Five champions returning for Section 2-AAA wrestling tournament
No matter at what angle you look at it, Saturday is going to be a long day for wrestling at Connellsville. The Section 2-AAA wrestling tournament will be held at Connellsville High with weigh-ins set for 8:30 a.m. and the competition beginning about an hour later.
Everything will be confined to one day, with the semifinals and consolations following the opening round, and the finals at 7:30 p.m. When all the firing is over, the top three survivors will be advancing to the WPIAL championships to be held the following weekend at Norwin.
There are five returning champions who will be bidding for repeat honors, led by Connellsville’s Jarrod King, who will be seeking a third consecutive title. King already owns freshman- and sophomore-year championships and is top seeded at 152 in his quest to make it three in a row. If he succeeds, that will put him in the rare spot of being able to go for four in a row as a senior.
Albert Gallatin’s John Ptak will be after a third championship to add to the long list of honors he earned this year, including a new school record for career wins. Last year, Ptak defeated John Ferens of Connellsville in a 4-2 classic for the 152 title. Ferens is now wrestling at Iowa Central College.
It’s a long shot, but Ptak, now 23-5, still has an outside chance to become the first Colonial wrestler ever to reach 100 wins for his career.
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If wrestling were to use family names as the determining factor in advancement, the Martins of Connellsville would be far out in front of the rest of the field. Junior Kyle Martin and sophomore Josh Martin enter the competition with a combined record of 56 wins and 12 losses, and both earned top-seeded roles.
Kyle Martin (30-4) won the 130 championship last year and returns with the No. 1 spot at 140 and an opening round bye. A year ago, he beat A.J. Sayles of Belle Vernon for the 130 championship with an 11-3 major decision. Sayles (17-5) is back this year with the No. 2 seed at 145.
Josh Martin (26-8) won the 112 title a year ago but has now moved up three classes to 130 with the top seed and a first round bye.
Ringgold has one returning champion in sophomore Mitch Pankiewicz (23-4) who won last year at 119 and returns this year with the No. 1 spot at 125.
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A year ago, section champion Connellsville crowned four champions. This time around, the Falcons have eight No. 1 seeds and one objective by all eight of them.
Falcon coach Tommy Dolde said as he watched a hard workout, “They have been pounding the mats pretty hard, maybe harder than they have all season. But every one of them wants to advance to the WPIAL, and they are working to achieve that goal.
“They have accomplished a lot this year, but I told them to forget all about that. What they have done up to now is good, but I told them not to be looking ahead or behind either, to concentrate on what is in front of them now, concentrate on one match at a time, don’t look ahead, and very definitely don’t look back. Whatever has happened, has happened, it’s over, so forget it and concentrate on the next match ahead.”
Dolde reminded them that they won’t have to wonder about their opponents for “they have met them in regular section competition. It’s not like we are coming up against opponents we don’t know anything about, like we do in tournaments, or will be doing in the WPIAL. They know the wrestlers they will be going up against on Saturday, and whatever they accomplished before, they want to go out and improve on it.”
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There will be at least 34 first round bouts on Saturday, possibly less than that. There are just four entries at 112, so there will be no first round bouts there, plus only one listed at 130 and 189.
The only weights with the full complement of four are 135, 160, and 171. All the others have two or three. However, there are always a couple of withdrawals for various reasons, so the total could be less than the 34 scheduled.
The championship finals are listed for 7:30 p.m., preceded by the traditional Parade of Champions.