Pandemic leads to massive changes in wrestling
The growth of the pandemic has led to a proposal by the PIAA board of control to radically change the postseason of wrestling for this year.
The board will meet Wednesday to consider whether to make drastic cuts to the individual and team postseasons.
“They’re are going to continue what they have and add another qualifier for the state tournament,” said Frank Vulcano, athletic director at Canon-McMillan and head of the WPIAL steering committee,
This extra qualifier, known as a Super Regional, will be another step needed to be taken to reach Hershey. It will cut the number of days for the state tournament to two days, one less than normal.
In Class AAA, the Super Qualifier will be made up of the Southwest, Northwest and Southcentral regions in the West and the Southeast and Northeast regions in the East. That would divide the schools almost equally for the two Super Regions.
The top four wrestlers in the Northwest and Southwest regions will form an eight-man bracket for the Super Region. The top four wrestlers in the Super Region advance to the state tournament.
“It will be like having the first two rounds of the state tournament at the Super Region,” said Vulcano.
The PIAA championships will be held in Hershey but Vulcano said the committee is looking at making Class AAA and Class AA one-day events each.
The WPIAL will hold its individual tournaments in Class AAA and Class AA, and Class AA will hold a Southwest Regional for teams from the WPIAL and Districts 5 and 6.
The PIAA team tournament also will undergo major changes. A 16-team bracket will hold eight teams from the east and eight teams from the west. During the week of the tournament, the first round will be held Monday and the quarterfinals will be held Wednesday with the sites being at the higher seeded teams.
The Class AA semifinals and finals would be Friday and the Class AAA semifinals and finals on Saturday in Hershey.
The pandemic also caused the cancellation of several tournaments. The list includesChartiers-Houston and Eastern Area at Gateway both on Dec. 11 and 12, the Ironman on Dec. 11, Beast of the East on Dec. 18, the King of the Mountain on Dec. 18, West Mifflin on Dec. 28, the Burgettstown, Allegheny County Coaches and Tri-County Athletic Directors’ tournaments.
Vulcano said the changes, if adopted, will be for only this year.
“After this, we will go back to the regular schedule,” he said.
The Southmorelamd Tournament will be held Dec. 28 but changed to a duals format and will be held at the Murrysville Sports Zone.
Powerade,with 54 teams expected to compete, will be held at the Monroeville Convention Center Dec. 28-29.