Hershey Bound! The PIAA State Tournament Brackets Are Set
The 2015 PIAA State Dual Team Tournament will welcome 41 programs in the hunt for a PIAA State Team Championship. For the first time in PIAA Dual Team History there will be two returning PIAA State Champions in the same Class. Unfortunately for the fans those two teams will in all likelihood meet in the semifinals of the Championship. Bethlehem Catholic, who has won four straight PIAA State Championships in Class AA, elected to move up to Class AAA this season and is currently ranked #1 in the State. Returning PIAA Class AAA State Champion Franklin Regional had a dramatic win in the WPIAL Finals and now sits on the bottom half with BECA.
In the PIAA State individual Tournament the PIAA has a policy in place where anytime there are two returning State Champions in the same weight-class the wrestlers are place on opposite sides on the bracket. This raises the question as to whether there should be a similar policy for the PIAA State Dual Tournament.
I spoke with Franklin Regional head coach Eric Mausser following their (33-27) victory over Belle Vernon Area in the WPIAL Finals.
Here are some notable years when the semifinals featured the State’s top two teams. In 2012 the top teams met in the Class AAA Semifinals when Canon-McMillan defeated Central Dauphin (28-25). Canon-McMillan went on to defeat McDowell in the finals (35-20) while Central Dauphin placed third. In 2010 the Class AAA Semifinals featured the top two teams when Central Dauphin and Central Mountain clashed in a wild (25-24) victory for the CD Rams. Central Dauphin went on to win the State Championship over Parkland (41-28) while Central Mountain placed third. In 2006 the Class AAA Semifinals were the de facto finals when Upper Perkiomen defeated Nazareth Area (27-26). Upper Perkiomen went on to defeat Easton Area in the finals (46-19) while Nazareth Area placed third.
Below are links to the 2015 PIAA State Dual Team Tournament. Later tonight I will be posting my filled in brackets and updated pre-State Tournament Rankings.
Completed District Brackets
District 1 Dual Brackets AA & AAA