And the winners are

The WPIAL released the pairings for its team tournament and there was one surprise. Connellsville, which had fewer victories and more losses than Kiski, was still the top seed. The Cavaliers got No. 2. No big deal, just a surprise. Mt. Pleasant was No. 1 in Class AA.

So who is going to win.

Well, Class AA is easy. Only one of the most incredible upsets in the history of this event will stop Mt. Pleasant from taking first place. Burrell will make it to the finals but come up one match short. The best effort from the area will come from West Greene, which should make it to the semifinals.

In Class AAA, I'm not a big believer that Connellsville can win it. The Falcons are young and inexperienced in too many places for that to happen. Kiski has a solid lineup but not that much stronger than the team the Cavs will meet in the semifinals: Canon-McMillan.

There is something about the Big Macs that intrigues me. Last month, after a poor performance against Connesllville, I would not have given C-M much chance of even winning its section. But this is a team that appears to be wrestling 100 times better than that point in the season. The Macs won the Washington County Wrestling Tournament and then rolled over Trinity in the regular season finale. Getting Tyler Adams back in the lineup makes them stronger and that much more deep.

This might not be the strongest team Canon-McMillan has ever had but it is one of the deepest. And in a mediocre Triple-A team tournament, that will be good enough to win.