As the postseason approaches, something will be different this year.

No, there won't be any drastic new rule changes.There won't be an overhaul of the tournament formats, either.But this year will be unlike any other for one, simple reason Bethlehem Catholic will be competing at the Class AAA level.Now, that might not sound like such a big deal. How will one team moving up one class affect the roughly 20 schools and 200 wrestlers that compete in the District 11 AA tournaments?Well, a look at recent history shows that the Golden Hawks have owned the postseason, winning titles at an unprecedented rate.Just last season alone, Becahi produced 12 Southeast Regional qualifiers, 11 of which went on to the PIAA Wrestling Championships in Hershey, where nine medaled.But the dominance wasn't limited just to individuals, as the Golden Hawks were able to capture their fourth straight District 11 Class AA team wrestling championship, which they ultimately turned into their fourth consecutive PIAA state team title.So, where does that leave everyone else?This week's District 11 team wrestling championships will be the first chance to see just how much of an impact the move will have on the rest of the Class AA field, as 12 teams will compete for two spots and a chance to move on to Hershey early next month.The opportunity to fight for not just one, but two spots, is one coaches are looking forward to."It had certainly turned into a situation with the (district) duals that you knew right off the bat you were wrestling for second place, no matter how well your team did in the tournament," said Lehighton head coach Dan Williams, whose team is the sixth seed this year. "Now, it's almost like having an open spot for a team to get to the state dual tournament that wasn't there before."And for the individual tournament, it's almost like there's one extra spot at every weight class, because Bechai would almost always have a guy in the top four at every weight."The favorite in the AA bracket of this year's team tournament is top seed Saucon Valley.But the gap between the Colonial League's Panthers and the rest of the field is slim, making who will take second, or even first, anyone's guess."Saucon has a very good, very well-coached team," said Northern Lehigh head coach Steve Hluschak, Jr, whose Bulldogs have the fourth seed and a first round bye. "But I think there are maybe four, five or even six teams that could finish second."It's all about matchups who falls where, who wrestles who and how well that works to your advantage. I really think it's wide-open and that makes it fun. You can go in there and know you have a legitimate chance. You can have confidence that it can be you, and that's all you can ask for."Another team that will be looking to make a run at one of the top two spots is Northwestern, which as the fifth seed in the tournament and would face Northern Lehigh with a first round win over Williams Valley."There are a lot of teams that I think could make it out to states," said Northwestern head coach Jim Moll. "It's going to be fun to see what happens on Thursday and Saturday."With a win over No. 8 seed Palisades on Thursday night, ninth seed Panther Valley would be the first team to have a shot at Saucon Valley in the second round.While he knows the path to Hershey won't be easy, the challenge is one PV head coach Tim Robb accepts, maybe a little more willingly this season."I believe that in wrestling, you get better by wrestling against tougher competition," he said. " But I also believe that at the end of the year, you should be able to compete against teams that have the same tools and constraints that your school has to see where you stand."I wish them (Bethlehem Catholic) luck in AAA, and would love to see them in regular season tournaments, but I won't miss them in our postseason tournaments."Let the games begin.*******DISTRICT DUALS … Several Times News area teams have qualified for this week's District 11 team wrestling tournaments.In Class AA, No. 9 seed Panther Valley will take on eight seed Palisades at Whitehall High School. Should the Panthers win, they will take on top seed Saucon Valley.Northwestern earned the fifth seed and will take on 12th seed Williams Valley in a group that will compete at Panther Valley High School. Should the Tigers win, they will face fourth seed Northern Lehigh, which earned a first round bye.Lehighton will be the sixth seed and take on No. 11 Wilson at Blue Mountain High School. The winner of that match will take on North Schuylkill, which earned the third seed.In Class AAA, Pleasant Valley earned the sixth seed and will take on No. 11 seed Pottsville in a match that will also be at Blue Mountain. Should the Bears win, they will take on the host and third-seeded Eagles in the second round.Bethlehem Catholic is the top seed in the Class AAA bracket. Blue Mountain, Nazareth, Panther Valley and Whitehall are the host sites for Thursday's first and quarterfinals rounds. Freedom will host Saturday's semifinals and championships matches for both classes. The top two teams in each class advance to next week's PIAA championships in Hershey.*******BEARS ROAR … Pleasant Valley took third out of 30 teams at the New Oxford Invitational over the weekend. Place winners for the Bears were James Gehr (5th, 106), Jason Jacobi (5th, 120), Anthony McCue (7th, 132), Trevor Dorn (6th, 152), Garrett Gouger (8th, 160), Brody Keefe (2nd, 170), Trent Thomas (2nd, 195) and Ahmad Curtis (5th, 285).