Connellsville top seed in 3A wrestling team bracket

Connellsville’s wrestling team found out the path laid before it in its quest to repeat as WPIAL team champion Thursday.
The Section 8 champion Falcons are the top seed in the Class 3A team wrestling championships and will host a four-team pod on Wednesday, Jan. 29. Connellsville will face the winner of the Jan. 27 preliminary round match between Shaler and Ringgold in the first round. The winner of that match will then face off against the survivor between Kiski Area and Latrobe in the quarterfinals.
Also hosting four-team pods will be No. 2 Franklin Regional, No. 3 Thomas Jefferson and No. 4 Bethel Park. The winners of those four pods will advance to the semifinals and finals held at Peters Township’s AHN Arena on Saturday, Feb. 1.
Connellsville coach Bill Swink isn’t taking anything for granted.
“There are a lot of good teams in the WPIAL and a lot of good coaches,” Swink said. “You’ve got to be on top of your game to advance.”
When asked if anything surprised him when he glanced at the brackets, Swink said, “In the four years that I’ve been back here they’ve never been what I expected. They are what they are.”
Swink didn’t expect to see the Wildcats in his pod.
“I was kind of shocked they put Latrobe in our quarter bracket just because we’re in the same section,” Swink said. “That seemed a little out of character. But really, overall, they do a good job of seeding the tournament.”
Connellsville remains the lone team to qualify for every WPIAL team tournament since it began in 1979.
Other area teams who have qualified for the team championships are Belle Vernon, Beth-Center, Jefferson-Morgan and Southmoreland.
The Leopards go up against Butler in a Class 3A preliminary round match on Jan. 27 at North Hills with the winner taking on host Bethel Park on Jan. 29.
The top four teams in the Class 2A bracket are Burrell, Derry, McGuffey and Quaker Valley.
The Rockets and the Section 7 champion Scotties will face each other in a first-round match at Burrell on Jan. 29. Burrell faces the winner of the Knoch-Greensburg Salem preliminary round match with the survivor getting the J-M-Southmoreland winner.
Beth-Center opens against Laurel in a first-round match at McGuffey on Jan. 29. The Highlanders take on the preliminary round winner between Avonworth and Central Valley, and the winner of that will get either the Bulldogs or Laurel.
Jefferson-Morgan, Beth-Center and Bentworth finished in a three-way tie for the Section 3 title.
In last year’s finals, Connellsville defeated Trinity, 33-32 in Class 3A and Burrell beat Burgettstown, 41-20 in Class 2A.
Swink is well aware his team has a target on its back.
“We talk about it every year, throughout the season,” Swink said. “The old adage is I’d rather be the hunter than the hunted, but we’ve been the hunted lately.”
The Falcons are in relatively good health as the team tournament looms, according to Swink.
“This time of year you always have some nagging things.” Swink said. “But we’ve got nothing serious right now. I think we’re in pretty good shape.”