Dunaway & other thoughts

He might not have realized it, but Alex Dunaway of McGuffey saved the area wrestling reputation in the WPIAL Class AAA Championships. The junior from McGuffey qualified for the state tournament when he placed third at 103 pounds. He is the only wrestler from Trinity, McGuffey and Waynesburg to make it to Hershey this season. Had he not won in the consolation finals, Dunaway would have sealed the area's fate of not having at least one qualifier to the state tournament since they began having state tournaments.

Sam Brownlee's loss to Connellsville's Justin Haines in the heavyweight final might not be so surprising if the score was closer. The Canon-McMillan junior fell 9-1 and was dominated by Haines. Brownlee entered the tournament as the No. 1 wrestler in the state and those type of wrestlers usually don't get dominated.

The rumor mill is churning on a couple of issues:
1. The PIAA is said to be considering adding another qualifier from each district to its team tournament. Give the PIAA credit. If this tournament, which is a complete waste of time, can't draw enough people to the Giant Center in Hershey, then the PIAA will qualify enough teams to make sure it does. You can't manufacture interest but the PIAA is going to try.

2. One reason the Class AAA schedule was changed for the individual postseason was that there is talk of establishing a super regional tournament on the upcoming off week that would include Districts 7, 8 and 10. If this happens, the WPIAL would probably send more than three wrestlers into the region. That would be good. It's hard to think Districts 8 and 10 would be happy.

Because Class AA advances six wrestlers from each weight class to the regional, it was difficult to get excited about the matches until the finals. There was a lack of drama because anyone who made it to the quarterfinals had survived to wrestle another week. Qualifying half your weight class to the regional tournament is not a good way to spark interest.

One of the perks of covering wrestling for this newspaper is access to the hospitality rooms at these events. I always make sure that I purchase at least one treat at the event I'm at to support the host schools but the way to my heart is through my stomach. So kuddos to the Jones' family in Rogersville and the Wiltz family in Charleroi for the fine food they provided for the Section 1-AA and WPIAL Class AA Championship tournaments. Now that you've fed me well, you are not going to be able to get rid of me.