Glenn Kaiser explains the SOL realignment and highlights some of the league’s top teams and wrestlers heading into the 2016 season.
NEW LOOK FOR WRESTLING IN THE SOL
By Glenn Kaiser
Council Rock South and Pennridge will remain the top teams in the PIAA AAA Southeast Region as they start their 2016-17 campaigns. But things will look different when you look at the new wrestling conferences in the Suburban One League. With the departure of Norristown and Upper Merion to the Pioneer Athletic Conference, three SOL teams moved to new divisions. Hatboro-Horsham and Quakertown moved to the American Conference, and William Tennent moved to the Continental. The new alignment is along the same lines as football’s shift a few years back and will be duplicated for all of the other sports based on enrollment in the SOL this season.
New SOL Alignment:
American Continental National
Cheltenham CB East Abington
Hatboro-Horsham CB South Bensalem
Plymouth-Whitmarsh CB West CR North
Quakertown North Penn CR South
Springfield Pennridge Harry S Truman
Upper Dublin Souderton Neshaminy
Upper Moreland William Tennent Pennsbury
Wissahickon
The Suburban One League has undergone realignment that will see the likes of North Penn with two-time state qualifier Colin Shannon and Council Rock North led by lightweights Aidan Burke (2016 state qualifier and fourth in 205) and Gianncarlo Flores as forces to be reckoned with in their conferences. Newcomers to the American Conference - Quakertown and Hatboro-Horsham - should battle for a league crown with many teams, including Upper Dublin and Plymouth Whitemarsh losing individual wins due to graduation. A young Neshaminy team will look to keep pace with the Rocks in the National. Truman is an upstart young team - led by Gunnar Fuss who went to Hershey last season - that may make some noise. The power conference in the SOL remains the National with Pennsbury in the mix as well.
Souderton remains in the Continental, and will have a strong core of individuals to compete with North Penn and Pennridge. Souderton returns Tyler Wiliams, Harrison Adrade, Brandon Bach and a healthy Jake Phaup.
Pennridge returns state finalist and runner-up Matt Parker, who is headed for Lehigh next year. Josh Stillings will look to climb the podium at the Giant Center to improve on his fourth place finish at 160 pounds last-season. With two legit studs seeking state crowns, Pennridge will be a point getter in the postseason. Sophomore Evan Widing, third at Districts a year ago, adds depth for the Rams, but ut it may be Council Rock South that makes the most noise as a team in District One.
The Golden Hawks return 2016 state place winners Joe Doyle (fourth) and Zack Trampe (sixth 2016 and second 2015), who recently committed to Binghamton, along with a host of solid wrestlers that will look to join them on the trek to Chocolate Town, USA, in March. Brothers Cary and Riley Palmer (2016 SE Regional Champ) add to the Golden Hawks’ solid lineup along with senior Tyler Gettman, who finished third last year at Districts.
Two new coaches join the ranks as well - Jake Thierjung at Bensalem and former state runner-up David Osei at Abington. Longtime coach John Gillispie hands the program over to one of Abington’s most decorated wrestlers in its school’s history in Osei. Theirjung, no stranger to the Owls program, takes over for Doug Hansbury.
Coach Glenn Kaiser at Hatboro-Horsham will retire after the 2016-17 season after 25 years of coaching in the PIAA ranks. Coach Kaiser will make his 17th season at
H-H his last. Kaiser started his career in 1991-92 with the Abington Ghosts as an assistant to Jeff Franco (five years) and then moved to the head coaching duties at Upper Dublin, taking over for Anthony Stagliano for three years before taking the helm at H-H for the legendary Ralph Wetzel. No time to get sentimental here. I am sure I’ll have some anecdotes on my last season as we get things underway in a couple of weeks with the 2016-17 campaign.
It remains to be seen what weight classes SOL wrestlers will choose to wrestle at this season, but for sure it will start to shape up come December 9, 2016, when teams take to the mat for dual and individual tournaments throughout the state and beyond. Stay tuned for more previews as we approach the start and begin to further analyze the season once the first results are in.
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