PIAA Wrestling Tournament Rapid Reaction: 5 things learned and 5 things to watch in class AA
With Day 1 of the PIAA Wrestling Tournament Class AA action in the books, we're going to take a look at five things we learned and five things to watch heading into day two.
Here are the five things we learned about the first day of the PIAA tournament in class AA.
1. Regional champs nearly automatic: Only three regional champs dropped first round matchups.
2. Expansion to 20 wrestlers is working: A lot of very entertaining preliminary bouts with the fifth and sixths in each regional wrestling competitive as well.
3. Where are the underdogs?: Outside of the three regional champs falling in the first round, there's been a lack of upsets.
4. Gavin Teasdale is the real deal. Jefferson-Morgan's freshman extraordinaire ran his record to 43-0 with a 24 second fall.
5. Bermudian senior trio still alive. Briton Shelton, Colton Dull and Sam McCollum all punched quarterfinal tickets in different fashion.
Here are five interesting items to sink your teeth into for Day 2 action.
1. Who's going to be the consolation darling? Every year a wrestler loses in the first round and will end up running back to third place. Schuylkill Valley's Josh Giorgio (132) is my pick to make that run. Hanover's Caleb Garland has a favorable draw at 120 to allow that to be possible.
2. 106 quarterfinals. Teasdale will face another super freshman in Southern Columbia's Jaret Lane. That should be a doozy. Winner could face Boiling Springs' Jalin Hankerson in a seminfinal later that night.
3. Who's going to crash the semfinals? Much like the consolation darling, there is always an unexpected wrestler that crashes the semifinal party. The pick to do that this year? Huntingdon's Jacob Oliver at 152 pounds.
4. Team Title Pursuit. Reynolds leads all teams with five wrestlers in the quarterfinals. Benton, Boiling Springs, Chestnut Ridge, Jefferson-Morgan and Saegertown each have four while Bermudian Springs, Brookville, South Fayette and Southern Columbia are hanging around with 3 each.
5. Will we get a George Phillippi-Korbin Myers showdown at 132? Two of the best 132-pounders in the state regardless of classification are on a collision course. Can someone derail the potential final?
Additional videos from Day 1 of the PIAA Class AA wrestling tournament.