A peek at the future

The Trinity Elite Duals might not have been as successful as Hillers' fans would have liked, but the interesting format should be more popular in a season that is already too long. Two-day dual meet tournaments will rise to four scheduling points next season but their benefit is well worth the extra point.

Scheduling has always been a challenge even for the most educated people - remember the North Allegheny snafu that cost the Tigers a section title against Shaler about 10 years ago? Other schools have had trouble counting to the maximum scheduling point of 24.

Dual tournaments are nice because they give you as many as five bouts in a day and even the less accomplished wrestlers get that many. Not every team is strong enough to compete in Powerade but every team can find a dual tournament that is right for them if the trend catches on in the WPIAL.

The only downside to the dual tournament is that it might not be an accurate reflexion of your team. For example: two of your team's wrestlers are injured in the first dual meet. Under ordinary circumstances, a coach would have a couple of days to nurse them back to health. In a dual tournament, you have to find a way to have them ready in a couple hours or face forfeiting those weights.

But for getting a wrestler some much-needed experience in a grueling regular season, you can't beat it.