Wrestling notebook: Wyoming Seminary ready for next showdown vs. Blair Academy
It’s time for the annual high school wrestling dual that the entire nation will be watching – Wyoming Seminary against Blair Academy.
For the second straight year, it will be a battle of No. 1 vs. No. 2 in the country. But this time, it’s the Blue Knights who are the top-ranked team in the nation. And they travel to New Jersey at 7 p.m. Friday instead of hosting the match in Kingston. They are also hoping for a different outcome than last year when the Bucs were victorious.
The match, which was originally scheduled for Sunday afternoon but was moved up two days due to the possibility of inclement weather, will likely feature 19 wrestlers who are ranked in the Top 20 nationally by Intermat.
Wyoming Seminary, which has been No. 1 in the country since winning the Ironman Tournament more than a month ago, is led by three No. 1 wrestlers in the nation. Penn State recruit Beau Bartlett is ranked atop the 138-pound category, while University of North Carolina commit Lachlan McNeil is first at 145.
Nic Bouzakis is No. 1 at 126 for the Blue Knights, and he could wrestle in the most interesting match of the dual. That’s because Blair’s Trevor Mastrogiobanni is ranked No. 4 in the poll and will be wrestling at Oklahoma State in college.
There is at least one nationally ranked wrestler in every weight except at 285. In addition to the potential bout at 126, the two teams both have ranked athletes at 106, 132, 138 and 220. The Bucs have a top-ranked grappler at 132 in Shayne Van Ness, and he could lock up with Drew Munch, who is No. 11.
A tri-meet for ALS
On Monday, Hanover Area, Nanticoke Area and Wilkes-Barre Area will come together for a tri-meet at Nanticoke to benefit ALS.
With Meyers being lost on the Hanover Area schedule due to the Wilkes-Barre Area merger, Hawkeyes coach Mike Griffith was looking for an opponent to fill the void in the schedule. That paved the way for the ALS fundraiser.
The first match will be between the Wolfpack and Trojans at 4 p.m. The Hawkeyes and Wolfpack will meet at 5:30 with the final dual being between Hanover Area and Nanticoke Area at 7 p.m.
Kislin gets the call
The GAR program merged with Coughlin three years ago. But one of the most recognizable members from the team will get inducted into the Pennsylvania Wrestling Coaches Association Hall of Fame this spring.
Joel Kislin, who graduated from the Grenadiers team in 1969, was a two-time District 2 champion, Northeast Regional champion and state runner-up. Among his other accomplishments, he won a pair of regional titles for Luzerne County Community College and was two-time runner-up in the NJCAA Championships.
He was inducted into the National Junior College Hall of Fame in 1988 and is also a member of the Luzerne County Sports Hall of Fame. He also played football for the Grenadiers varsity team for four years.
The PWCA banquet will be held on Sunday, May 17 at Mountainview Country Club in Boalsburg. Kislin is one of nine individuals to be inducted into the Hall.
Cost for tickets is $35 and can be obtained by contacting Gene Waas at 610-428-4686 or by mail at 1604 Riegel Street, Hellertown, PA 18055.
Divisions wrapped up?
There are still 12 days until the District 2 Duals Tournament officially opens. But both Wyoming Valley Conference divisions could be close to wrapped up already.
Hazleton Area (5-0) controls its own destiny in Division 1 with just divisional two meets left against Berwick (1-4) and Nanticoke Area (1-3).
In Division 2, Tunkhannock moved to 2-0 with a 69-13 romp over Hanover Area (0-2) on Thursday. The Tigers have only one match remaining, and that’s with Lake-Lehman (1-1). The Black Knights beat Hanover Area and fell to Wyoming Area (1-1), which lost to the Tigers earlier this week.
Lake-Lehman has been hit with the injury bug this season. The Knights will have to get healthy fast with the match against the Tigers in Lehman Township on Wednesday or their run of two straight divisional titles will come to an end.
D2 duals format
Speaking of district duals, there’s a slightly different format this season. With the loss of Meyers in Class 2A and there now being just four Class 2A WVC teams, the D2 committee decided to hold a qualifying match between the No. 4 seed from the WVC and the No. 5 seed from the Lackawanna League on Monday, Jan. 27 at a site and time to be announced.
The rest of the event will be the same, with the two division winners from each conference hosting three other teams on Wednesday, Jan. 29. The winners and top four in each class advance to the finals on Feb. 1 for the finals and third-place matches at Pittston Area High School.
A wild finish
Hazleton Area appears to be a lock to make the 3A duals event. But the other three WVC qualifying teams will come down to the wire. Entering Thursday, Crestwood, Pittston Area and Wyoming Valley West all have two losses, while Wilkes-Barre only has one.
But the Wolfpack will meet the Comets and Spartans next week. The Spartans are also scheduled to meet the Patriots on Saturday.
