A call may be made to the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association to cancel the state wrestling tournament in two weeks. There are a whole lot of people from Bensalem to Butler, Boyertown to Bradford, and just about everywhere else in the Commonwealth who already have it all figured out … already know who’s finishing first (if not first through eighth) in all the brackets.

Why does that thing about the chicken and the egg and whatever came first keep coming to mind?

Ya gotta love wrestling fans. You should, at least most of them, that is. Their energy, and their passion, sure help make wrestling the great sport it is.

But this is the time of the year when a lot of the girls and boys (or shall we say ladies and gentlemen) kind of get ahead of themselves.

Just over a week ago, before District 1’s six sectionals began, a lot of people were already making their picks for the Southeast Regional. This week, before the three district tournaments’ top three seeds were revealed and everyone else was placed in their respective spots in the brackets, the conversations — and bantering on various forums, of course — intensified, with even more people coming up with a list of who was getting out of the Southeast Regional and going to medal at states.

Holy Singlet, Batman … it sure does seem like a lot of people are ahead of themselves (or maybe Biff got a hold

of Marty McFly’s 2009 PIAA State Championships results book).

District 1’s three Class AAA tournaments get under way this morning and, for the record, there are a good number of weight classes in each of them that are locked and loaded with talent, or enough talent to create a lot of excitement … a whole heck of a lot of questions that won’t necessarily get answered — officially, that is — until later tonight.

And then, when we’re able to digest all the results and combine them with those from District 12 (the district better known for its mystery school district boundaries and recruiting skills), it’ll be fun to hear all the conversations (and arguments) and see how they overload the forums next week heading into the Southeast Regional.

Let’s start up North.

Norristown’s Parker brothers — Brandon and Stephen — would like to have Family Day in Quakertown. Brandon (140), a sophomore and the No. 1 seed, likely hasn’t forgotten that match 30 days ago when he got pinned with 30 seconds left by none other than Eric Koch of Quakertown, who happens to be the No. 2 seed today. Stephen (145), a senior and the No. 1 seed, has probably heard enough about Pennridge’s Colin McDonnell being this and being that, but could get the opportunity to let it all fall on deaf ears if he meets McDonnell — the No. 2 seed — in the final. At 160, Plymouth-Whitemarsh’s John Staudenmayer was almost as good this time last year (38-1) as he is now (34-0), and would like nothing more than to finish off the weekend like he did last year’s district weekend, with a win over C.B. East’s Devon Passman. That, of course, would help him get a favorable seating in next week’s bracket, where he could take aim at a few other notable challengers (Council Rock South’s Ed Shupe, Great Valley’s Justin Schellenger, and Springfield-Delco’s Pat Leahan).

But if the North has one weight class to watch it’s the big boys at 285 pounds — a gang of eight whose combined won-loss records are second only to the South’s 152-pound bracket. There’s defending champion Jared Bennett of Upper Perkiomen (35-2), whose only two losses were back in December out in Reno — and both on the mats and not in the casinos; Hatboro-Horsham’s Alex Myers (29-4), who has won 14 in a row, including 10 times by pins; C.B. East’s Joe Burke (27-4), who flip-flopped between 215 and 285 all season and has been beaten just once at 285 — by Bennett last week; Norristown’s Marcus Robbins (36-6), among the district leaders in pins who won 18 in a row before dropping a close decision last weekend to Myers; and Perkiomen Valley’s Chase Godfrey (31-5), whose only two losses since the calendar turned over to 2009 have been to Bennett (1-0) and Myers (5-2).

Now, to the Central showdown at Spring-Ford.

At 119, it could be a Section Four rematch for Boyertown’s Matt Malfaro (35-5) and Unionville’s Joe Bonaduce (24-3), who had a 6-2 lead before Malfaro hit him for a six-point move that led to an injury default. And it may not be any different at 125 for Spring-Ford’s very quick Tim Miller (28-6) and Great Valley’s very strong Kyle Liberato (28-3).

Penncrest’s Resnick brothers have an agenda, too. At 135, Will (23-5) is likely to get Kennett’s unbeaten Kyle Bove (32-0) in the final; and at 171, Jim (27-2) is likely to have a final date with either Great Valley’s Scott Schretzenmaier (30-2) or Henderson’s Hunter Smith (25-1), who lost his unbeaten season last week in a 1-0 struggle with Resnick. But the 171 semifinals — Resnick against Downingtown West’s Josh Homer and Smith against Schretzenmaier — may be double the fun to watch.

At 140, unbeaten Joe Marino (29-0) of Garnet Valley and Downingtown East’s once-beaten Billy Heemer (26-1) are at opposite ends of the bracket. At 152, expect another PAC-10 battle between OJR’s Nick Fuschino (28-1) and Boyertown’s Tim Feroe (35-6), but don’t necessarily expect another lopsided score like the one in last week’s Section Four final.

Both 189 and 215 are packed tight, too. At 189, Boyertown sophomore Zach Heffner (25-5) is an up and coming talent, and could see Oxford’s Nick Ruggear (27-4) in the final. At 215, Great Valley’s Carl Buchholz, who pound for pound may be one of the best in the entire district, seems to tower over the rest. But don’t overlook OJR’s Scott Syrek (23-4), Conestoga’s Greg Gruschow (24-5) or Downingtown East’s energized Amro Elansati (25-1).

And finally, heading South.

At 103, Chris Matusik (30-2) could become only the second district champion at Academy Park, but will likely have to upset Truman’s James Bak (32-2) to do it. At 125, Council Rock South’s Matt Rappo (30-8) will be looking for his second district title that would extend his family’s string of at least one district champion to six straight years. At 145, a potential semifinal between South’s Marc Helfrich (27-7) and Springfield-Delco’s Brandon Loro (29-5) may be the best of the bracket.

At 152, what a final it could be between once-beatens Jimmy Vollrath (32-1) of Council Rock South and Josh Marquard (33-1) of Sun Valley. That is if pin-happy Bobby Scheivert (33-3) of Chichester doesn’t pull an upset beforehand. And at 160, Springfield-Delco’s Pat Leahan (29-5) would like to avenge that 4-2 setback in the district duals to top-seeded Ed Shupe (29-3) of Council Rock South.

But the one match most are looking for tonight unfolds at 189 … and make no mistake about it, barring a Twilight Zone-like upset early on, the final will be between Council Rock North’s Jamie Callender (35-5) and Springfield-Delco’s Andre Petroski (32-2). A junior, Petroski defeated Callender, 12-8, on Jan. 17 during the Elite Duals at C.R. North. They avoided one another in the district duals (understandable coaching strategy), but won’t today.

At the Section Eight Tournament last weekend, La Salle dominated as expected — nine individual champions, two runners-up, and two others who placed third. Don’t look for the Explorers to lose many of their 13 qualifiers at today’s District 12-AAA Championships, either, where the eight-man brackets are made up of four qualifiers each from the Philadelphia Catholic and Public leagues. The tournament is being held at Thomas Edison High School.

TRIVIA TIME

Who were the five District 1 wrestlers who failed to win an AAA Southeast Regional title but advanced to the PIAA Championships the following week and won a state title? (Answer at the end of the column … and no peeking).

DISTRICT MATTERS

Of all the teams represented in today’s three AAA tournaments, Sun Valley has gone the longest of any without a district champion. The Vanguards’ last gold medalist was Mike Kennedy in 1987. Ridley (1989), Penn Wood (1990), and Strath Haven (1990) are next on the list.

In Class AAA, Upper Perkiomen has had nine straight seasons with at least one district champion, three better than Boyertown, Pennsbury, and Quakertown. Council Rock South and Owen J. Roberts are shooting to extend their respective streaks to six straight years today. In Class AA, Octorara is the runaway leader with 17 straight seasons of at least one district champion. St. Pius X (10) and Harriton (8) are a distant second and third, respectively, behind the Braves.

BEARING DOWN

Alex Pellicciotti is within nine wins of tying the Boyertown school record for wins in a season. The junior 130-pounder takes a 38-3 mark into today’s District 1-AAA Central Tournament, but would need to wrestle his way to states and pick up a few wins there to match the 47 wins put up by both Fred Rodgers (2006) and Jesse DeWan (2007). Pellicciotti needs one win to equal his total of a year ago and two to join a list of 12 former Bears who had 40 or more wins in a season.

Fuschino (120), Pellicciotti (115), Bennett (114), and Feroe (110) are the area’s career win leaders among those still wrestling. Fuschino could conceivably tie Robert Hoffman (131) for second on OJR’s chart, but will fall short of Aaron Brown (134). … Pellicciotti has all of next year yet to track down DeWan (143) as the Bears’ all-time leader. … Feroe (69) and Bennett (59) are far and above the area’s active leaders in career pins.

TRIVIA ANSWER

The five District 1 wrestlers who failed to win an AAA Southeast Regional title but advanced to the PIAA Championships the following week and won a state title were: Neshaminy Maple Point’s John Reich, was pinned in the regional final by Council Rock’s Lee Lartucci, but went on to win the state title at 155 pounds in 1978; Methacton’s Jon Moser finished third at the regional behind runner-up Pat Curry of Haverford and champion Tim Tobin of Ridley at the regional, but went on to win the state title – decisioning Curry in the first all-District 1 state final – at 126 pounds in 1979; Central Bucks East’s Marc Sodano finished third at the regional behind runner-up Dave Lucerne of Downingtown and champion Nick Vodantis of Phoenixville, but went on to win the state title at 112 pounds in 1982; Upper Perkiomen’s Brad Rozanski was decisioned by West Chester East’s Mike Krafchick in the regional final, but went on to win the state title at 125 pounds in 1990; and Upper Perkiomen’s Chris Sheetz finished second at the regional to Council Rock South’s Rick Rappo, but went on to decision Rappo in the state final for the title at 112 pounds in 2005.

Break down District 1’s overall performance at last week’s PIAA Championships however you like. Look at it this way, that way, anyway you choose.
The panel of critics, which has grown tenfold in three years – or since the district’s Claim to Fame in 2005 – sure has. They began analyzing every single move throughout the preliminaries last Thursday afternoon and were still at it Monday night, two full days after the state tournament was over and done with.
That isn’t likely to change anytime soon.
Neither will the bottom line … at least not until next March.
In plain ol’ English, the district didn’t fare well at all.
A total of 56 wrestlers were penciled into the AAA brackets for Thursday’s opening round, and their combined effort following Saturday evening’s final round was, well, humbling to say the least. Only one state champion and just 66 individual bouts won.
While it’s easy to get overwhelmed and often misled by the slew of numbers, that latter statistic – 66 wins – is one that cannot be overlooked. It’s the one statistic that truly defines how mediocre the district was last week.
There simply was no depth.
The district’s No. 1 seeds – or the Southeast Regional champions – were a somewhat respectable 31-29 with nine medals. But other than Council Rock South’s Mark Rappo, who dominated all the way through for the gold at 103 pounds, the remaining eight featured three fourths, two fifths, a sixth, and two eighths.
Regional runners-up were only 17-29 with three sevenths and an eighth. Only two wrestlers who were third at the regional won more than one bout at states and both finished seventh, and only one wrestler who was fourth at the regional won more than one bout at states, and he finished sixth.
The Southeast Region has four state qualifiers per weight class because of the number of schools in the district, and the District 1 Steering Committee should – and likely always will – continue to demand that number.
But if PIAA officials would ever resort to a revolving or floating number-of-qualifiers format based on all district’s competitiveness in the PIAA Championships, District 1 would obviously be in jeopardy of losing that fourth qualifier. Especially after last week, when just four of the its 14 fourth-place finishers won a state bout, only one – Quakertown freshman Scott Wolfinger – won more than one (and finished sixth), and the 14 were a combined 5-29 overall.
There was a day, and not so awfully long ago, when coaches from around the state saw District 1’s shortcomings as a result of not having enough feeder programs, which resulted in wrestlers not having the wealth of mat time as rivals from around the state. And they never once hesitated to say District 1’s shortcomings were a result of not getting out of its own neighborhood and competing against quality programs from around the state.
Those arguments don’t hold any weight anymore.
Neither do those who question District 1 wrestlers’ technique, and the strength, quickness, and agility that go along with it.
But there were a few coaches, even some from throughout Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery counties, who did question District 1 wrestlers’ intensity … or drive for the entire six minutes of every bout, as many mentioned.
“Sometimes I see our kids wrestling not to lose instead of wrestling to win,” one coach said.
Good point … the operative word there being point.
More than one-quarter of the district’s 115 losses last week were decided by a takedown or reversal or, perhaps, a near-fall. There aren’t too many people who will remember the actual move that led to all those losses, but few will forget that 15 of those setbacks were by a single point, and another 15 were by just two points.
But as disappointing as all those numbers may be – the number of wins and medals, that is – there were some promising numbers to take into the offseason. More than half of the state qualifiers (30 of 56) and more than half of the medalists (10 of 16) return next season.
Combined with what is supposed to be a very good incoming freshman class, it may be just enough to get District 1 wrestling back on a more respectable track.

GOOD EXAMPLE
No one from District 1 dropped their preliminary bout and came all the way back to medal. Pottstown’s Seth Ecker came close.
The 119-pound senior won his Class AA opener only to fall 9-6 to eventual state champion Travis Erdman of Line Mountain in the quarterfinals. Ecker then strung together a technical fall and two major decisions before outlasting Forest Hills’ David Fogle, 3-2 in overtime, for third place and the bronze medal.
Erdman got his gold medal by holding off Northwestern Lehigh’s Evan Yenolevich, who a week earlier edged Ecker in the Southeast Regional final.
Ecker’s admirable comeback also enabled him to pass Pottstown graduate Joey Allen (131) as the Trojans’ winningest wrestler. Ecker, who matched Allen’s school record of three state medals, finished with 132 career wins.

STREAKING
Boyertown, since returning to District 1 back in 2003, extended its streak of at least one state medalist to six straight years when 130-pound sophomore Alex Pellicciotti placed seventh. … Methacton’s string of three straight seasons ended, as did Upper Perkiomen’s area-high and District 1 record run of 10 straight seasons with at least one medalist also.
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Rappo’s sweep of the 103-pound bracket in Class AAA extended District 1’s streak of at least one individual state champion to 13 straight years. In the 13-year streak, the district has had 25 state champions.
Rappo, who finished 50-0 (152-10 career), also gave his family its fourth gold medal. Brothers Rick (2004) and Mike (2005-06), now wrestling for Penn and North Carolina, respectively, were state champions as well. Unofficially, the three brothers were a combined 421-53 in their high school careers.

LEADERBOARD
Upper Perkiomen still leads the area in state champions (5) and medalists (25). Methacton (18), Pottstown (13), Spring-Ford (12) are the only other area schools with double-digit state medalists.
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North Penn remains District 1’s leader in state champions with nine, while Upper Perkiomen, the former Council Rock and now Council Rock South – in just its sixth year of existence – are tied for second with five apiece. … North Penn’s Matt Prestifilippo finished fifth last week to improve the program’s total of state medalists to 20 and into a tie with the former Downingtown High School for third on the all-time chart. That number trails only the former Council Rock (22) and Upper Perkiomen (25).

NOTEWORTHY
Great Valley’s Kyle Liberato (119) and Carl Buchholz (215) finished seventh and fourth, respectively, giving the Patriots two state medalists for the first time in the history of their program. … Upper Moreland’s Tim Santry (112) was eighth to become the Bears’ second state medalist. The first was Eric McCoy (fourth), 30 years ago. … Truman’s James Bak (103) was seventh, his school’s first medalist in 17 years.

CAREER UPDATE
Spring-Ford’s Ryan Kemmerer (132), who returns next year, and Ecker closed the season tied for 20th on the area’s all-time win chart. Methacton’s Jonathan Hammond (128), a senior who closes as the Warriors’ third winningest wrestler, is tied for 26th. … Daniel Boone’s Tyler Swartz (115) and Owen J. Roberts’ Connor McCormick (108), both seniors, were the area’s only other wrestlers to get on the list this season.
There are seven underclassmen who could reach the milestone next season. They are OJR’s Nick Fuschino (92), Upper Perkiomen’s Jared Bennett (79), Pellicciotti (77) and Boyertown teammate Tim Feroe (75), St. Pius’ Bobby Burns (74), Upper Perkiomen’s Michael McStravick (71) and Boyertown’s Matt Malfaro (67).

No one had an eye on the clock and an ear glued to their cell phone, but as the four medalists in each weight class stepped up and onto the awards podium during the final hours of the Southeast Regional on Saturday night, four others stepped up and onto their own awards podium at about the same time during the final hours of the Northeast, Southwest and Northwest regionals (just as they did a week earlier at the Southcentral Regional).
The winner was hailed, the runner-up and those other two fortunate enough to survive the grind of the consolation bracket, were acknowledged by a rousing round of applause.
The goal of getting to the PIAA Championships – qualifying for arguably the most physically and mentally demanding tournament of its kind in all of high school sports – was reached.
It was, without question, a memorable moment. And not just for the 14 individual champions, but for the other 42 medalists.
A good time.
But before any of those 56 wrestlers rolled into bed and under the covers for the night, they were well aware that the most imposing challenge of their entire season, if not their career, lied ahead … the state tournament.
So, after sleeping on their victories, their accomplishments of a weekend past, and getting a day to soothe the aches and pains and the bumps and bruises, it was one of those back-to-work-Mondays, or a return to the practice room.
And if the weekday routine seemed a bit difficult from November through February, they discovered it was never quite as intense as it is now, in the three days leading up to that first bout at the Giant Center in Hershey.
Pick it up now or, sometime Thursday, pack it up and head back home.
You see, there are four particular things about the PIAA Championships that, year in and year out, never change. Won-loss records are worthless; reputations are of no value; previous match-ups are meaningless; and, most important, whoever did whatever in the past carries absolutely no weight.
The area’s 12 qualifiers will have to deal with and digest those four realities before their openers.
And if you don’t think they exist…
At 130 pounds, if Boyertown’s Alex Pellicciotti can get past West Allegheny’s Zach Kelly, he’ll be rewarded with a quarterfinal date against two-time defending state champion and Oklahoma State-bound Jordan Oliver of Easton.
At 135, if Spring-Ford’s Ryan Kemmerer can get past Jason Kane of Lower Dauphin, he’ll be rewarded a quarterfinal date with returning bronze medalist and the No. 1 or No. 2 ranked (depending on your poll of choice) Dylan Alton of Central Mountain.
At 140, Methacton’s Jonathan Hammond opens against returning state runner-up Marshall Peppelman of Central Dauphin, who was upset in the Southcentral Regional final last week.
At 145, Owen J. Roberts’ Nick Fuschino makes his PIAA debut against defending state champion Walter Peppelman of Central Dauphin (yep, older brother of Marshall), who had to settle for third place in his regional that featured – and will send to Hershey – undefeated James English, who took down Peppelman in the semifinals and Cumberland Valley’s Joe Napoli in the final (and Napoli owns the only other two wins over Peppelman).
At 152, Boyertown’s Tim Feroe opens with returning bronze medalist and Southcentral Region champion Mallie Shuster. At 171, Upper Perkiomen’s Nick Edmonson takes on two-time state qualifier and Northeast Regional champion Joe Laffredo of Jersey Shore. And at 189, Owen J. Roberts’ Scott Syrek – the area’s first freshman to qualify at such a high weight – happens to get unbeaten and returning bronze medalist Mike Salopek of Norwin.
At 215, Spring-Ford’s Alex Kanakis opens against Northwest Regional champion Glenn Barnes of Central Mountain. And the big boys, 285-pounders Jared Bennett of Upper Perkiomen and Tyler Swartz of Daniel Boone, get just as big as tests. Bennett goes against Mike Horton of Phillipsburg-Osceola, and Swartz opens with returning seventh-place medalist Eric Kush of Chartiers Valley.
That’s just in AAA.
It isn’t any easier for Pottstown teammates Seth Ecker and Fred Holly in the Class AA bracket, either.
But getting to Hershey is no easy task to begin with. Ask any of those “can’t miss wrestlers” – a lot with just as good credentials as those heading there – who are sitting at home this week.

LUCKY 13TH
District 1 has won at least one individual state title the past 12 years. Whether this weekend is the Lucky 13th or Unlucky 13th remains to be seen.
Since 1981, or when the district quietly broke out of its woeful ways in Hershey, it has been blanked in the gold-medal count just four times – in 1985, 1986, 1990 and 1995. In the current 12-year streak, the district has had 24 state champions.

SPEAKING OF STREAKING
Edmonson and Bennett helped Upper Perkiomen extend its area-high streak of consecutive years with at least one state qualifier to 11. Spring-Ford is next at seven straight years, while Boyertown is third at six (as a member of District 1). Methacton and Owen J. Roberts each have qualifiers for the four straight year, while Pottstown’s streak in Class AA is now at three.
Bennett also gave Upper Perkiomen a regional champion for the ninth straight year. Head coach Tom Hontz has had 16 overall in that nine-year span.

REGIONAL RECAP
In AAA, the area’s 25 regional qualifiers combined for three individual championships, nine state-qualifying berths, and a collective 47-41 record.
In AA, the area’s 12 regional qualifiers combined for two runner-up finishes and state-qualifying berths, and a collective 6-22 record.
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District 1-Central – which includes Boyertown, Owen J. Roberts and Spring-Ford – had the best winning percentage (.521, 101-93) of the three sub-district alignments and tied with the South for the most state qualifiers (20) during last weekend’s AAA Southeast Regional.

PREMATURE
Once again, way too many coaches were jotting down their Outstanding Wrestler votes before the AAA Southeast Regional was over. While it would be difficult to go against the selection of Hatboro-Horsham’s Robert Gribschaw, one has to wonder how many votes Bennett would have received had everyone waited until the 285-pound final was over.
Bennett did something no one else did the entire tournament by dealing two undefeated opponents their first losses of the season. He beat Marple-Newtown’s Pete Massaro, a prized Penn State football recruit, and Abington’s David Osei, who was ranked No. 1 in the district the entire season.
The rush to get the ballots in brought back memories of the fiasco at the 2004 PIAA Championships. A lot of writers were asked to get their votes in for the OW award before the 171-pound final had even started. About a half-hour later, Boyertown’s Mike Spaid punched up his 12th pin in 13 postseason bouts (the other never started because of a medical forfeit) to complete his run to the 285-pound state title.

MOVING UP
Kemmerer (131) is now tied for 21st place with Owen J. Roberts’ Robert Hoffman and Spring-Ford’s Matt Moley on The Mercury’s all-time win chart. Four wins at states this week would push him past six former standouts and into a tie for 14th place with Upper Perkiomen’s Shane Smith. … Hammond (128), who will finish as Methacton’s third winningest wrestler, and Ecker (126), who will finish as Pottstown’s second winningest wrestler, are 26th and 29th, respectively. … The remaining state qualifiers and their career totals going into Thursday’s opening rounds are: Swartz (114), Kanakis (91), Fuschino (a junior with 90), Holly (82) and Bennett (junior with 78), Feroe (junior with 75), Pellicciotti (sophomore with 74), Edmonson (sophomore with 58) and Syrek (freshman with 39).