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Waynesburg's Joseph Simon (top), who has been dealing with a knee injury all season, gets ready to wrestle Canon-McMillan's Andrew Binni in the WPIAL Class 3A team championship Saturday. Simon, one of Waynesburg's top wrestlers, might not be ready for the PIAA tournament.
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PIAA team wrestling preview: Waynesburg might be without standout Joseph Simon

Ken Wunderley/Tri-State Sports & News Service

PIAA team wrestling preview: Waynesburg might be without standout Joseph Simon

Waynesburg is one of seven wrestling teams from the WPIAL that have qualified for the PIAA Class 3A and 2A team tournaments, but the Raiders might be without one of their top wrestlers.

The Raiders, who lost to Canon-McMillan in the WPIAL Class 3A title match Saturday, have been a top-three finisher in the state the past three years. They won the title in 2020, placed second in 2021 and were a bronze medalist last year.

Waynesburg had a full lineup for the first time all season in Saturday's title match with the Big Macs, which ended in a tie and was decided by tiebreaker criteria four, but the Raiders will probably be without Joseph Simon for the state tournament, which begins Monday.

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Simon, who was ranked second in WPIAL Class 3A at 133 pounds, has been battling a knee injury all season and was in pain throughout his bout with the Big Macs' Andrew Binni in the WPIAL final. Simon had to take injury time twice during the bout and almost defaulted.

Burgettstown sophomore Gaven Suica wrestles during a match in this 2022 file photo.
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"(Simon) has been dealing with that knee injury all year long," said Waynesburg coach Kyle Szewczyk, after watching Simon hop on one foot during the final 40 seconds of his 4-2 loss to Binni. "It kept him out a lot in the early part of the season. He really gutted it out for the team to stay away from giving up bonus points. We're not sure if he will be able to wrestle in the state tournament."

Both PIAA brackets (Class 3A and 2A) feature 20 schools. Four preliminary round matches will be held in each class on Monday at various sites. The four winners and the other 12 teams in each bracket advance to Thursday's first round at Giant Center in Hershey. Both the 3A and 2A tournaments switch to a double-elimination format in Hershey, where the top four teams in each class will be determined Thursday through Saturday. The finals and consolation finals will be Saturday.

Canon-McMillan, Waynesburg and Hempfield are the WPIAL's entries in the Class 3A bracket, along with City League champion Allderdice. 

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Bethlehem Catholic and Saucon Valley are the defending champions. Both schools are from District 11. Bethlehem Catholic has won four PIAA Class 3A titles in the past seven years. The Golden Hawks also won four Class 2A titles before moving up in classification in 2016.

"Bethlehem Catholic is a huge favorite to repeat," said Jeff Upson, a Westmoreland County resident who runs papowerwrestling.com, a web site that covers PIAA wrestling across the state. "BECA has three potential state champions in its lineup. All 13 of their starters are in my Class 3A state rankings. They are clearly the most complete team from top to bottom and should have no problem repeating."

Nazareth, a finalist two of the last three years, is ranked No. 2. The Blue Eagles lost 33-25 to Bethlehem Catholic in the District 11 title match Saturday.

"BECA and Nazareth are clearly the top two teams in the state in Class 3A," Upson said. "There is a big drop-off after that. I expect Canon-McMillan and Waynesburg to do well in the tournament but would be very surprised to see either make it to the finals. Having Simon out of the lineup really hurts Waynesburg."

Canon-McMillan ended Waynesburg's three-year reign with a 29-28 tiebreaker win in the WPIAL Class 3A title match, held Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023, at Peters Township High School.
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Upson had Waynesburg ranked No. 3 in the state and Canon-McMillan ranked No. 6 prior to Saturday's WPIAL title match.

Canon-McMillan is making its 12th appearance in the state tournament. The Big Macs will face either Chambersburg or Quakertown in their first match on Thursday. They are in the same half of the bracket with Nazareth.

"We're really excited for the state tournament," Canon-McMillan coach Brian Krenzelak said. "It's our goal every year to make it and we're fortunate to be in the better half of the bracket. I love how the team tournaments bridge the gap between the regular season and the individual postseason tournaments."

Waynesburg is making its fourth consecutive PIAA appearance. The Raiders will face District 4 champ Shikellamy in Thursday's opening round. They are in the same quarter of the bracket with Bethlehem Catholic, which means they would meet in Friday's quarterfinals if both teams win in the first round.

Hempfield, the WPIAL's third-place finisher, will face Allderdice at Carrick High School at 6 p.m. in a preliminary-round match Monday. The winner will face Pennridge in the first round Thursday. Hempfield is making its second PIAA appearance.

Waynesburg is one of only five WPIAL schools that have won a PIAA team tournament title in the 25-year history. Connellsville became the first to win a title in 2005. Canon-McMillan won back-to-back titles in 2012 and 2013. Franklin Regional matched the Big Macs’ achievement with titles in 2014 and 2015.

PIAA Class 2A

Burrell is the only Class 2A team from the WPIAL to win a state team title, as the Bucs won in 2008. Winning a PIAA Class 2A title will be tough for anyone in the WPIAL this year, as District 1 champion Faith Christian is ranked No. 1. Besides Burrell, Burgettstown, Quaker Valley and Frazier are the other WPIAL entries in the Class 2A bracket.

"Faith Christian Academy is by far the favorite in Class 2A and may be the best team in the state," Upson said. "They would give BECA a run for their money if the two teams wrestled. They have all but one starter back and have a bunch of kids ranked very high in the state."

Notre Dame Green Pond, last year's runner-up, is No. 2. Defending state champion Saucon Valley is No. 3. The two teams met in the District 11 title match on Saturday and Notre Dame Green Pond posted a convincing 49-15 victory.

Burgettstown is ranked No. 4. The Blue Devils are making a third PIAA appearance in four years.

Burgettstown will face District 2 champion Honesdale in the opening round on Thursday. The Blue Devils are fortunate Faith Christian and Notre Dame Green Pond are in the lower half of the bracket. In fact, the two are expected to meet in the quarterfinals.

"That stage isn't too big for us," Burgettstown coach Joey Vigliotti said. "I said five years ago, there are stepping stones — winning the section title, getting to the WPIAL final, going to Hershey, winning a WPIAL title. Now, hopefully, let's go up there and bring home a medal."

Burrell will be making its 20th consecutive appearance in the state tournament. The Buccaneers will face District 9 champion Brookville in the first round. The two teams met Jan. 21 at the Brookville Duals and Burrell dropped a 31-25 decision.

Quaker Valley is making its third PIAA appearance in four years. The Quakers travel to Huntington to face the District 6 runner-up in a pigtail match at 7 p.m. Monday.

Frazier is making its maiden voyage into the state tournament. The Commodores travel to Fort LeBoeuf to face the District 10 runner-up at 7 p.m. Monday.

First Published: February 5, 2023, 8:42 p.m.

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Waynesburg's Joseph Simon (top), who has been dealing with a knee injury all season, gets ready to wrestle Canon-McMillan's Andrew Binni in the WPIAL Class 3A team championship Saturday. Simon, one of Waynesburg's top wrestlers, might not be ready for the PIAA tournament.  (Ken Wunderley/Tri-State Sports & News Service)
Ken Wunderley/Tri-State Sports & News Service
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