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H.S. wrestling: When are the big matches? And what are the top stories for the new season?

drew markol, bucks county courier times
·4 min read

The start to the high school wrestling season brings plenty of questions and we try to provide answers here.

So take a look and then get out and take in a match.

Five storylines to follow during the season

Can Quakertown and Council Rock South live up to their big preseason billing? The Panthers are ranked No. 5 in Class 3A by PA Power Wrestling and the Golden Hawks are No. 8. To have a pair of our area teams ranked that high in Class 3A is something that rarely happens.

Can the disturbing trend of more and more dual meets being decided by which team forfeits fewer matches come to an end? Wins and losses being decided by empty weight classes takes away from the sport (fewer weight classes, perhaps? Just a thought).

Along that same vein, coaches should (and most do) do anything they can to get their junior varsity wrestlers matches. Wrestling is hard enough without getting the chance to compete against somebody outside of your wrestling room.

Quakertown's Collin Gaj (top) and Council Rock South's Gavin Cole tangle during last year's dual meet. Both the Panthers and Golden Hawks are ranked in the pre-season top 10 by PA Power Wrestling.
Quakertown's Collin Gaj (top) and Council Rock South's Gavin Cole tangle during last year's dual meet. Both the Panthers and Golden Hawks are ranked in the pre-season top 10 by PA Power Wrestling.

Seeing which wrestlers get to 100 career wins has become more interesting. The mark had almost become commonplace for the better wrestler since they have so many matches. But these days, with what the pandemic did to shorten the 2020-2021 season for many, reaching the milestone has become more difficult.

Keep an eye on Faith Christian come PIAA dual-meet tournament time. The Lions made a little bit of noise at last season's state duals, but that young team is now more experienced and is capable of making a run.

Five bold predictions for the season

The Courier Times/Intelligencer-area will have two (or more) PIAA individual champions in March. (The last time two areas wrestlers won gold in Hershey was 2018 when Nate Haubert from Palisades and Josh Stillings from Pennridge did it.)

Council Rock South's Luke Reitter placed eighth at the PIAA championships as a sophomore last season and Council Rock North's Eren Sement (on mat) was third a year ago at states as a freshman.
Council Rock South's Luke Reitter placed eighth at the PIAA championships as a sophomore last season and Council Rock North's Eren Sement (on mat) was third a year ago at states as a freshman.

The Suburban One League will soon (hopefully) have a conference for girls' wrestling. Currently, six SOL schools — Souderton, Harry S. Truman, William Tennent, Quakertown, Bensalem and North Penn — offer the sport (as does Palisades in Upper Bucks). More need to do so.

Speaking of girls' wrestling, it's growing like wildfire statewide. The list of schools with official teams is up to 82. The magic number for a sport to be recognized by the PIAA (and have a PIAA-sanctioned state tournament) is 100. That number will be reached soon.

Wrestling teams will get some support from their fellow students. This prediction might be a reach, but wouldn't it be nice if wrestling matches had large student sections, like basketball does, that show up and cheer? These are your classmates, folks, and coming out to cheer for them for 90 minutes goes a long way.

The Suburban One League's Colonial Division title, with Pennridge, Souderton, North Penn, Central Bucks East, Central Bucks West and Central Bucks South, won't be decided until the final night of the regular season.

Five matches to watch this season

Dec. 14: Council Rock South at Quakertown, 7 p.m. - This is a rematch of last season's PIAA District One Class 3A dual-meet tournament championship match that the Golden Hawks won 36-19. More importantly, it's been an ongoing dual meet to kick off the season between two of the areas top programs (the Panthers won the dual meet 33-31 a year ago) that hopefully will continue to be scheduled.

Dec. 14: Faith Christian at Council Rock North, 7 p.m.: The Lions, a Class 2A power, jump up to battle CR North, a perennial Class 3A heavyweight.

Jan. 5: Council Rock South at Faith Christian, 7 p.m.: OK, the defending PIAA District One Class 3A dual-meet champs (who have won a district-high six dual-meet tournament titles over the years) travel to tangle with the four-time defending Class 2A district-dual champs? We'll take it.

Gauge Botero and Faith Christian Academy have become a powerhouse and not just in Class 2A.
Gauge Botero and Faith Christian Academy have become a powerhouse and not just in Class 2A.

Jan. 11: Neshaminy at Pennsbury, 7 p.m.: This one doesn't have quite the intensity of the football rivalry between these two, but Neshaminy vs. Pennsbury in anything is always good theater.

Feb. 1: Pennridge at Central Bucks East, 7 p.m.: The Rams edged the Patriots 30-29 a year ago in one of the season's best dual meets. Could it happen again? It wouldn't shock me.

Five newcomers to watch this season (in alphabetical order)

Lincoln Botero, Faith Christian: The younger brother of Faith Christian sophomore Gauge Botero (a PIAA third-place finisher as a freshman in Class 2A last season), Lincoln Botero adds another dynamic performer to the Lions' lineup.

Chris Dennis, Central Bucks West: The lightweight freshman gives new Bucks head coach Dylan Schwartz (a Council Rock South graduate) someone to build a team around.

For subscribers:Here are the wrestlers named to the 2022 All-Intelligencer/Courier Times team

Pierce Kane, Council Rock North: The Indians welcome a stud freshman with plenty of potential.

Quinn McBride, Pennridge: The Rams add another strong piece to their young and quickly improving lineup.

Pat Woloshyn, Council Rock South: The Golden Hawks keep producing talent year after year after year and Woloshyn is one of the next in line.

Drew Markol: dmarkol@theintell.com; @dmarkol

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: High school wrestling: Find out the answers to the biggest questions