Tri-Valley's wrestlers gather at center mat after warming up prior to a Schuylkill League Division II dual meet against Pine Grove on Jan. 21 in the Tri-Valley gym. (Photo by Bob Lipsky)

The wrestling postseason has arrived — the team postseason, that is.

While individual districts are still more than three weeks away, four area teams are in line to compete this weekend in the District 11 Team Wrestling Championships — commonly called the District Duals.

Weather permitting, the event is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 31, at Bethlehem Freedom High School. Action will begin at 9 a.m. with the Class AA quarterfinals. The Class 3A quarterfinals will be at 11 a.m., followed by the Class AA semifinals at 1 p.m. and the Class 3A semifinals at 2:30 p.m. The championship finals for both classes will be held on two mats starting at 6:30 p.m.

Invitations will be issued to the top eight teams in each class based on power ratings. Only competitions up to and including Thursday (extended from Wednesday due to the snowstorm) will count in seeding.

On Friday, a District 11 seeding committee as determined by the wrestling chair will subjectively rank the teams and set the pairings. Look for much more on District Duals when the pairings are released.

Entering today’s action, North Schuylkill (15-2) tops the Class AA power ratings, with Tri-Valley (13-3) at No. 2. Northwestern Lehigh (10-3) is third, with Saucon Valley (12-3) in fourth. Nos. 5 through 8 are Lehighton (13-4), Pine Grove (12-5), Mahanoy Area (6-3) and Pen Argyl (6-4). Palmerton (6-10), the No. 9 team, is unlikely to crack the top eight.

In Class 3A, Nazareth (10-1) leads the way, with up-and-coming Emmaus (14-1) at No. 2. Bethlehem Catholic (9-1) comes in at No. 3, followed by Northampton (13-2) at No. 4. The next four in order are No. 5 Easton (11-3), No. 6 Whitehall (11-2), No. 7 Bethlehem Liberty (12-5) and No. 8 Notre Dame-Green Pond (7-2). Stroudsburg (11-4) is No. 9; Blue Mountain (11-7) ranks 12th.

In the latest PA Power Wrestling Dual Team Rankings, Nazareth (No. 1), Emmaus (No. 2), Bethlehem Catholic (No. 3), Notre Dame-Green Pond (No. 4), Northampton (No. 7) and Easton (No. 10) make up 60 percent of the top 10.

Last season, Bethlehem Catholic defeated Nazareth 36-24 in the District 11 Class 3A final, and Saucon Valley topped Northwestern Lehigh 59-12 in District 11 Class AA.

At states, Bethlehem Catholic downed Nazareth 44-28 to capture the Class 3A title; Faith Christian held off Bishop McCort 34-25 for the Class AA crown.

On the docket

In addition to District Duals, several teams still have some dual meets and tournaments before the end of the regular season.

This week, the snowstorm wiped out Monday’s and Tuesday’s action. Still on for Wednesday, as of this writing, are Pine Grove at Mahanoy Area, Executive Education at Tamaqua and Brandywine Heights at Schuylkill Haven on the boys’ side. Panther Valley’s girls are slated to host Palmerton on Senior Night.

Also Friday, Tamaqua’ girls host a tri-meet with Pleasant Valley and Lehighton. And Saturday, Pottsville is headed to the Williamsport Millionaire Girls’ Varsity Wrestling Showcase.

Sunday, Tri-Valley/Upper Dauphin host the UDA Invitational at 9 a.m.

Almost there

So far this season, Pottsville’s Terrell McFarland, Mahanoy Area’s Kyler Quick, Tri-Valley’s Jaxson Bruso, Tri-Valley’s Owen Wolfgang and Williams Valley’s Camron Green have reached or surpassed the 100-win milestone for their respective careers.

A few other Schuylkill Leaguers are on pace to join them, if they finish the season strong.

Two North Schuylkill seniors are on the cusp of reaching the century mark. Gaige Mentusky, a 107-pounder, is 28-7 this season, raising his career record to 97-51. Teammate Cadyn McGraw, a 215-pounder, has a 28-9 mark, putting him at 98-64 for his career.

Panther Valley senior 235-pounder Brenda Banks is a perfect 23-0 this season. She’s 96-2 for her career.

Mahanoy Area and Marian 152-pounder Rory Dixon is having a banner junior season. Dixon has a 33-4 record this season, improving his career record to 93-22.

In addition, Blue Mountain senior 160-pounder Owen Woll is 33-4 this season, upping his career record to 146-35, meaning he could get No. 150 at districts or regionals.

Formidable freshmen

Nine boys’ teams tested themselves last weekend at big-time tournaments. Blue Mountain, Mahanoy Area, Panther Valley, Schuylkill Haven, Tamaqua and Williams Valley competed at the Coal Cracker Invitational Wrestling Tournament at Lehighton. Meanwhile, North Schuylkill, Pine Grove and Tri-Valley battled at the Thomas Chevrolet Wrestling Tournament at Bedford High School.

Two freshmen did their schools proud.

Mahanoy’s Arturo Reyes racked up six straight victories to capture the 121-pound championship at the Coal Cracker. Reyes (29-4) wrestled at 127 pounds for most of the season before making the drop. His combination of speed and strength should play well at the lower weight.

Meanwhile at Bedford, North Schuylkill’s Bode Gates (29-11) earned a silver medal at 145 pounds. Gates has faced a lot of tough and experienced opponents along the way, but he’s refining his attack and making the adjustment to the varsity level. Since starting the season 17-8, Gates has gone 12-3 in his last 15 matches.

Both Reyes and Gates were Schuylkill League champions earlier this month. Fellow freshmen Rylan Reitz (114) of Tamaqua and Brock Holmes of North Schuylkill also won Schuylkill League Tournament gold.

Team rankings

Here are the top 5 teams in the T102sportsnow.com boys’ power poll:

(Through matches of Jan. 27)

Team                               W-L   Pvs

1. North Schuylkill    15-2       1

2. Tri-Valley                13-3       2

3. Pine Grove              12-5       3

4. Blue Mountain      11-7       4

5. Mahanoy Area        6-3       5