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Northern Lebanon’s Aaron Seidel takes down Warwick’s Marco Tocci in their 106-pound match during the finals of the Lancaster-Lebanon League Wrestling Championships at Manheim Twp. High School on Saturday, Jan. 29, 2022. Seidel, a freshman, won gold at the Class 2A Southeast Regional championships on Saturday, March 5, 2022.
Northern Lebanon’s Aaron Seidel takes down Warwick’s Marco Tocci in their 106-pound match during the finals of the Lancaster-Lebanon League Wrestling Championships at Manheim Twp. High School on Saturday, Jan. 29, 2022. Seidel, a freshman, won gold at the Class 2A Southeast Regional championships on Saturday, March 5, 2022.
For 31 seasons, from 1941-42 through 1971-72, the wrestling weight classes in Pennsylvania went unchanged with the exception of adding a heavyweight class for 1959-60.
And again, from 1988-89 through 2010-11, with the exception of adding the 215 class and 10 pounds to 275, the weights went unchanged for 23 years.
That’s 54 years of consistency in the 85 years the PIAA has sanctioned postseason wrestling. But things don’t always remain that consistent.
After two years with the most recent iteration, and for the third time in 12 years, the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) has changed wrestling’s weight classes. The changes see one pound added to each of the lower six weight classes, while leaving the remaining seven untouched.
Thus, 106 is now 107, 113 now 114, 120 now 121, etc., through 139 pounds. Interestingly enough, that now creates a 127-pound and 133-pound weight class. Or, should one say, re-creates, as those weights were mainstays of the 31-year run from 1942-72. The one constant from the 1937-38 season through today is the 145-pound class.
These four seniors, seven juniors and a sophomore are certain to be in the postseason tournament mix at the end of the year, barring an unforeseen circumstance.
Griffin Gonzalez, Sr., Lebanon
Career record: 105 wins, 14 losses. Gonzalez, a three-time Lancaster Lebanon League Tournament champion, is poised to become just the sixth four-time champion in the history of the league tournament. Gonzalez is a three-time Class 3A District Three/Southcentral Region medalist, winning a title as a sophomore. Last year he earned his first PIAA tournament medal, placing seventh at 152. He has already committed to continue his wrestling career at Lehigh University.
Marco Tocci, Sr. Warwick
Career record: 54-15. In just his fourth year of wrestling competitively, Tocci has established himself as one of the best lightweights in the Southcentral 3A region. He had a breakout year as a junior, placing second at the league tournament and fourth at the District Three tournament. That earned him an invitation to the state tournament and notice from the University of North Carolina, where he will continue his wrestling career as a Tar Heel.
Jose Garcia III, Sr., McCaskey
Career record: 83-16. Following a fifth-place finish as a freshman and runner-up effort as a soph, Garcia broke through last year to win his first L-L League title. He battled through an injury to earn a berth in states with a fourth-place finish at districts and capped the season placing in the top eight at states in 3A.
Jared Fulton, Sr., Solanco
Career record: 67-27. A three-time league tournament finalist, Fulton ascended to the top of the podium last year winning his first L-L title. His fourth-place finish at districts earned him a spot in the 3A state tournament, where he picked up a victory.
Seamus Mack, Jr., Hempfield
Career record 57-21. The son of Black Knights coach Shane Mack, he has committed early to wrestle collegiately for Lehigh. He’s earned a silver and bronze at the league tournament and is eager to climb to the top of the podium there. Likewise at districts, where he’s also placed second and third. Qualifying for the state tournament last year, he fashioned an exciting run through the 3A wrestlebacks to ultimately place eighth.
Kevin Olavarria, Jr., McCaskey
Career record: 55-12. It’s a new place of business for Olavarria, who won back-to-back L-L League titles for Manheim Township. Third at districts as a freshman and second last year, Olavarria is anxious to return to the state tournament, where he was making noise before an injury knocked him out of last year’s 3A gathering.
Travis Clawson, Jr., Penn Manor
Career record: 43-14. Clawson had a breakout season as a sophomore, going 36-8, placing third at L-Ls and fourth at districts in Class 3A. That got him a taste of what it’s like to wrestle in the state tournament, where he picked up a victory.
Kaedyn Williams, Jr., Manheim Township
Career record: 55-3. Williams is a two-time L-L League and District Three/Southcentral Region champion and is one of two wrestlers on this list to have won a PIAA championship, at 106 pounds as a freshman.
Kamdyn Williams, Jr., Manheim Township
Career record: 40-5. As a freshman Williams swept to a 20-0 record, winning L-L League, District Three/Southcentral Region and PIAA West Super Regional championships. He did not compete in the state tournament. In a sophomore season shadowed by stops and starts he placed second at districts and earned his first PIAA medal, placing fifth.
Aaron Seidel, So., Northern Lebanon
Career record: 49-1. Seidel won his first 16 varsity matches last year, shrugged off a loss, then ran the table to win L-L League, District Three Class 2A and Southeast Region 2A championships before capping an historic season by defeating the defending champion to win the PIAA 2A title at 106. He is currently riding a 37-match winning streak going into the weekend.
Section One
Hempfield is the favorite here, shooting for its fourth straight section title, the program’s 10th overall. The Black Knights could get a push from a youthful Conestoga Valley side, depending on how quickly the young Bucks mature, as well as perennial contender Solanco.
Section Two
In recent years the race to claim the title in Section Two has been very competitive. This year, with no clear favorite, it’s hyper-competitive.
Three times in the last 10 years the section has crowned co-champions and this year could mirror 2021 when Donegal and Lampeter-Strasburg tied for the title with Garden Spot and Elizabethtown tied for third, one back in the loss column.
Last year’s co-champions, Elizabethtown and Garden Spot, are certainly in the mix, as is newcomer Cocalico, realigned from Section One, and Donegal and Manheim Central. And while their title odds are a tad longer, L-S and Ephrata will have a say in the final verdict.
Section Three
Add to Ben Franklin’s list of life’s certainties – death and taxes – Northern Lebanon winning the L-L Section Three title. After near-misses in 1990 and 2003, the Vikings cracked the glass ceiling in 2013 and have not looked back, winning 10 titles in a row. Their toughest test, within the league, will come Jan. 25 when they travel to Myerstown to take on Elco.
The Section Two drama kicks off opening night, Wednesday, Dec. 14, as Elizabethtown travels to L-S. The following week Donegal is at Cocalico and Elizabethtown at Garden Spot on Dec. 20, with Cocalico at E-town on Dec. 22.
The new year welcomes Cocalico at Garden Spot and Donegal at L-S on Jan. 4. The following week, on Jan. 11, Elizabethtown hosts Central and Conestoga Valley tests its mettle hosting Hempfield in Section One. The following Wednesday, Jan. 18, Hempfield heads to Quarryville for a showdown with Solanco while Elizabethtown is at Donegal and Garden Spot at Manheim.
The league season wraps up on Jan. 25 with Northern Lebanon at Elco for the Section Three title, Central at Donegal and Garden Spot at L-S, before the League Championships on Jan. 27-28 at Manheim Township.
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SECTION ONE
Crowning five champions and placing 11 of the 12 wrestlers it brought to the tournament, Mou…
Another year, another Mule Classic team championship for Central Dauphin.
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