A concept that came together at the end of last season will come to fruition this weekend for Eastern Pennsylvania Conference wrestling teams.

The conference replaced its three informal divisions with two nine-team divisions, simply defined as A and B, for the 2015-16 season.The regular season was structured as such that teams wrestled eight league matches against division foes in a schedule that started Dec. 9 and ends Wednesday, with two teams idle in league play each night of competition.But perhaps the most compelling aspect of the overhaul was the addition of a "championship day," with the first-place team in Division A meeting the first-place team in Division B, second vs. second, etc., all the way down to ninth vs. ninth.That event will take place this Saturday at Easton Area Middle School, with the first of three rounds of wrestling beginning at 11 a.m."I think the EPC event will be a good event. For the first time in a while, we will be able to determine a true conference champion on that mat - Becahi (Division A) will wrestle Nazareth (Division B) for the league championship," said Whitehall athletic director and PIAA District 11 chairman Bob Hartman. "I believe last year we had co-champs because the two teams who tied did not wrestle in the regular season. If it didn't happen last year, it has happened in recent history. This concept eliminates that."That final round on Saturday should have a great crowd with some great wrestling. All 18 teams will wrestle a team of their comparative strength so it should provide great dual meets. I think it is a showcase and a great environment for all involved."And it's a concept that was the idea of the coaches."Matt Kleinle from Stroudsburg brought it to me during the post-season (last year)," Hartman said. "He had put some thought into it and we talked a little more about the math. Then Matt presented to our coaches at the post-season meeting. Everyone who was at that meeting supported it, because the vote was unanimous."I think 17 of the 18 schools were present. There was no dissenting opinion. There were some creative ideas. We bounced some ideas around at the meeting and came up with the serpentine type of scheduling that we used."Pleasant Valley head coach Justin Micklos supports the idea of having such an event."When you wrestle better competition, you become better," he said. "It will benefit everyone to have another match under their belt. And it's always good to see other teams, especially in an environment like this."Another perk of the event is that it counts as a competition.All bouts contested Saturday will count toward District 11 seeding.Action will begin at 11 a.m. with Round 1 (nine vs. nine, eight vs. eight, seven vs. seven) and be followed by the second round (six vs. six, five vs. five, four vs. four) at 1 p.m. The third and final round (three vs. three, two vs. two, one vs. one) will begin at 3 p.m. The matchup of one vs. one will determine the EPC champion.Official pairings are tentatively scheduled to be released Thursday.Admission for adults will be $6, and $3 for both students and senior citizens.*****BUT FIRST … While the EPC will hold its inaugural event this coming weekend, the Colonial League will have its annual four-team tournament this Wednesday at Catasauqua High School. The semifinals are set for 5:30 p.m. with the final to follow at 7:30 p.m. No. 2 Northwestern will take on No. 3 Northern Lehigh in one semifinal, while No. 4 Pen Argyl will face top seed Saucon Valley in the other semi. Last year, Saucon Valley defeated Northern Leigh 30-21 to claim the championship.*****(STILL) RIGHT IN YOUR OWN BACKYARD … After being postponed due to weather this past weekend, Panther Valley will host its annual Coal Cracker Wrestling Tournament this Friday and Saturday. The event, which will feature 15 teams, including Jim Thorpe, will take place both Friday and Saturday at the Panther Valley Middle School and Panther Valley High School. Action will begin at 5 p.m. Friday with preliminaries and conclude for the day at 7:30 p.m. with second round consolation matches. Semifinals will be held Saturday at 10 a.m. at the middle school. Finals will take place at 3 p.m. - on two mats - and also be held at the middle school. The top three in each weight class will receive medals. There will also be a most outstanding wrestler chosen by the tournament's officials.*****UNCHANGED … Saucon Valley (18-0) remained at the top of the District 11 Class AA standings after what proved to be a slow week for most teams due to inclement weather over the weekend. Pen Argyl (15-4) still holds the No. 2 spot, while Lehighton (14-3) remained third. After winning their dual last week, Northwestern (15-4) jumped Northern Lehigh (14-4) for the fourth spot, while the Bulldogs dropped down to No. 5. Panther Valley (10-3) remained seventh after not competing this past week. Palmerton (9-14), which lost to Saucon Valley last week, dropped from No. 12 to No. 13, one spot out of qualifying for the team tournament, which begins Feb. 4. Tamaqua (0-11) moved ahead of Jim Thorpe (1-9) to take the 17th spot, while the Olympians dropped down to 18th. In Class AAA, Pleasant Valley (6-9) remained 18th after losing to Nazareth in their dual last week. Pottsville (9-0) remained the No. 1 AAA team, with Bethlehem Catholic (12-1) and Nazareth (11-0) second and third, respectively.*****READY TO POUNCE … After not competing last week, Panther Valley will have a lot to look forward to in the next 14 days. Wednesday's dual against Tamaqua will start a brutal run for the team that will include the Coal Cracker Tournament Friday and Saturday; a rescheduled match against North Schuylkill (Feb. 2), which will be followed by a regularly scheduled contest against Pottsville the following day (Feb. 3). The week will conclude with District Duals, scheduled for Thursday (Feb. 4) and Saturday (Feb. 6). But PV will have much to look forward to during that stretch. Ali Capobianco's 60 career falls are one away from the Panthers' career mark, while Darren Goida is closing in on his 100th career win, currently sitting at 97.*****OFF THE MAT UPDATE … The Times News area once again had a strong presence in Off the Mat's Jan. 25 Class AA state rankings. Northern Lehigh continued to lead the way, wih Colten Rex (120 pounds, 7th), Matt Schmall (138, 4th), Ryan Farber (160, 4th), CJ Young (170, 11th) and Cameron Kates (285, 12th) all earning recognition. Northwestern remained close behind, as Matt Peters (113, 15th), Quentin Bernhard (126, 12th), Jarret White (132, 16th), and Caleb Clymer (152, 13th) were all honored. For Lehighton, Connor Frey (195, 1st) and Wyatt Clements (220, 10th) made the list, while Panther Valley's Darren Goida (126, 13th) and Ali Capobianco (145, 14th) were selected. Tamaqua's Tanner McHugh (126, 14th), Jim Thorpe's Kevan Gentile (106, 2nd) and Palmerton's Jared Mooney (182, 10th) also were ranked. In Off the Mat's Class AA dual meet rankings, Northern Lehigh (18th), Lehighton (19th) and Northwestern (20th) all made the top-25.