The PIAA Dual Championships kickoff Thursday afternoon live on FloWrestling at 2pm EST. The AAA side of the action will begin at 4pm EST. This marks the fourth year of full coverage with live streams of all bouts from the Giant Center in Hershey.

Starting in 2008 Central Dauphin ran off four titles in a row representing District 3. Canon-McMillan and Franklin Regional matched the feat for District 7 as they both won back-to-back titles. District 11 took their turn as Bethlehem Catholic and Nazareth won the next five titles. Last year Waynesburg was able to snap the District 11 streak, but they will have a tall task in the Giant Center to keep one of the District 11 schools from restarting a new streak for the Lehigh Valley. 

Top Bracket:

Bethlehem Catholic set itself up on the opposite side of Nazareth and Waynesburg with their District 11 Championship. They are a strong favorite on this half of the bracket. Nine Golden Hawks are currently ranked in the top 10 of the FloWrestling AAA rankings. It wouldn’t be surprising to see them have to go through all three WPIAL teams in the half. Matches were tightly contested in the WPIAL qualifier as Connellsville and Greater Latrobe have well balanced teams. 

Council Rock South is a perennial power from District 1 that could force a different path for Bethlehem Catholic. They avenged their only loss on the season and will be a great opening round opponent for Greater Latrobe. Whoever emerges from the top quarter will need to wrestle way above their head to challenge Bethlehem Catholic who has seven titles and a runner-up finish in the last 11 years.

Bottom Bracket:

This half of the bracket isn’t as easy to pinpoint the favorite. Nazareth is the pick, but there is a lot more intrigue. Williamsport hits undefeated Gettysburg in the first round. Williamsport has four wrestlers ranked in the top 10, Gettysburg gets it done with a more balanced line-up. Bonus points could swing this match either way. Who can preserve them, or who can go out and get the bonus points? 

Nazareth appears to be the favorite on the half and matches up particularly well against Williamsport if they hit in the quarters. Waynesburg is the reigning champion and has plenty of firepower to be in any dual. If the match with Nazareth materializes the Raiders would have to be perfect through the lightweights in some matches that are expected to be close with favorites on both sides. 

I believe there will be an all District 11 final and Bethlehem Catholic has taken the first two meetings from Nazareth. Keep a close eye on 120lbs and 126lbs. These are long-time rivalry matches with mixed results. At 120lbs Charlie Bunting (Nazareth) took the first four matches over Cael McIntyre (Bethlehem Catholic) in their high school career. However, McIntyre has won both matches this season. At 126lbs the Braxton Apello-Fries (Nazareth) vs Dante Frinzi (Bethlehem Catholic) rivalry stands at 5-5. Frinzi has taken both matches this season. If Nazareth is to win this potential dual they could make up some ground between these two weights. 

Prediction:

Bethlehem Catholic over Nazareth

Council Rock South Golden Hawks

District 1 Champions

Coach: Brad Silimperi

Record: 11-5

Duals Against the field: 

• Lost to Quakertown 33-31

• Defeated Quakertown 36-19

State Ranked Wrestlers:

#10 Shermuhammad Sadriddinov, 12th, 145

#1 Matt Colajezzi, 12th, 160

#6 Lucas Doyle, 12th, 215

Greater Latrobe Wildcats

District 7 Third

Coach: Mark Mears

Record: 13-1

Duals Against the field: 

• Defeated Connellsville 38-19

• Lost to Connellsville 37-27

• Defeated Canon-McMillan 40-25

State Ranked Wrestlers:

#7 Luke Willochell, 9th, 106

#2 Vinny Kilkeary, 11th, 120

#5 Nate Roth, 11th, 138

#5 Jack Pletcher, 12th, 152

#5 Corey Borerio, 11th, 215

General McLane Lancers

District 10 Champions

Coach: Ryan Cook

Record: 10-9

Duals Against the field: 

• No duals against the field

State Ranked Wrestlers:

No wrestlers ranked in the top 10

Central Dauphin Rams

District 3 Runner-up

Coach: Jeff Sweigard

Record: 15-2

Duals Against the field: 

• Lost to Mifflin County 42-23

• Lost to Gettysburg 32-30

State Ranked Wrestlers:

#10 Liam Flanagan, 10th, 106

#4 Matt Repos, 11th, 132

#8 Ryan Garvick, 10th, 160

Lasalle Explorers

District 12 Champions 

Coach: Ben Courtney

Record: 9-3

Duals Against the field: 

• No duals against the field

State Ranked Wrestlers:

No wrestlers ranked in the top 10

Connellsville Falcons

District 7 Runner-up

Coach: Bill Swink

Record: 18-2

Duals Against the field: 

• Defeated Canon-McMillan 39-25

• Lost to Greater Latrobe 38-19

• Defeated Greater Latrobe 37-27

• Lost to Waynesburg 35-18

State Ranked Wrestlers:

#8 Chad Ozias, 12th, 132

#6 Lonzie Vielma, 9th, 138

#2 Jared Keslar, 12th, 160

Bethlehem Catholic Golden Hawks

District 11 Champions

Coach: Jeff Karam

Record: 13-0

Duals Against the field: 

• Defeated Nazareth 30-24

• Defeated Nazareth 32-22

State Ranked Wrestlers:

#1 Nathan Desmond, 9th, 106

#5 Cole Campbell, 9th, 113

#5 Cael McIntyre, 11th, 120

#5 Dante Frinzi, 12th, 126

#5 Kollin Rath, 9th, 132

#1 Tyler Kasak, 11th, 138

#10 Andrew Harmon, 11th, 152

#9 Landon Muth, 11th, 160

#10 Luke Thomas, 11th, 172

Canon-McMillan Big Macs

District 7 Fourth

Coach: Brian Krenzelak

Record: 12-5

Duals Against the field: 

• Lost to Connellsville 39-25

• Lost to Waynesburg 37-24

• Lost to Waynesburg 36-22

• Lost to Greater Latrobe 40-25

State Ranked Wrestlers:

#9 Jacob Houpt, 12th, 120

#4 Matt Furman, 11th, 172

Waynesburg Central Raiders

District 7 Champions

Coach: Kyle Szewczyk

Record: 16-0

Duals Against the field: 

• Defeated Canon-McMillan 37-24

• Defeated Canon-McMillan 36-22

• Defeated Connellsville 35-18

State Ranked Wrestlers:

#1 Mac Church, 11th, 132

#7 Colton Stoneking, 12th, 138

#1 Rocco Welsh, 11th, 172

#10 Noah Tustin, 12th, 285

Dallastown Wildcats

District 3 Fourth

Coach: 

Record: 19-3

Duals Against the field: 

• No duals against the field

State Ranked Wrestlers:

No wrestlers ranked in the top 10

Mifflin County Huskies

District 6 Champion

Coach: Kirby Martin

Record: 11-0

Duals Against the field: 

• Defeated Central Dauphin 42-23

State Ranked Wrestlers:

#8 Nic Allison, 12th, 113

#7 Kyler Everly, 12th, 160

Quakertown Panthers

District 1 Runner-up

Coach: Kurt Handel

Record: 15-1

Duals Against the field: 

• Defeated Council Rock South 33-31

• Lost to Council Rock South 36-19

State Ranked Wrestlers:

#7 Mason Ziegler, 10th, 120

#9 Collin Gaj, 9th, 132

#8 Frederick Retter, 12th, 285

Abington Heights

District 2 Champion

Coach: Greg Theony

Record: 13-1

Duals Against the field: 

• No duals against the field

State Ranked Wrestlers:

#4 Luke Sirianni, 11th, 106

Nazareth Blue Eagles

District 11 Runner-up

Coach: Dave Crowell

Record: 15-2

Duals Against the field: 

• Lost to Bethlehem Catholic 30-24

• Lost to Bethlehem Catholic 32-22

State Ranked Wrestlers:

#4 Tahir Parkins, 9th, 113

#6 Charlie Bunting, 11th, 120

#6 Dominic Wheatley, 11th, 152

#10 Ryan Fairchild, 12th, 160

#2 Sonny Sasso, 11th, 189

#4 Chase Levey, 12th, 215

#2 Sean McKinney, 10th, 285

Gettysburg Warriors

District 3 Champions

Coach: Chris Haines

Record: 21-0

Duals Against the field: 

• Defeated Central Dauphin 32-30

State Ranked Wrestlers:

No wrestlers ranked in the top 10

Williamsport Millionaires

District 4 Champions

Coach: Brian Nasdeo

Record: 11-1

Duals Against the field: 

• No duals against the field

State Ranked Wrestlers:

#7 Cael Nasdeo, 11th, 113

#2 Braden Bower, 12th, 132

#4 Riley Bower, 12th, 145

#6 Charles Crews, 12th, 285

*Team links take you to their OPC page on Trackwrestling. Full Rosters are available on the team page.

Past Results: