After Tuesday's first round of the District 3 Wrestling Team Championships, two of the tri-champions - South Western and Spring Grove - earned relatively easy victories in the Class AAA field to set up a redo of their outstanding dual from just this past Saturday. And in Class AA, Bermudian Springs opened with a blowout win to keep its hopes alive for another shot at Biglerville.
The winter weather has caused havoc with the Canners attempts to get themselves into the post-season. After twice postponing its first-round matchup with Brandywine Heights, the Division II champions will finally take on the Bullets at 5:30 p.m. Thursday. The winner of that match then faces Wyomissing in a 7:30 p.m. quarterfinal match the same night with a spot at Milton Hershey Saturday on the line.
The Eagles will host Juniata Thursday evening. While the Indians have an outstanding 23-3 record, they might have their hands a little full with the squad from York Springs. Juniata dropped a 43-24 decision to Delone Catholic, a team Bermudian beat by eight earlier.
Speaking of Delone, the Squires will travel to Berks County to take on Schuylkill Valley. The McSherrystown team has been without several performers due to sickness. Without a full lineup, Delone stands little chance of beating the Panthers, an extremely balanced team with lots of experience.
In Class AAA, everyone expects a Central Dauphin-Cumberland Valley final. But with the third-place finisher advancing to the PIAA championships, the winner of the Mustang-Rocket battle will have a legitimate shot at moving on. And it would be the first time for either school to participate in the state tournament. Years ago when South Western was a powerhouse and won several Class AAA titles there was no dual tournament at the state level.
The likely consolation opponent will be Lower Dauphin, another powerhouse from the Mid-Penn Conference. However, the Falcons will have to get by a hot Hempfield squad that smoked Red Lion Tuesday night. That might be the best quarterfinal match of them all.
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