George Guido: Girls wrestling picking up steam

By: George Guido
Saturday, December 18, 2021 | 8:06 PM

Girls high school wrestling is starting to take a foothold in Pennsylvania.

History will be made Tuesday night when Canon-McMillan hosts North Allegheny in the first dual girls match between two WPIAL schools.

Last year, North Allegheny became the first WPIAL school to provide a girls wrestling team — albeit on a club basis.

Last Feb. 6, the Tigers traveled to Lock Haven to wrestle Central Mountain and emerged with a 12-11 victory in the state’s first female dual match.

At last count, there were 29 high schools, mostly in the eastern part of the state, that have laid the groundwork for girls wrestling.

“It’s a growing sport on the collegiate level, and it’s trickling down to the high school level,” said Frank Vulcano, Canon-McMillan athletic director. “The group in the East is doing a great job, and it’s making its way to the West.

Connellsville is the other WPIAL school looking at wrestling.

The sport is not sanctioned by the PIAA, but that could change. Once 100 schools show interest in starting a sport, it can gain PIAA approval.

The movement got a boost recently when the PIAA declared a process for nonsanctioned sports called an “Emerging Sports Program” once 25 schools get on board.

“It’s huge,” North Allegheny boys assistant and girls wrestling head coach Dan Heckert told the Tribune-Review. “It’s huge because it finally puts validity to what we’ve been doing since March of 2020. This isn’t a pipe dream. This isn’t something we just wish would happen. It is happening.”

Heckert is part of an advocacy group known as the Pennsylvania Girls Wrestling Task Force/Sanction PA.

Vulcano is the chairman of the WPIAL Wrestling Steering Committee and is looking forward to Tuesday’s match.

“It’ll be something different to see, and we hope we can get the word out,” Vulcano said.

Kiski Area soaring early

The big surprise of the basketball season thus far is the Kiski Area boys team.

The Cavaliers went to 5-0 on Saturday with a 58-36 victory over Southmoreland under first-year coach Corey Smith.

What’s remarkable is Kiski Area won just five games last season. What’s even further remarkable is all five wins have come on the road, including Saturday’s at the Westmoreland County Coaches Association showcase at Hempfield High School.

The Cavaliers will face a stern test at home Tuesday when they host McKeesport in a Section 3-5A contest. The Tigers are off to a 3-1 start.

Mike & Mike return

For the 21st consecutive season, Mike Pavlik and Mike Choma will carry Highlands High School basketball on a delayed basis.

Generally, Friday games will be replayed on Comcast Channel 190 at 8 p.m. on Wednesdays. Fans won’t have to wait as long for Tuesday games to be aired. Those will be at 8 p.m. on Thursdays.

Also, something not invented when the two Mikes started doing Highlands games — You Tube — will have games the following day. Just go to YouTube.com and punch in Highlands High Sports.

Also, don’t forget Knoch games are carried live on WISR 680 AM with Scott Briggs again behind the mic.

On any given game night, TribHSSN has more than a dozen games available on tribhssn.triblive.com.