By ERIC KNOPSNYDER
Greater Johnstown will be making its first appearance in the District 6 Class AAA Dual-Meet Wrestling Tournament tonight.
The Trojans (5-17) ranked eighth out of 10 teams in AAA, but got a chance to move up to the fifth seed when three teams ahead of them opted not to compete in the duals.
Johnstown coach Gary Radnoti said the experience should be a positive one for a young team.
“I think it's super,” he said.
“It's super for the program, super for the school, and it’s going to do nothing but help the program out.”
Nearly half of the wrestlers on the team are sophomores while only four are seniors.
“It's going to be a great experience for the kids,” Radnoti said.
“This is a big stage for them.
“The younger ones, it will prepare them for the future. I just hope we get up there and wrestle well.”
Johnstown will visit Altoona at 7 tonight. The Mountain Lions beat the Trojans 57-15 on Friday night, but Radnoti is hoping that some lineup changes will make for a more competitive match tonight.
The winner will advance to the semifinal against top-seeded Central Mountain (10-0) at 10 a.m. Saturday at Tyrone.
The championship will be wrestled at noon Saturday with the winner advancing to the PIAA event on Feb. 12.
Bald Eagle Area, which would have been the third seed, chose not to compete in the duals.
There has been much speculation about why the Eagles, who beat second-seeded Bellefonte 39-32 on Dec. 2, decided not to enter the duals.
Doug Dyke, BEA’s athletic director, said that coach Steve Millward discussed the situation with Principal David Reichelderfer and the two agreed not to enter the dual-meet tournament.
“He went to the principal with his reasoning of why he didn’t want to be in it, which is not mandatory,” Dyke said.
“He had some kids out with sickness and injury, and he wanted them to be ready for the postseason. The principal backed his reasoning.”
Dyke anticipated a negative reaction.
“We knew there a would be people upset and speculation, but he got the principal’s blessing,” Dyke said of Millward.
Lewistown and Indian Valley, which are both part of the Mifflin County School District, will not participate because neither met the school’s policy requiring a team to have at least a .500 record in order to take part in the postseason.
