HS Wrestling: 3 locals make District 11 Team Wrestling Championships

BETHLEHEM — North Schuylkill, Pine Grove and Tri-Valley will head to the Lehigh Valley this weekend to compete in the District 11 Team Wrestling Championships.

After determining the eight qualifiers in each class by rating points, a seeding committee as set by District 11 wrestling chairman Bob Hartman seeded the teams subjectively.

After weigh-ins at 8 a.m. Saturday at Freedom, action will begin at 9 a.m. with the Class AA quarterfinals. The Class 3A quarterfinals will follow at 11 a.m. The Class AA semifinals are set for 1 p.m., with the Class 3A semifinals at 3 p.m. The championship finals in both classes will be held at 7 p.m. on two mats.

The local squads are in Class AA. In the quarterfinals, No. 8 Tri-Valley (12-5) will take on top-seeded Saucon Valley (15-1); No. 5 Pine Grove (13-5) will face No. 4 Lehighton (11-6); No. 6 North Schuylkill (11-2) will meet No. 3 Palmerton (10-3); and No. 2 Northwestern Lehigh (12-6) will square off against No. 7 Pen Argyl (8-4).

In Class 3A, Bethlehem Catholic (10-0) gained the No. 1 seed and will face No. 8 Parkland (11-5) in the quarterfinals. Other quarterfinal matchups: No. 2 Nazareth (14-0) vs. No. 7 Whitehall (16-4); No. 3 Easton (8-2) vs. No. 6 Emmaus (12-4); and No. 4 Notre Dame-Green Pond (10-1) vs. No. 5 Northampton (14-2).

Blue Mountain (12-6) finished 11th in the points ratings.

The champion and runner-up in each class will represent the district in the 20-team PIAA Team Wrestling Championships.

That schedule has undergone a major overhaul this season, with preliminary and round-of-16 duals being held Tuesday, Feb. 4, at regional sites across the state. Then, instead of heading to Hershey’s Giant Center, the remaining eight teams in each class will gather at Altoona Area High School on Feb. 7-8 to battle it out for a state title.

Last season, Notre Dame-Green Pond won its fourth straight District 11 Class AA title with a 52-9 victory over Saucon Valley. The Crusaders have moved up to Class 3A this season. Bethlehem Catholic earned its fourth straight District 11 Class 3A crown a year ago, downing Easton 32-23 in the finals.

At states, Notre Dame-Green Pond placed third, falling to eventual champion Faith Christian in the semifinals. Bethlehem Catholic won its third straight Class 3A title, topping Easton 33-24 in an all-District 11 PIAA final.

District 11 Team Wrestling Championships

At Bethlehem Freedom High School

Saturday’s schedule

CLASS AA

Quarterfinals

No. 1 Saucon Valley (15-1) vs. No. 8 Tri-Valley (12-5), 9 a.m.

No. 4 Lehighton (11-6) vs. No. 5 Pine Grove (13-5), 9 a.m.

No. 3 Palmerton (10-3) vs. No. 6 North Schuylkill (11-2), 9 a.m.

No. 2 Northwestern Lehigh (12-6) vs. No. 7 Pen Argyl, 9 a.m.

Semifinals

Saucon Valley/Tri-Valley winner vs. Lehighton/Pine Grove winner, 1 p.m.

Palmerton/North Schuylkill winner vs. Pen Argyl/Northwestern Lehigh winner, 1 p.m.

Championship

Semifinal winners, 7 p.m.

CLASS 3A

Quarterfinals

No. 1 Bethlehem Catholic (10-0) vs. No. 8 Parkland (11-5), 11 a.m.

No. 4 Notre Dame-Green Pond (10-1) vs. No. 5 Northampton (14-2), 11 a.m.

No. 3 Easton (8-2) vs. No. 6 Emmaus (12-4), 11 a.m.

No. 2 Nazareth (14-0) vs. No. 7 Whitehall, 11 a.m.

Semifinals

Bethlehem Catholic/Parkland winner vs. Notre Dame-Green Pond/Northampton winner, 3 p.m.

Easton/Emmaus winner vs. Nazareth/Whitehall winner, 3 p.m.

Championship

Semifinal winners, 7 p.m.