Just one day after the Franklin Regional won the Westmoreland County Wrestling Tournament on Saturday, the Panthers join Hempfield, which pulled out of the Section 2 tournament last week. Franklin Regional was the Section 1B champion in Class AAA. Plum will replace the Panthers in the Section 1 tournament Monday, Feb. 8 at Kiski Area, according to the Tribune-Review.
In similar fashion to that of Hempfield coach Vince DeAugustine and his Spartans’ decision to forgo the team portion of the postseason, Franklin Region and coach Matt Lebe said his squad also did so for the same reason: To preserve best the health and safety of his athletes as the individual portion of the wrestling postseason nears.
The decision was made with the full support of superintendent Gennaro R. Piraino Jr., principal Ron Suvak and athletic director Zach Kessler.
As a result of the impromptu dropout, the following scheduling adjustment has been made: The Panthers were scheduled to face Armstrong at 6 p.m., and Penn-Trafford was to battle Kiski Area. With Franklin Regional out, Plum will face Kiski Area, and Penn-Trafford will take on Armstrong.
In additional WPIAL wrestling news, Cannon-Mac has dropped out of Monday’s Sectional matchup at Waynesburg Central. With that, it’ll be Waynesburg vs. Mt. Lebanon at 6: 00 PM. The winner will face Peters Township directly following that match.
Looking Ahead
The the WPIAL team championships will be held Feb. 13.
The WPIAL individual postseason will begin Feb. 16-18 with the Area subsection tournaments, followed by the section championships Feb. 19-20 and the WPIAL championships Feb. 20 (Class AA) and Feb. 27 (Class AAA). The WPIAL championships for both classes will be held at Canon-McMillan.
The Class AA Southwest Regionals will be Feb. 27 at IUP. The West Super Regionals will be held for Class AAA and AA on March 6, followed by the PIAA championships March 12-13 in Hershey.
Below is a look at Monday’s schedule for the section wrestling tournaments.
Class 3A (AAA)
Section 1 (at Kiski Area)
Plum (9-5) at Kiski Area (8-3), 6 p.m.; Penn-Trafford (11-6) vs. Armstrong (2-1), 6 p.m.
Section 2 (at Thomas Jefferson)
Norwin (4-1) vs. Connellsville (1-3), 6 p.m.
Thomas Jefferson (8-1), bye
Section 3 (at Seneca Valley)
Mars (4-13) at Seneca Valley (16-1), 6 p.m.; North Allegheny (11-1) vs. Butler (12-2), 6 p.m.
Section 4 (at Waynesburg)
Mt. Lebanon (2-14) at Waynesburg (8-0), 6 p.m.; Peters Township (9-1) vs winner of Mt. Lebanon at Waynesburg. This match will be at 7:30 PM.
Class 2A (AA)
Section 1 (at Burgettstown)
McGuffey (4-1) at Burgettstown (9-0), 6 p.m.; Beth-Center (13-1) vs. Fort Cherry (8-6), 6 p.m.
Section 2 (at Laurel)
Montour (4-1) at Laurel (13-3), 6 p.m.; Quaker Valley (10-5) vs. Freedom (10-2), 6 p.m.
Section 3 (at Valley)
Burrell (7-1) vs. Derry (5-7), 6 p.m.; Mt. Pleasant (9-5) at Valley (2-2), 6 p.m.
*Section championship matches will immediately follow the first-round matches.
Note: The above schedule is is subject to changes as additional COVID-19-related issues may develop and cause adjustments.
