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Wrestle Weekly: New team atop power rankings, and District 3 team tournament preview

Andy Mease  |  GameTimePA

We have a new number one team in the Wrestle Weekly power rankings after a flurry of activity ahead of Saturday's deadline for matches to qualify for the District 3 power rankings.

And the much-anticipated District 3 team tournament bracket was released today, lining up some juicy matchups for YAIAA teams. Keep reading for the full breakdown of the Class AAA and AA tournaments.

The week's highlights, in case you missed anything, included South Western's bonus-point laden victory over previous No. 1 Spring Grove, ending a 5-year run atop Division I, and Bermudian Springs picked up yet another YAIAA Division II championship.

It was another banner week for YAIAA teams and individuals, especially South Western 152-pounder Gage Thomas. Thomas started the week with the match clinching 4-3 decision over Spring Grove's Mike Hartman, one of the area's finest 145-pounder. His takedown with less than 30 seconds remaining sealed the deal.

He followed that victory up Saturday with a huge 6-4 decision over Kennard-Dale's Pat Scarborough as the Mustangs clinched at least a share of the Division I championship.

Ultimately, Thomas and his fellow Mustangs' performance in matches against Spring Grove and Kennard-Dale catapulted them to the No. 1 spot of the power rankings this week. Here are this week's YAIAA ranks, and follow the jump for the District 3 tournament breakdown.

1. South Western (13-6, LW: 3): The Mustangs took over the top spot thanks to two rather impressive victories over both Spring Grove and a Kennard-Dale squad that had been performing extremely well. They'll likely take a hot squad into the District 3 Class AAA team tournament as a low seed looking to stun a few opponents along the way. Gage Thomas (152) led the Mustangs with a pair of decisions against highly competitive wrestlers.

2. Spring Grove (18-2, LW: 1): The Rockets drop just one spot after their loss to South Western and enter the District 3 Class AAA team tournament looking to get back on a hot streak. Just as bonus points were key in their victory over New Oxford two weeks ago, bonus points proved key again against the Mustangs. In their victory over the Colonials, they were able to pick them up but were unable to get them against the Mustangs. Mason Bentzel, Zack Clingan and company should rebound in time for the team tournament.

3. Bermudian Springs (20-5, LW: 2): The Eagles drop to the third spot simply because of a loss a few weeks ago to the Rockets. The Eagles have since rebounded, wrestled their rival Boiling Springs tough and took out another rival, Biglerville, to claim yet another Division I title.

4. New Oxford (13-1, LW: 4): The Colonials remain status quo this week with an opportunity to clinch a share of the Division I title. Zurich and Slade Storm look to lead their squad deep into the District 3 Class AAA team tournament as a top 3 seed. However, the Colonials' rematch with South Western will be a big hurdle.

5. Biglerville (17-8, LW: 5): Despite their loss to the Eagles, the Canners remain in the number 5 spot.  The Canners team season will unfortunately end as they missed the number 8 spot in the District 3 Class AA team tournament by a mere .01 point.

Next 5: No. 6 Red Lion, No. 7 Delone Catholic, No. 8 Dallastown, No. 9 West York, No. 10 Kennard-Dale

DISTRICT 3 TOURNAMENT

Saturday was the deadline for matches to be included in the District 3 team power rankings, and the official tournament brackets were released Sunday afternoon. Here are the matchups for the Class AAA and AA fields. Click here for the full brackets.

Class AAA:

Schedule: First round and quarterfinals Tuesday starting at 6 p.m. at No. 1, 2, 3 and 4 seeds. No. 1 will host the 8/9 matchup, No. 2 will also host 7/10 matchup. No. 3 will host 6/11 matchup and No. 4 will host 5/12 matchup. Semifinals at 5 p.m. Thursday at Spring Grove. Championships and third-place match will be Saturday at Milton Hershey.

  • No. 1 Cumberland Valley vs. No. 16 Hempfield
  • No. 2 New Oxford vs. No. 15 South Western: Wow.  What a first-round match for YAIAA fans. New Oxford squeaked out a 35-31 win on Dec. 30 thanks to Slade Storm's major decision in the final match. Something tells me this could come down to the final match again.
  • No. 3 Central Dauphin vs. No. 14 Red Land
  • No. 4 Spring Grove vs. No. 13 Milton Hershey: Spring Grove could get on a roll early and often against an untested Milton Hershey squad. The Spartans have competed in only six duals this season, winning all six, but they haven't faced the toughest opponents on their schedule yet. The Rockets are another animal all together.
  • No. 5 Cedar Cliff vs. No. 12 Governor Mifflin
  • No. 6 Wilson vs. No. 11 Garden Spot
  • No. 7 Solanco vs. No. 10 Exeter
  • No. 8 Red Lion vs. No. 9 Big Spring: The Lions could struggle in a matchup against a team ranked No. 1 for a good portion of the season.

Class AA:

Schedule: Quarterfinals and semifinals starting at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the No. 1 and 2 seeds. Championships 11 a.m. Saturday at Milton Hershey.

  • No. 1 Boiling Springs vs. No. 8 Bishop McDevitt
  • No. 2 Hamburg vs. No. 7 ELCO
  • No. 3 Northern Lebanon vs. No. 6 Wyomissing
  • No. 4 Bermudian Springs vs. No. 5 Schuylkill Valley: The Eagles will face Class AA perennial contender Schuylkill Valley in the quarterfinals at Boiling Springs and with a victory will likely face the Bubblers soon after with a shot in at the PIAA tournament on the line as only two teams qualify for the tournament.

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