Lebanon County wrestlers set for sectionals
Lebanon County wrestlers will be competing at four different sites for sectionals on Saturday to kick off the start of the individual postseason.
The four Class AAA teams are particularly spread out, with Palmyra competing at Central Dauphin East in Section II, Cedar Crest at Hempfield in Section III and Elco and Lebanon in Section IV at Governor Mifflin.
The two Class AA teams have it a little easier - Northern Lebanon is one of 12 other teams to converge on Annville-Cleona for the Section II event.
The rules of advancement are different for the two classes. In AA, the top six place winners at each of two sectionals advance to next week's District 3 Tournament at Hersheypark Arena. For AAA, each of the five sectionals sends its top three finishers to districts, and an additional qualifier is selected at each weight when it is determined which event has the highest power ranking at that weight.
It is feasible that Northern Lebanon could send all 14 of its wrestlers to districts next week. Only one of this week's expected starters is seeded outside of the top six, so if form holds, the Vikings would get 13 qualifiers.
In addition, Northern Lebanon has an embarrassment of riches - eight Vikes are seeded No. 1 at their weight: Kyler Anspach (106 pounds), Dustin Breidegan (113), Steve Herb (145), Luis Negreiros (160), Quinn Blatt (170), Luke Funck (182), Hunter Wallace (195) and Matt Vines (220).
The other county top seed in AA is Josh Renninger at 138 for the host Little Dutchmen. A total of 14 area wrestlers gained seeds among the top three.
Wrestling at A-C begins at 9:30 a.m., with the finals session set for 5:30 p.m.
Cedar Crest has only four wrestlers competing, but two earned No. 1 seeds - Barry Breidegan at 152 pounds and Jarell Howard-Griffin at 182. The sessions at Hempfield are 9:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.
At Governor Mifflin (sessions at 8:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.), Elco gained a trio of No. 3 seeds, and Owen Neil picked up a No. 2 at 132.
Palmyra's highest seed is Leo Higgins, a No. 4 at 220. The sessions at CD East are 9 a.m. and 6 p.m.
Sectional Wrestling Tournaments
Lebanon County Top 3 Seeds
CLASS AAA
Section III, at Hempfield
No. 1 seeds: 152 - Barry Breidegan (Cedar Crest); 182 - Jarell Howard-Griffin (Cedar Crest)
Section IV, at Gov. Mifflin
No. 2 seed: 132 - Owen Neil (Elco)
No. 3 seeds: 113 - Alex Puglio (Elco); 182 - Quinten Weaver (Elco); 285 - Ryan Rolon (Elco)
CLASS AA
Section II, at Annville-Cleona
No. 1 seeds: 106 - Kyler Anspach (Northern Lebanon); 113 - Dustin Breidegan (NL); 138 - Josh Renninger (Annville-Cleona); 145 - Steve Herb (NL); 160 - Luis Negreiros (NL); 170 - Quinn Blatt (NL); 182 - Luke Funck (NL); 195 - Hunter Wallace (NL); 220 - Matt Vines (NL)
No. 2 seeds: 132 - Trevor Leonard (NL); 170 - Mark Wagner (A-C); 285 - Brandon Light (A-C)
No. 3 seeds: 138 - Zach Kelly (NL); 285 - George Thompson (NL)