The postseason has arrived.

Wrestling’s Road to Hershey begins tomorrow with the District 11 Class 2A and 3A tournaments.

The tournaments will be Saturday and Sunday, with the Class 3A event at Parkland High School and Class 2A at the Charles Chrin Community Center in Palmer Township.

This year sees several changes to the format, layout and location of both tournaments. Liberty and Freedom hosted districts and regionals last season.

Getting out of districts will be even more difficult than in the past. In 3A, three wrestlers will advance to regionals. In 2A, it will be just two.

In the past, five wrestlers advanced to regionals from 3A, while four moved on in Class 2A.

It’s a new look, but the same opportunity.

“Preparing for this year’s postseason will be the same as we always have done things. Simply put, we’ll continue to put the work in during practice,” said Jim Thorpe head coach Shawn Albert. “There’s no doubt that the climate is different this year. We’ve been wrestling back-to-back for the past three weeks in what feels like a compressed season.

“It’s going to be difficult to get through with the new qualifying setups. In many ways, I feel bad for the wrestlers, not just our team but the district as a whole. However, the opportunity to compete is there, and that is most important. I’m proud of our wrestlers and coaches for sticking together and getting this season in. We will see how districts go for us. I am hopeful to see JT advance wrestlers to the next level.”

Last year, a total of 11 Times News area wrestlers advanced to regionals in Class 2A, with eight placing either third or fourth at districts to advance.

Among them was Tamaqua’s Nate Wickersham, who was third at 182 pounds. Wickersham went on to earn a state medal with an eighth-place finish.

Pleasant Valley, the only 3A team in the area, did not have any regional qualifiers last season. Alex Womack missed it by one spot, placing sixth.

“As for the brackets, it is what it is,” said Palmerton head coach Justin Petersen. “We can’t control any of that so I just keep telling my guys to control what you can control. Go out there and battle each time you’re on the mat, and don’t think ahead. Overall just embrace the fact that this tournament is happening and enjoy it.”

THE DETAILS

Each weight class is capped at 16 wrestlers, and features a top and bottom half of the bracket.

On Saturday, there will be two sessions - one for the top and one for the bottom half of the bracket. It’s a dynamic that will alter how schools approach the opening day of the tournament.

“Only half our team will be there to wrestle in the morning, followed by the other half in the afternoon session in order to limit the number of wrestlers in the gym at one time,” said Lehighton head coach Floyd Brown. “It is certainly a different year, but we are making the best of it.”

Those mitigation efforts extend beyond coaches and teams. There will be no fans allowed at either the 2A or 3A event.

With most in-season tournaments canceled, schools loaded up their schedules as much as possible and made the most of doubleheader opportunities to increase mat time.

“Fortunately for us, Jason Zimmerman (Northwestern Athletic Director) was able to schedule us almost a dozen matches,” said Tigers’ head coach Jim Moll. “Some of those were canceled due to COVID, but we had a lot of opportunities to compete. So we got to test our wrestlers against some teams that would show us our weaknesses. Competing against Saucon Valley, Parkland, and Whitehall was a huge benefit for us. We really focused on improving in the areas we saw a need.

“One thing we definitely miss this year is practicing with some area teams in preparation for postseason. Typically we would head to Parkland and/or Northampton. They would often host a number of schools. It’s nice to match kids up with guys they don’t get to see everyday.”

Despite having a limited number of wrestlers on the team this season, Northern Lehigh has three returning district medalists in Brenden Smay, Trevor Amorim, and Josh Schaffer.

“We wrestled with primarily three or four wrestlers in our dual meet lineup this season,” said Bulldogs’ head coach Scott Snyder. “Fortunately, we will have all six of our wrestlers back on the mat in time for the district tournament, which added a well-needed spark to our practice room.

“We have entered the district tournament with low numbers before, so other than being hampered with snow days, postseason training hasn’t been much different from the past.”

Pulling off a season in the middle of a pandemic has been difficult for every team, and the Bulldogs are no exception.

Those challenges will make success this weekend that much sweeter.

“This season has been extremely unusual for them,” said Snyder. “As a team, we have dealt with wrestlers missing time to quarantine, injuries, and wrestlers six weight classes apart practicing together daily. I’m sure there’s been a day only two wrestlers were at practice. There is no doubt this wasn’t easy for any of them, so I am very proud of their commitment and hard work this season.”

THE SCHEDULE

The District 11 Class 2A schedule is as follows: Saturday, Session I (Top Bracket) - 11 a.m., preliminary round; 12 p.m., quarterfinals and first-round consolations; 1:45, second-round consolations. Session II (Bottom Bracket) - 4 p.m., preliminary round; 5, quarterfinals and first-round consolations; 6:45, second-round consolations.

Sunday, 12:30 p.m., semifinals and consolation quarterfinals; 2:30, consolation semifinals; 3:30 finals and consolation finals; 5:30, true second-place match if necessary in 2A only.

Class 3A: Saturday, Session I (Top Bracket) – 12 p.m., preliminary round; 1, quarterfinals and first-round consolations; 2:45, second-round consolations. Session II (Bottom Bracket) – 5 p.m., preliminary round; 6, quarterfinals and first-round consolations; 7:45, second-round consolations.

Sunday, 12:30 p.m., semifinals and consolation quarterfinals; 2:30, consolations semifinals; 3:30, championship finals and consolation finals.

Four wrestlers will receive medals in Class 3A. The winning school will receive the team trophy. Three wrestlers will receive medals in 2A. The winning school will receive the team trophy.

THE SEEDS

Several area wrestlers are in good position to extend their season at least another week. Northern Lehigh senior Brenden Smay (113), along with Tamaqua seniors Aaron Coccio (145) and Nate Wickersham (215) all earned No. 1 seeds for the tournament in Class 2A.

Tamaqua’s Gabe Erbe (106) and Northern Lehigh’s Josh Schaffer (285) are seeded second. Lehighton’s Aiden Gruber (113), Lukas Ferguson (126) and Richard Fronheiser (172) are all seeded third, as is Jim Thorpe’s Derek Hunter (285).

Nicholas Zeigenfuss (120) is seeded fourth for the Tribe, as is Northwestern’s Dalton Clymer (145) and Northern Lehigh’s Trevor Amorim (152).

Schaffer and Amorim made it to the finals a year ago. Wickersham was third.

Coccio and Fronheiser were fourth a year ago, while Zeigenfuss and Hunter were fifth. Smay was sixth.

In Class 3A, Pleasant Valley’ James Syracuse is seeded sixth at 172 pounds, while Dillon Anderson (152) is ninth.

LAST YEAR

Tamaqua’s Bronson Strouse earned his second straight district title, topping Northern Lehigh’s Josh Schaffer 7-1 in the 285-pound final. Schaffer, who was seeded fourth, enjoyed a breakout tournament, one that came with a pin in 5:00 over top seed Derek Hunter of Jim Thorpe in the semis.

Hunter had beaten Strouse twice leading up to the district tournament, and pinned Schaffer a month earlier at the Coal Cracker Tournament.

Northern Lehigh’s Trevor Amorim reached the 145-pound final as the third seed, losing by technical fall (18-2, 4:13) to top seed Thomas Spirk of Saucon Valley.

DOWN THE ROAD

Regionals will be held Saturday, Feb. 27, followed by Super Regionals on March 6. The state championships will be held March 12-13 at the Giant Center in Hershey. Four wrestlers will advance from each regional to super regionals, and four from there to the state tournaments.

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MILESTONE … Last Wednesday night, Leila Hurley joined teammate Skyler Searfoss as part of an elite list of basketball players at Jim Thorpe High School. Hurley entered the game against Panther Valley only needing to score five points to reach the 1,000-point milestone. Hurley finished the memorable night with 19 points, becoming the eighth girls basketball player in Olympian history to accomplish the feat. In addition to Searfoss, who reached the 1,000-point mark earlier this season, that list includes: Kayley Kovac (1,884); Celeste Robinson (1,691); Jen Farrell (1,494); Kathy Kilgore (1,487); Mary Gillespie (1,060); and Roseann Sarulla, (1,048).

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BOMBERS ON A ROLL ... Palmerton defeated Lehighton on Wednesday to extend its winning streak to nine straight games. With the help of some of our Blue Bomber friends, it was discovered that this is the program’s longest win streak since the 1982-83 season. That year, the team opened with 11 straight victories under head coach Pete Delich. The all-time mark appears to be 24 games, which was accomplished during the 1954-55 campaign.

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REJECTION … Dylan Witkowski is becoming a known threat for his outside shooting, but on Saturday night it was his defensive effort that helped the Northwestern boys’ basketball team seal a key Colonial League victory over Notre Dame of Green Pond. In the waning moments of the game, Witkowski came up with a huge block to prevent Notre Dame’s Joe Galle from hitting a potential game-winning shot. The Tigers earned an important 58-57 win, handing the Crusaders their first league loss of the season.

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FIRST VICTORY … Last Friday night, the Northern Lehigh boys basketball team edged Moravian Academy, 41-40, giving first-year coach Patrick Wanamaker his first career head coaching victory. The Bulldogs’ win snapped a seven-game losing streak to start the season.

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DELIVERING UNDER PRESSURE … Last Wednesday, Tamaqua’s McKenna Meckes stepped up to the free-throw line with the game’s outcome hanging in the balance. Meckes was fouled with just .7 seconds left on the clock and the Blue Raiders and North Schuylkill tied 36-36. Meckes never flinched under the pressure as she drained a pair of free throws to give Tamaqua the victory.

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MORE THAN MORAVIAN … Last Thursday, Northern Lehigh’s Aubrey Pollard single-handedly outscored the entire Moravian Academy girls basketball team. Pollard scored 23 points, while the Bulldogs’ defense limited the Lions to just 20 in a 51-20 Colonial League rout.

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FLAWLESS … On Saturday, the Jim Thorpe boys basketball team was perfect from the foul line in a 55-37 win over Mahanoy Area. The Olympians went 14-for-14 on the night, led by Kaiden Herron’s 8-for-8 effort.