states. That’s a reduction of one state placewinner from the previous cycle.

The extra qualifier went to the Southwest Region, which has more teams (79) compared to the Southeast Region (60).

In Class 3A boys, District 11 will qualify five for the Northeast Regional. There, they will join three from District 2, three from District 4 and five from District 12. An increase in 3A schools in the region has allotted the Northeast 3A five qualifiers to the PIAA Championships as opposed to four in the previous cycle.

Weight classes — The varsity weight classes remain unchanged: 107, 114, 121, 127, 133, 139, 145, 152, 160, 172, 189, 215 and 285. The two-pound growth allowance will become effective on Dec. 25.

Scoring is another major change in the rules, and that will be discussed in detail in a future story. Coaching changes were featured in a previous story.