Erie-area colleges are competing in these tournaments as winter sports postseasons heat up

The playoff madness in March is not exclusive to basketball for Erie-area colleges.

Area teams and athletes are continuing to battle for postseason glory in ice hockey, wrestling and, of course, basketball.

Did you miss these college signings?:Here are where Erie-area athletes are going

Here is a look at what's coming up:

Gannon women, Mercyhurst men aim for PSAC basketball titles

The Gannon women and Mercyhurst men will spend the weekend competing for conference championships and automatic spots in the NCAA tournament.

Gannon will host the PSAC women's basketball Final Four on Saturday as the Golden Knights take on Shippensburg at 3:30 p.m. after West Chester battles Cal U at 1 p.m. The winners play Sunday at 3 p.m. in what is likely the last basketball game at the Highmark Events Center before the yearlong renovations.

Last month: From championship contenders to tough seasons, the state of Erie's college basketball teams

Mercyhurst travels to Shippensburg for the PSAC men's basketball Final Four against Shippensburg on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. The other semifinal is between East Stroudsburg and IUP, which features Strong Vincent graduate David Morris. The PSAC championship is set for 3 p.m. on Sunday.

Gannon (No. 2) and Mercyhurst (No. 3) will likely make the NCAA tournament regardless of what happens this weekend as they are ranked in their respective regions.

Mercyhurst hockey skating for conference crown

The Mercyhurst women will be eyeing an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I tournament Saturday when they visit Penn State in the one-game CHA championship. The Lakers (11-3-2 CHA, 21-13-2 overall) beat Syracuse twice last weekend at home in the best-of-three semifinal series to advance to the final.

The Lakers went 1-3 against the Nittany Lions (14-1-1, 26-8-2) this season. The puck drops at 2 p.m. Saturday at University Park.

All-CHA first-team goalie Ena Nystrøm likely will be leaned on for the Lakers. She led the CHA with a .951 save percentage and 1.32 goals-against average. All-conference second-team forwards Sara Boucher, Thea Johansson, Vanessa Upson and defender Sydney Pedersen also will be players to watch.

Preseason expectations: Mercyhurst women's hockey banks on repeat performances from star forwards

National regionals run March 9-12 before the Frozen Four from March 17-19 in Duluth, Minnesota.

In men's hockey, Mercyhurst (9-14-3, 10-21-3 overall) heads to Rochester, New York, this weekend to face top-seeded RIT (18-7-1, 22-11-1) in the Atlantic Hockey playoffs. This weekend's best-of-three quarterfinal opens Friday at 7:05 p.m.

The semifinals are March 10-12 and the championship final is March 18 at the home of the highest remaining seed.

Forward Eric Esposito leads the Lakers with 15 goals, 15 assists and 30 points.

Edinboro wrestling travels to MAC tournament

Edinboro wrestlers will try to improve their chances at earning a spot in the NCAA Division I championship tournament when they compete in the 13-team MAC championships Friday and Saturday at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.

Where are they now?: Status of some former Edinboro University wrestling coaches, wrestlers

The Scots, who went 1-7 in the MAC and 2-11 overall in duals this season, recently had two wrestlers make the D-II rankings in the coaches panel and Ratings Percentage Index. Ryan Burgos, a 149-pound senior, is ranked 26th by the coaches and 18th in RPI after going 13-3 in the regular season. Jared McGill, a junior with a 13-2 record, is ranked 30th by the coaches at 174 pounds and 22nd in RPI. Scots fifth-year senior and 197-pounder Cody Mulligan, a Saegertown graduate and two-time PIAA state champion, brings a 10-8 record into the conference meet, where he finished sixth last year.

For Edinboro wrestlers to advance to nationals, they will have to win at the MAC tournament or finish in one of the pre-determined allocations at each weight class. They also could get selected as one of 46 at-large qualifiers picked by the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee next week.

The Division I NCAA championships are set for March 16-18 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Gannon, 'Hurst wrestlers reach D-II nationals

Seven Gannon wrestlers and four Mercyhurst wrestlers qualified for the NCAA Division II national championships with top-three finishes at the Super Region 1 Championship on Saturday at East Stroudsburg.

The D-II tournament is scheduled for March 10-11 at Alliant Energy PowerHouse in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

For Gannon, which finished second at the Region 1 tournament, Alex Farenchak (165 pounds) and Reynolds graduate Joel Leise (197) won gold. Jose Diaz (125), Jimmy Ryan (141), Nick Young (149) and Cole Casilio (174) finished second for the Golden Knights, while Dom Means (157) took third place to also advance to nationals.

Mercyhurst took third at the region tournament, with Eric Bartos (133 pounds), Jake Niffenegger (141) and Dillon Walker (174) winning titles. The Lakers' Luke McGonigal (197) finished second to qualify for nationals.

In women's wrestling, nine Gannon wrestlers will compete in the National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championship nationals Friday and Saturday in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Lana Perez (136) and Annabelle Helm (170) are coming off gold-medal performances at the NCWWC Northeast Regional, where Gannon finished second on Feb. 18.

For subscribers: Meet the 2022 Erie Times-News Sportswoman of the Year: Lisa Goddard McGuirk, Gannon AD

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Gannon, Mercyhurst, Edinboro in thick of winter sports postseasons