WPIAL wrestling teams learn new section opponents for next 2-year cycle

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, February 19, 2018 | 9:48 PM

The WPIAL board of directors approved the new realignment in wrestling for the next two seasons.

There are 46 teams in Class AAA, down two from the previous seasons, and 36 in Class AA, which remained the same.

Dropping from Class AAA to Class AA were Highlands, Blackhawk and Hopewell. South Fayette moved up from Class AA to AAA. Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic and Jeannette no longer field teams.

There weren't many major changes in Class AAA, but Class AA's sections will look a little different.

In Class AAA, Armstrong moved from Section 1 to Section 3 to replace Highlands. Central Catholic was moved from Section 4 to Section 1.

Section 4 is the only 10-team section in Class AAA. The others have 12 teams.

South Fayette moved to Section 4, subsection A with Ambridge, Canon-McMillan, New Castle and West Allegheny. Subsection B includes Moon, Montour, Chartiers Valley, Trinity and Waynesburg. Trinity and Waynesburg moved away from Canon-McMillan.

There also were changes in Section 1's subsections. Penn-Trafford, Franklin Regional and Norwin were moved to subsection A with Kiski Area, Plum and Central Catholic. Woodland Hills, Penn Hills and Gateway were moved to subsection B with Greensburg Salem, Hempfield and Latrobe.

In Class AA, the Greene and Washington county schools were put in Section 1. Section 2 includes Beaver, Allegheny and Lawrence county schools, while Section 3 is mainly made up of Westmoreland County teams.

Here's a look at the new sections:

Class AAA

Section 1 — Subsection A: Central Catholic, Franklin Regional, Kiski Area, Norwin, Penn-Trafford and Plum. B: Gateway, Greensburg Salem, Hempfield, Latrobe, Penn Hills and Woodland Hills.

Section 2 — A: Albert Gallatin, Belle Vernon, Connellsville, McKeesport, Thomas Jefferson and West Mifflin. B: Baldwin, Bethel Park, Mt. Lebanon, Peters Township, Ringgold and Upper St. Clair.

Section 3 — A: Armstrong, Butler, Knoch, Mars, Pine-Richland and Seneca Valley. B: Fox Chapel, Hampton, Indiana, North Allegheny, North Hills and Shaler.

Section 4 — A: Ambridge, Canon-McMillan, New Castle, South Fayette and West Allegheny. B: Chartiers Valley, Moon, Montour, Trinity and Waynesburg.

Class AA

Section 1 — A: Avella, Burgettstown, Chartiers-Houston, Fort Cherry, South Park and Washington. B: Bentworth, Beth-Center, Jefferson-Morgan, Mapletown, McGuffey and West Greene.

Section 2 — A: Beaver, Blackhawk, Central Valley, Ellwood City, Freedom and Laurel. B: Avonworth, Carlynton, Hopewell, Keystone Oaks, Quaker Valley and South Side Beaver.

Section 3 — A: Burrell, Highlands, Riverview, South Allegheny, Summit Academy and Valley. B: Derry, Elizabeth Forward, Frazier, Mt. Pleasant, Southmoreland and Yough.

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

Tags: Armstrong, Blackhawk, Franklin Regional, Gateway, Greensburg C.C., Highlands, Hopewell, Norwin, Penn Hills, Penn-Trafford, South Fayette, Woodland Hills