Subsection wrestling tournaments among ideas WPIAL board to consider

By: Chris Harlan
Sunday, December 20, 2020 | 4:03 PM

Purchase Photo Options

The WPIAL wrestling committee wants subsection tournaments added to the individual postseason schedule this winter as the league adjusts to covid-19 restrictions.

The move would let additional wrestlers compete in the postseason while also complying with a PIAA directive to limit brackets to no more than eight athletes.

“Everybody would have an opportunity to wrestle,” said wrestling committee chairman Frank Vulcano, athletic director at Canon-McMillan.

“There are some (PIAA) districts that are only taking so many kids and others just aren’t going to be able to compete in the postseason. We’re fortunate. With these subsections, we’re able to get at least one qualifier from each school (in each weight class) into the postseason.”

WPIAL wrestling teams are divided into seven sections. Those sections are divided into two subsections apiece, with no more than six teams in any of them.

The subsectionals would be one-day tournaments. The WPIAL would still need to decide how many wrestlers advance from each subsection.

The WPIAL board will discuss that proposal and other postseason changes when it meets online Monday. The steering committees for WPIAL winter sports met in recent days to make recommendations.

The WPIAL sponsors wrestling, basketball, gymnastics, swimming, rifle and competitive spirit in the winter.

The board will take their recommendations under consideration, said WPIAL executive director Amy Scheuneman, who declined to discuss specifics until after the board can review the proposals.

However, she said, the WPIAL is looking at slightly later dates for its playoffs — particularly for basketball — since the PIAA pushed back the start date for its condensed state tournament.

Winter sports are in the midst of a three-week shutdown ordered by Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration to reduce covid-19 cases. The statewide “pause” of interscholastic and recreational sports started Dec. 12 and ends Jan. 4.

Extending the regular season would give schools additional time to reschedule section contests.

“We’re looking at the latest dates for all sports,” Scheuneman said. “We’re going to try to go as late as possible.”

The WPIAL meeting comes one day before the PIAA board meets Tuesday.

The PIAA wants wrestling tournaments limited to eight-person brackets to minimize the risk of coronavirus spread, a restriction that prompted the WPIAL to consider subsectionals. If the proposal is approved, a WPIAL wrestler would enter a subsection tournament, advance to the section tournament and then to the WPIAL individual championship.

The WPIAL also must finalize a format for its basketball tournaments but that decision may be delayed until later in the season. An open tournament with all teams included is an option under consideration.

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.