WPIAL to reveal section alignments for next two seasons as part of 3 things to watch Monday

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, January 15, 2018 | 12:00 AM

Coaches may take games one at a time, but the WPIAL takes years two at a time.

So, at Monday afternoon's board of directors meeting, the WPIAL will reveal new conference and section alignments for the 2018-19 and 2019-20 school years.

This is a date coaches, athletes and fans anticipate every two years, a time when they'll finally know their competition for next season.

The preliminary work was performed by the steering committees for each specific sport, which met during the past two weeks and divided the WPIAL schools into sections (or conferences for football). Those committee recommendations were passed on to the board, which now can accept them as-is or vote to make changes.

The realignment process occurs every two years. The PIAA separates schools into classifications based on enrollment in grades 9-11, and then the WPIAL attempts to place teams into geographically friendly sections.

Hampton, Mars battle for first place

How close is the first-place tie between the Hampton and Mars girls basketball teams?

Both are 5-0 in Section 4.

Hampton scored 285 points in its five section wins, while Mars scored 286. Mars allowed 204 points while Hampton allowed 203.

Close enough?

The Class 5A rivals will break their razor-thin tie Monday when Hampton (8-3, 5-0) visits Mars (9-2, 5-0) at 7:30 p.m.

Each team has a Division I senior: Hampton is led by Laryn Edwards, a Loyola, Md. recruit. Mars has Lauren Wasylson, who signed with Xavier.

Another top girls matchup Monday pairs Beaver (9-3, 4-1) at Blackhawk (10-1, 4-1) in Class 4A.

Central Catholic's lead on the line

So far, Central Catholic has won the ones that count.

The Vikings' boys basketball team is 1-5 in nonsection games this season but 5-0 in section. They've already defeated preseason Section 1-6A favorite Pine-Richland, 53-52, on Jan. 5, a win that shook up the section standings.

Central Catholic (6-5, 5-0) visits Butler (11-1, 3-1) on Monday with a chance to bolster its lead. Tipoff is 7:30 p.m.

Central Catholic's ugly nonsection record is somewhat misleading. The team lost to McDowell, 69-55, and Philadelphia Constitution, 64-55, in an Erie tipoff tournament, and lost 61-49 to Allderdice. The Vikings then traveled to Orlando, Fla., and finished 1-2 in a Disney tournament.

Marist recruit Luke Nedrow, a 6-foot-7 senior, leads Central Catholic. He had 19 points and 14 rebounds against Pine-Richland.

Chris Harlan is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at charlan@tribweb.com or via Twitter @CHarlan_Trib.