District 2 settled its pairings for the Dual Meet Wrestling Championships Tuesday morning, confirming high seeds with the chance to host two rounds Wednesday for division champions Abington Heights, Wyoming Valley West, Lackawanna Trail and Berwick.
Defending champions Abington Heights and Lackawanna Trail, the two Lackawanna League divisional champions, landed the top seeds with the best records in District 2.
By district rules, each league must be represented in the top two seeding positions for each tournament.
Wyoming Valley Conference divisional champions Wyoming Valley West and Berwick are the second seeds after compiling the fourth- and third-best ratings in their classes in the formula the district uses to determine seeds.
The first two rounds of the tournament are held at the four sites Wednesday. The final two rounds of consolations and the championship matches are set for Saturday at Pittston Area.
Wednesday’s action at each site begins at 5:30. Opening-round winners will meet while opening-round losers also meet in matches that follow, approximately at 7.
Teams that make it through the first two rounds victorious will wrestle in the championship matches Saturday at 1:30.
Those that go 1-1 in the first two rounds will advance to the consolation competition at Pittston Area. Those that lose twice will be eliminated.
Class 2A consolation semifinals are set for 9 a.m. Saturday, followed by Class 3A consolation semifinals at 10:30 a.m.
The last two rounds of consolations begin Feb. 4 at 9 a.m. with the two Class 2A semifinals, followed by the Class 3A semifinals at 10:30. The consolation finals are at noon.
The district committee originally planned to seed teams according to results through Saturday, but allowed for three make-up matches to complete the rankings used for playoff qualification. Blue Ridge lost a non-league match at Pittston Area to slip behind Scranton Prep for the last spot in the Class 2A field.
With individual tournament action still ahead, teams are allowed to continue their season regardless of whether they reached the dual meet tournament. Teams in the dual meet event, however, are not allowed to wrestle other matches Tuesday or Friday.
Looking ahead
The Pennsylania Interscholastic Athletic Association will conduct its state dual meet tournament at the Giant Center in Hershey Feb. 9-11.
The District 2 Individual Championships are set for Wilkes-Barre Area High School Feb. 24-25. Wrestlers will be seeded based on results through Feb. 18.
The tentative individual tournament schedule calls for action to begin at 4 p.m. Feb. 24. The semifinals are schedules for 10 a.m. Feb. 25 with the finals planned for 1 p.m.
Following districts, the Northeast Regionals will again be held for Class 3A at Bethlehem Liberty and Class 2A in Williamsport March 3-4. The state tournament will be March 9-11 in Hershey.
The full quarterfinal pairings:
CLASS 3A
8, Dallas (4-6) at 1, Abington Heights (15-0)
5, Pittston Area (10-9) vs. 4, Wallenpaupack (17-2) at Abington Heights
7, West Scranton (5-7) at 2, Wyoming Valley West (17-4)
6, Crestwood (9-7) vs. 3, Delaware Valley (11-2) at Wyoming Valley West
CLASS 2A
8, Scranton Prep (4-7) at 1, Lackawanna Trail (17-1)
5, Montrose (10-8) vs. 4, Wyoming Area (10-6) at Lackawanna Trail
7, Valley View (6-7) at 2, Berwick (11-4)
6, Western Wayne (11-4) vs. 3, Honesdale (11-4) at Berwick
