By Tom Fox, Lock Haven Express
Special to MaxPreps.com
HERSHEY, Pa. – The field is set and the trek toward crowning a PIAA Class AAA Team Dual wrestling champion begins on Tuesday across the Commonwealth.
Even though teams from the western side of the state get the opportunity to bring home gold, many grappling experts are looking at teams from the East as potential favorites.
Two that come to mind quickly are District 3’s Central Dauphin and District 11’s Northampton, both ranked nationally by W.I.N. Magazine.
For CD (17-1), it was a matter of revenge in winning its district’s championship.
The Rams faced off with No. 6 seed Cumberland Valley, the only team to hand them a loss this season. Again, it was another close match, but a different victor as Central Dauphin won, 35-24, and will receive a bye directly into the quarterfinals in Hershey.
On Jan 12 at the Cumberland Duals, the Eagles were victorious, 34-31. It’s not all sour grapes for CV as the team does advance to the state tournament, where it draws District 4 champ Shikellamy in the opening round on Tuesday.
Although disappointed with the CD loss, Cumberland Valley coach Dave Heckard knows there may be another meeting.
“I can’t be upset with the effort of the kids tonight,” he told the Carlisle Sentinel following the loss. “We can beat these guys, but they were just the better team tonight.”
In District 11, the surprise final – for some anyway – was Northampton and Nazareth.
Northampton (22-0) wasn’t the shocker; rather it was surprising Nazareth (13-6), a team that stunned nationally-ranked Easton in the semifinals, 29-25, to earn the squad a state berth.
It was not without controversy, however.
In a match between Nazareth freshman Ryan Krecker and Easton’s Mark Hartenstine, the freshman scored a four-point move with time dwindling down for a 4-3 win. The controversy involved whether or not Krecker had used an illegal hold.
“You cannot lock on a head without an arm," Easton coach Steve Powell told the Easton Express-Times. "If you have a double-under hook and roll through, it's an illegal headlock."
When asked by the paper, Krecker denied he used an illegal hold. “Not even close," he said. "I had a cement job and that was it."
Two other schools came into the tournament undefeated as well.
Cathedral Prep of Erie won the championship out of District 10 and will face off with the victor of Penn Trafford and Langley in the second round at 10 a.m. Friday.
Central Mountain won the District 6 title when it defeated Bellefonte for the third time this season. The Wildcats, who brought the title to Clinton County for the first time since the tournament’s conception in 1995, also carry a nationally ranking into Hershey and have two grapplers, Andrew and Dylan Alton, in the country’s top 10.
“Not only is it important for our school, but for our fans and community,” CM coach Doug Buckwalter said. “You can’t walk anywhere in the community without someone asking about the team and the kids. I told them to go there and have fun. But they also have to be ready and wrestle every match because they will see a quality opponent.”
The Wildcats face Council Rock North in the second round. North was supposed to have an opening-round contest with the District 12 champ, but that school and its district opted out of the tournament.
Girls Basketball: Burke Hits 2,000
A senior from Abington Heights (District 2) has recently etched her name into the record books in Northeastern Pennsylvania.
Becky Burke notched her 2,000th career point last week in a 54-33 victory over West Scranton in Clarks Summit.
Burke, a Division I prospect, is the third player in Lady Comets’ history to reach the 2,000 mark. Amber Jacobs, who finished with 2,433 points, went on to a successful career at Boston College. The other player was Jessica Muskey in 1996.
It didn’t look good in the beginning, though, as the state’s top-ranked Class AAAA girls’ team was down 11 points to an upstart Lady Invaders’ squad.
“I pulled us together and I said I didn’t care if I got the 2,000 points tonight,” Burke told the Scranton Times-Tribune. “We needed to get this lead and keep it.”
Girls Basketball: First Loss for Loyalsock
For the Loyalsock Lady Lancers, maybe it’s all right to lose at this point of the season. Better now than the playoffs, right?
The District 4 team, located near Williamsport, was dealt its first loss by Jersey Shore (10-12) as an April Gallagher put-back at the buzzer kept the Lady Bulldogs’ slim playoffs hopes alive.
It was a big win for Shore, which lost its center to fouls and another key scorer to injury. In order to qualify for the postseason, the team needs wins against Danville and state-honorable mention Selinsgrove.
Girls Basketball: Big Week for D6 Class AAAA Girls
While most of the attention around the state will focus on the wrestling championships, it’s a big week for the District 6 Class AAAA girls.
Although the playoff brackets have been released for all other classes, the deadline for Quad-A is Feb. 14. That means this week’s showdowns are absolutely huge.
The showdowns start Tuesday night, when Bellefonte travels to Central Mountain. The Lady Wildcats, fresh off a victory at Lewistown, have already captured a Mountain League title and remain perfect.
Thursday, Hollidaysburg and State College meet up. State won a dramatic game earlier this season, and although Central Mountain is undefeated, some believe Hollidaysburg and State College may have enough power points to grab a No. 1 seed.
The series of big games wraps up on Friday, when Central Mountain travels to State College. This would be the chance to prove CM is worthy of that No. 1 seed by knocking off the favored Lady Little Lions.
Tom Fox is Sports Editor of the Lock Haven Express. He may be reached by e-mail at tfox@lockhaven.com
