Feb 19, 2017 5 min read

CANONSBURG – It’s hard to get wrestling coaches to agree on anything so it shouldn’t surprise anyone that their feelings on the new postseason format for Class AA are, well, mixed.

In a move to spark interest and save a faltering section tournament format, the WPIAL steering committee decided to hold the three section tournaments and WPIAL Championships on back-to-back days at Canon-McMillan High School. The top four wrestlers in each weight class of the three sections advanced to the WPIAL Championships.

The two-day event this past weekend was expensive for fans – $25 apiece to see both tournaments beginning to end – but session passes also were available at the normal prices for adults and students.

The new format sliced a week off the schedule for District 7 wrestlers in Class AA. Now, the break from the end of the region tournament, set for Friday and Saturday at Indiana University, and the first day of wrestling in the state tournament in Hershey is 11 days.

Coaches were more concerned with the particulars of the setup.

“Personally, I like it,” said Mike Shrader, Bentworth’s head coach. “There’s a lot of wrestling on a lot of mats. To go four weekends in a row is unfair to the kids. We were at a disadvantage to some of the regions because they were off when we were wrestling. Now, we’re on the same playing field.”

Shrader said keeping track of which wrestlers were competing on what mats was a challenge.

“We only have seven kids and we were pretty busy at different times,” said Shrader. “We were lucky to have enough coaches to cover. If you only have two coaches, you’re flying around and trying to get your kids prepared.”

Normally, a week would have separated the two tournaments. As with any postseason event, injuries were a concern. But that did not appear to be a factor.

“I don’t have an issue with the three sections being in one place. I have an issue with them being back-to-back,” said South Fayette head coach Rick Chaussard. “If you get hurt at sectionals, you don’t have a week to heal. I really don’t like the weekend off before the state tournament.”

The facility at Canon-McMillan is arguably the best in the WPIAL, roomy enough for nearly 3,000 fans and spacious enough to fit nine mats in the connected gymnasiums.

The only obvious snafu was some wrestlers were unsure of what mat they were wrestling on in the early rounds and needed to be called to the right spot. A video board on each side of the gym pointed out the current, on deck and in-the-hole bouts for the nine mats.

“We know we have some issues we have to work out on the first day,” said Frank Vulcano, athletic director at Canon-McMillan and head of the WPIAL’s steering committee. “I think we have that down now and next year it will run a lot smoother.”

Vulcano said this format was “one way to save the section tournaments.” Some coaches expressed a desire to eliminate them because of lack of participation and the WPIAL was growing more concerned with the small crowds.

“This is similar to big tournament with 30 or more teams they might be going to (during the regular season),” Vulcano said. “It’s no different than that.”

Vulcano said he was pleased with the crowds for the section tournaments Friday.

“Some of these kids never had a crowd like this in the past,” he said. “It was a really nice crowd to wrestle in front of.”

From a wrestler’s point of view, the biggest drawback mentioned was that there was little, if any, time to celebrate winning a section title.

“I was thinking it was a good idea that the sections and WPIALs were on the same weekend,” said Jefferson-Morgan head coach Mike Lesko. “You’re eliminating a weigh-in (for the WPIAL tournament) but it was crucial now. You used to have a week to lose that weight. Now, you don’t. This is the end of careers if you are a senior. Now, I don’t know if it’s a good thing.”

Lesko said he is concerned about the week off before the state tournament.

“This is the first time we’ve ever been through something like us,” he said. “You have all these important weekends, then nothing for 10 days.”

Vulcano said he got plenty of feedback from coaches.

“When you make a change, there are going to be people who are hesitant to make change,” he said. “When they go back and digest it for a couple weeks, I think they’ll feel it really wasn’t that bad. We shortened the season and you got to see all three sections in one area. I think it will get better and better.”