WPIAL wrestling brackets to be released in Thursday’s 3 things to watch in high school sports

By: HSSN Staff
Wednesday, January 23, 2019 | 8:30 PM

Is anybody up for a little mat bracketology?

The first team brackets of the winter high school sports season will be released Thursday afternoon when the WPIAL unveils the 2019 team wrestling postseason matchups.

The one-week tournament will begin Monday, with four Class AAA preliminary-round matches.

Then, on Jan. 30, first round and quarterfinals will be contested in both Class AAA and AA.

The district tournament concludes Feb. 2 with the semifinals and championships. Class AAA will be at Norwin and the Class AA final four will be at Chartiers-Houston.

Since the WPIAL started using team sectionals to finalize the 20-team field in Class AAA and 15-team field in Class AA, those results have greatly helped in the seeding of the playoff qualifiers.

Defending champion Kiski Area is the favorite to repeat in Class AAA while one of the greatest championship runs in WPIAL history is expected to continue in Class AA as Burrell goes for a record 13th consecutive district crown.

Two for three

While Shady Side Academy (9-0) threatens to run away with the Section 3-3A girls basketball title with a two-game lead, the next four teams behind the Indians go head-to-head in a pair of key games on Thursday.

The battle for second place behind will be determined for now when Deer Lakes (7-2) hosts Carlynton (7-2).

The Cougars, led by Jada Lee, beat the Lancers in the first meeting 56-44 back in December.

While Carlynton and Deer Lakes both have a cushion in the playoff chase, the two teams tied for fourth place are also set to face off Thursday.

East Allegheny (5-4) visits Derry (5-4) as the Wildcats, a WPIAL finalist a year ago, go for the swep of the Trojans after winning earlier 54-48.

Top two collide

The top two girls basketball teams in Section 1-5A are set to meet for the second time in eight days.

Undefeated Chartiers Valley won at home against Thomas Jefferson, 68-50, on Jan. 16.

Now, the Colts travel to the Jaguars’ den in perhaps the last big threat to a perfect regular season for rookie girls coach Tim McConnell.

With a 9-0 section record, Chartiers Valley has a two-game lead over 7-2 Thomas Jefferson.

Meanwhile, the lead is only one game for Bishop Canevin over Frazier in Section 3-2A.

The Crusaders are a perfect 8-0 in the section while the Commodores are 7-1, with that lone loss coming at home against Bishop Canevin, 72-42, back in December.

Both teams are riding seven-game winning streaks.

Both of these girls basketball games can be heard on the TribLive High School Sports Network.

Don Rebel is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Don at drebel@tribweb.com or via Twitter @TheDonRebel.

Tags: Bishop Canevin, Burrell, Carlynton, Chartiers Valley, Deer Lakes, Derry Area, East Allegheny, Frazier, Kiski School, Shady Side Academy, Thomas Jefferson