Feb 10, 2016 4 min read

The final steps are about to be taken in the team portion of the wrestling season. The qualifying teams are in Hershey today and ready to compete in the PIAA Team Tournament in both classifications.

The first round usually holds some surprises, so let’s take a guess at how the local teams might fare.

• Canon-McMillan’s wrestling team not only saved itself an extra dual meet by defeating Kiski in the semifinals of the WPIAL Team Tournament, the Big Macs also appear to have landed a nice spot in the Class AAA bracket of the PIAA Team Tournament.

The event gets under way today at the Giant Center in Hershey with the Big Macs wrestling Jersey Shore, a school that is neither in New Jersey nor by any shore. The school sits between Lock Haven and Williamsport.

The Bulldogs (13-1) are coming off a 42-20 victory over Shikellamy in the District 4 championships. It was their second victory over Shikellamy in as many weeks. The first was a nearly identical, 39-23, win in their Heartland Athletic Conference.

The Bulldogs’ best wrestlers are Hunter Zondory, a 113-pound senior who was a Northwest Region third-place finisher who went 0-2 at the state tournament last year; and Hayden Swartwood, a 152-pound senior who placed seventh at 152 pounds.

Canon-McMillan will have had five days off since losing to Belle Vernon in the District 7 finals. That allowed Tommy James, a 170-pound senior, to rest his sprained ankle and make the Big Macs stronger in this dual meet.

Prediction: Canon-McMillan 37, Jersey Shore 12.

• Belle Vernon gets Exeter Township in the first round. Exeter Township was the third-place team in District 3 and earned a spot against the District 7 champion Leopards by virtue of a 51-15 victory over Downingtown East, the third-place team in District 1.

The top wrestlers for Exeter Township are Austin DeSanto, who was the Southcentral champion at 113 pounds last year and finished fifth; Brett Kulp, a 126-pound senior who was a fourth-place finisher at 120 last year; and James Harkness, a senior state qualifier who went 1-2.

Belle Vernon flexed some impressive muscle in the District 7 tournament, winning by an average of 46 points. The Leopards are strong from top to bottom, but have perennial power Bethlehem Catholic in their half of the bracket.

Prediction: Belle Vernon 60, Exeter Township 10

• Kiski took out its frustration of losing to Canon-McMillan, 27-25, by routing City League champion, Carrick, 64-11. That’s the good news. The bad news is the Cavaliers will face one of the best teams in Class AAA in Cumberland Valley.

Cumberland Valley is coming off a wild and controversial win by tiebreaker over Central Dauphin. The dual meet had a slam call followed by an eye poke that gave each team six points and nearly set off a riot. Coaches had to be restrained. CV head coach Dave Heckert will not be coaching the team this weekend. Central Dauphin head coach Jeff Sweigard did not coach the team in Monday’s preliminary round but is expected to be back this weekend.

Prediction: Cumberland Valley 34, Kiski 28

• Burrell has won 10 consecutive WPIAL Class AA Team Tournament titles but that success has not carried over to Hershey. Burrell won the team state team title in 2008, but have fallen short ever since.

The Bucs are a hard team to figure out. They have been close to having their district win streak stopped on a few occasions this season, but managed to pull it out and earn another gold medal.

Burrell will have Lake Lehman, the District 2 champion, in the first round then run into Chestnut Ridge.

Prediction: Burrell 28, Lake Lehman 17

Assistant sports editor Joe Tuscano can be reached at jtuscano@observer-reporter.com