Where to get info

When I first began covering wrestling for the O-R 25 years ago, there was one ranking for the entire state, the Keystone Wrestling Rankings. Norm Paslovic and Jimmy Butler compiled the list and that was it. They were thorough and very accurate in their work.

Since technology makes it much easier to get scores, individual results and standings, nearly every newspaper has wrestling ranlkings. Normally, they start in January and run through the state tournament in March.

So where should you go to obtain as much information as possible?

Start with offthemat.com and sign up for their service. I know of no other individuals who see as many tournaments and dual meets as Al Fricke and Mark Dugan. Simply excellent work.

Bruce Closson also does an outstanding job with his Web page wrestlingreport.com. What makes Bruce's Web site so unique is that he has video of many of the events he goes to. Priceless.

The WPIAL's Web site wpial.org is good if you are looking for alignments, championship dates, qualiying standards, the basic nuts and bolts of wrestling.

Also, WJPA radio does a great job covering wrestling in Western Pennsylvania. Bob Gregg and Mark Uriah have been doing this as long if not longer than me and I am still amazed that they broadcast wrestling matches on the radio. Try it some time while sitting in the gym and see how hard it is. Their site is wjpa.com. They also do Webcasts off the MSA network.

Finally, bookmark the sports pages of all the Western Pa. newspapers and you're set.