Seneca Valley to replace Hempfield in WPIAL Class AAA team wrestling tourney

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, February 1, 2018 | 2:24 PM

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Seneca Valley wrestling coach Kevin Wildrick gave his team a day off after the Raiders lost to Hempfield in the WPIAL Class AAA quarterfinals Wednesday night.

But about noon Thursday, things drastically changed.

That's when Wildrick and his team learned from the WPIAL they would be heading to Trinity at noon Saturday to face No. 1 Canon-McMillan in the semifinals.

Hempfield inadvertently used an academically ineligible wrestler in Wednesday's match against Seneca Valley — a thrilling 32-31 victory for the Spartans that was decided by tiebreaker criteria E (most 6-point wins).

When the infraction was discovered Thursday morning, Hempfield athletic director Greg Meisner reported it to WPIAL officials.

The Spartans had to forfeit the wrestler's bout, and Seneca Valley was awarded a 37-25 victory.

WPIAL executive director Tim O'Malley said if the wrestler had lost his match, Hempfield still would have been awarded the victory if the Spartans had the higher score.

“We commend Hempfield for its honesty,” O'Malley said. “It was a misinterpretation of the eligibility rule, which was corrected.”

Since the Hempfield grading period ended Monday and the student in question was not passing four full credit subjects, he then by rule (PIAA By-Law Article X Curriculum, Section 3) was ineligible to participate for the first 15 days of the next marking (nine-week) period, starting on that day.

However, Hempfield followed the school's student handbook policy, which kept him eligible until Feb. 5, the start of the following week. PIAA rules, however, supersede school rules.

Hempfield superintendent Dr. Tammy Wolicki and the school district issued a statement, saying: “The Hempfield Area School District regrets that an error was made in accounting for the eligibility of a member or our high school wrestling team. Because this individual participated in a match on Wednesday, Jan. 31, and the error was discovered after the match, it was necessary for the district to alert the WPIAL. We sincerely apologize for this error for we understand the negative impact this situation has caused for the members of our wrestling team, their parents, and the entire Hempfield community.”

Hempfield Principal Kathy Charlton added: “We did the right thing when we realized the mistake. We took appropriate action.”

Hempfield's 47-24 first-round victory against West Allegheny will stand because the wrestler did not participate.

Hempfield wrestling coach Vince DeAugustine said he wouldn't have used the wrestler if he knew he was ineligible. He said other wrestlers weighed in at that weight class, but he was told by administrators the student was cleared to wrestle, according to the student handbook policy.

Hempfield (17-2), which was preparing for the semifinals and a possible PIAA tournament berth, will now turn its attention to the individual season, starting with the Section 1-AAA tournament Feb. 24.

Seneca Valley, on the other hand, has new life in its quest for a WPIAL title. No. 1 Canon-McMillan (9-0) awaits in the semifinals. Waynesburg (14-2) and Kiski Area (16-1) will meet in the other semifinal.

“Hempfield was a great opponent, and it's sad to see this happen,” Wildrick said. “We're just excited for the wrestlers to get a chance to compete this weekend. Hopefully, they didn't go crazy and get too heavy.”

Paul Schofield is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at pschofield@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Schofield_Trib.