Glenn Kaiser previews the upcoming District One Duals.
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH LEADS THE WAY FOR SOL AT DISTRICT ONE DUALS
By Glenn Kaiser
There was no doubt about it that Council Rock South was considered the second best team to #1 Boyertown when the District One Duals’ bracket was released on Monday night. CR South has gradually re-established itself as a formidable dual meet team. Not that they ever disappeared, as they have been a consistent and outstanding tournament team for years. But this season they have pulled away from the rest of the pack in dual events with a perfect 9-0 dual meet record; they are 4-0 in National Conference action, and return to elite status in this event. The Golden Hawks will face #15 Downingtown West (7-0) out of the Ches-Mont League in the opening round of the 16-team D1 Team Championships on Thursday night on their home mat.
Council Rock North (9-5), seeded #10, will face off with #7 Owen J Roberts (6-3) in a rematch of an earlier dual that resulted with the Indians winning 36-35. This match will be wrestled at CRS at 7 PM Thursday (1/28/16), as four mats will be down for the first round. Joining CRS and CRN at South will be the sixth-seeded Pennridge Rams (8-1) squaring off with #11 Garnet Valley (9-4). The National Conference’s third representative will be #9 Neshaminy (11-3). The Redskins will do battle with #8 Spring-Ford (15-2) at South. All matches will begin at 7 pm.
At West Chester Rustin, two rounds will be wrestled in the opening round starting at 5:30 pm, as the Continental Conference’s highest seed at #5, North Penn (12-3), will engage with the host team, #12 Rustin (6-2). #14 Quakertown (9-5) will match up with the #3 seed, Downingtown East (15-1), at 5:30 pm as well. Immediately following those matches, #1 Boyertown (12-0) will wrestle the last seed, #16 Unionville (10-4), and #4 Upper Darby (16-2) takes on #13 West Chester East (9-4).
In somewhat of a surprise, North Penn - which recently defeated Pennridge - was not in the top four, as Pennridge held the #3 spot according to the D1 dual rankings and was a top-ranked dual team in Pennsylvania according to the PA Power Rankings. The Pennridge loss to the Knights affected both teams seeding as Downingtown East and Upper Darby propelled ahead at the seeding meeting, resulting in a much tougher road for both to the PIAA Team Championships. Nonetheless, if both teams can advance in the opening rounds, NP will probably face Upper Darby in a quarterfinal match Friday 2/5/16 at Upper Dublin (2 rounds 6 pm Quarters and 7:30 pm Semifinals start), and Pennridge would most likely face Downingtown East in the quarters. So the old saying “you must beat the best to be the best” stands; throw the seeds out the window and let it all be settled on the mat.
Although Boyertown is the defending D1 (AAA) Team Champ, CR South and the rest of the SOL teams will look to punch their ticket to the State Duals, and eventually the Giant Center for the full double elimination bracket of the PIAA Team Championships. CRS matches up well with the Bears from Boyertown at several weights down low and in the upper middle weights. It is the upper weights that could very well determine if the Golden Hawks can stop the Bears from another title. But they will be challenged throughout the tournament to just have the opportunity in the finals.
In my opinion, the D1 dual bracket should not be separated at two different sites. It matched up well with the 16-team bracket as seeded to wrestle the top half at Rustin and the lower half of the bracket at South. However, consideration was given to the top four seeds in regards to travel, thus that is why two matches were moved. The wild card in this event is the Upper Darby Royals who were awarded a top spot at #4. The Royals with a 16-2 record have had an impressive season with big wins over Spring-Ford and Quakertown but suffered a lopsided loss to traditional PA power Central Dauphin, which raises the question if they can hang with the elite teams not only here in D1, but across the state. Downingtown East at 15-1, on the other hand, is no stranger to the team championships over the past several years, and that alone gave them the #3 seed with Pennridge faltering to North Penn. The D1 Steering Committee has been very successful seeding the top four teams over the years, so we will see if they got it right this time.
This is a very difficult task in picking the four teams that will advance to the PIAA Team Championships, but here goes. Obviously, a safe pick for the #1 spot is Boyertown, Council Rock South should advance, either as the #2 or through the consolation bracket. The potential Downingtown East or Pennridge versus CR South semi will be an exciting dual either way. Downingtown East and Pennridge in the quarterfinals will be a true test of where both teams currently are, as will the Upper Darby/North Penn battle. The potential for North Penn and Pennridge to wrestle the rubber match (the teams split their two previous matches this season) is there in the consolation bracket should they both falter in the quarters. So it looks like Downingtown East will advance, and either NP or Pennridge will be the other D1 representative moving on. I wish the best to all the SOL dual teams.
NOTES: The SOL has the most teams in the field with six teams - three from the National and three from the Continental. The Ches-Mont League has five reps, the PAC 10, three, and the Central League, two. No teams from the Del Val League are in the AAA tournament. Only three teams are currently entered in the AA bracket with New-Hope Solebury as the #1 seed from the Bicentennial League. Bristol, also from the Bicentennial, is the #2 seed and will wrestle Pope John Paul II in the one semifinal match. Lower Moreland, the five-time AA D1 Dual Team Champion will not be competing at this point. Boyertown will try and “three-peat” as the AAA Champion. The finals for both AA & AAA will be at Upper Dublin on Saturday, Feb. 6, at 3:00pm.
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