Wrestling coaches split on changes
Over the years, wrestling has undergone many changes, such as reworking weight classes to fit national federation guidelines, adjusting the number of qualifiers in postseason tournaments to fit PIAA proportionality rules, and adding team tournaments, first by the WPIAL, then the PIAA.
Through this transformation, one event in Class AA has befuddled, frustrated and even caused anger among the district coaches: the Class AA section tournaments.
The WPIAL has endlessly tinkered with this event, trying to make it more relevant in an overcrowded postseason schedule. The section tournament has at various times been shortened, lengthened, eliminated and combined with another event, all in the hope of making it more attractive and compelling.
Now, the format is being changed again.
This season’s section tournaments will be held at one site – Canon-McMillan High School – on one night – Friday, Feb. 17 – and followed the next day with the WPIAL Class AA Championships, also at Canon-McMillan.
“The main reason for this is that there was a lot of talk about dropping the section tournaments,” said Canon-McMillan athletic director Frank Vulcano, head of the WPIAL wrestling steering committee. “There were mixed feelings between the coaches. Some coaches wanted to continue that so the marginal kids had something to shoot for and help build up their program. We understood that. There were also coaches who just wanted to make it one big tournament. We did that in the past but participation was very low. So we thought of this idea, one day at one site.”
The section tournaments have been plagued by this major conflict: lack of numbers in Class AA against an opportunity for less developing wrestlers to win a tournament title.
Coaches appear to be split on the change.
“I say, ‘Let’s give it a shot and see how it goes,'” said Chartiers-Houston Garrett Johnston. “I like the idea of having a section champion. I know a lot of coaches want to get rid of the section tournament. I was always a guy who liked to say, ‘So-and-so was a section champ.’ I don’t have a team of high flyers. They are young and work hard. It gives them a chance to place in the section tournament.”
The new format for the two-day weekend will be as follows: wrestlers from the three sections assemble at Canon-McMillan and compete in the weight classes Friday evening inside the spacious C-M gym. The top four wrestlers in each weight class will advance to the next day’s WPIAL Championships.
The combined number of qualifiers from the three section tournaments has been lowered from 15 to 12 in each weight class. In the past, some sections did not have five wrestlers in the weight class and simply were competing for seeding purposes.
“I like it. It’s one less weigh-in for the kids,” said Mapletown head coach Chris Shilk. “I think it will increase the intensity of that Friday knowing that the WPIAL is coming up the following day, instead of having that break in between. They take the top four. It used to be they took five but some sections only had five in a weight class. Our section tournament was tough. It incorporates a nice weekend atmosphere and it puts us on the same level as other (state) districts that get a chance to look at what we were doing because our section was a week earlier.”
There can be pitfalls, such as injuries. Also, wrestlers are usually battling other health problems at that point in the season.
“You better be healthy for that weekend,” said McGuffey head coach Mark Caffrey. “There will probably be some who are hurt or sick.
“It’s definitely new, that’s for sure. I told our kids that everyone is in the same boat.”
One advantage is the compressing of the postseason allowed the Southwest Region Tournament to occur one week earlier, which allowed Indiana University of Pennsylvania to host the event. IUP wanted to host last season but the date fell on the first weekend of the postseason tournament and the school could not commit. The change also allows a week off before the PIAA Championships for the Class AA wrestlers in the districts.
“I don’t like the back-to-back days,” said South Fayette head coach Rick Chaussard. “I understand why they did it. If you get banged up at sectionals, you don’t have a week to heal. I really don’t like the weekend off before the state tournament. That makes seven days I have to find a place to practice instead of two. If you have a kid on a roll, you go right into states that Thursday with a short week.”