Word is going around wrestling circles that Wyoming Seminary, a boarding school in Kingston, PA, may be joining the PIAA in wrestling and football. This would really test the boundary vs. non-boundary issue, particularly in wrestling.
In 2010, Wyoming Seminary made a significant commitment to wrestling, hiring former Binghamton assistant coach Scott Green as their head coach and expanding their reach nationally for wrestlers. Green is one of the best coaches in high school wrestling and has helped build Sem into one of the best programs in the country. It is a particularly sought after place for their offseason training in the Olympic styles (Freestyle and Greco). In 2014, Wyoming Sem won National Preps, snapping Blair Academy (NJ)'s 33 year stranglehold on the title. National Preps is the "state tournament" for boarding schools and private schools that are not members of their state athletic associations.
Here are the wrestlers that Sem has used in major tournaments and duals this year, with hometowns (from the Wyoming Seminary website). National rankings are in front of wrestlers who have them.
106: Nick Fea, Middletown (NY)
106: Mark Botello, Hingham (MA)
113: #13 Troy Spratley, Factoryville (PA)
120: #8 Lachlan McNeil, North York (ON)
126: #12 Zeke Escalera, Morganfield (KY)
126: Drew Munch, East Stroudsburg (PA)
132: #5 Beau Bartlett, Phoenix (AZ)
138: #10 Jonathan Miers, Easton (PA)
145: Connor Kievman, Minersville (PA)
152: Benny Baker, Newark Valley (NY)
160: Jake Stefanowicz, Harvey's Lake (PA)
170: Cole Rees, Erie (PA)
182: #7 Darrien Roberts, Nazareth (PA)
195: Mike Doggett, Harvey's Lake (PA)
195: Austin Cooley, Fall River (MA)
220: #5 Jake Kaminski, Riverside (IL)
285: Nate Miller, Gap (PA)
The football roster includes players from 11 towns in Pennsylvania, including suburban Philadelphia and suburban Pittsburgh, plus players from Illinois, Florida, New Jersey, New York, Texas, Canada, Austria, and Germany. This does include a bunch of postgrads who would not be able to compete in PIAA events (not clearly listed on the website, so I don't know is a senior and who is a 5th year).
So my question - good addition for the PIAA? It's certainly one of the best teams in the country, but their geographic reach is also quite expansive. It seems to me that National Preps is exactly where they should be competing, but we may see them in the 3A fold (I'm assuming they'd declare up even though by size they are a 2A school) sooner rather than later.
In 2010, Wyoming Seminary made a significant commitment to wrestling, hiring former Binghamton assistant coach Scott Green as their head coach and expanding their reach nationally for wrestlers. Green is one of the best coaches in high school wrestling and has helped build Sem into one of the best programs in the country. It is a particularly sought after place for their offseason training in the Olympic styles (Freestyle and Greco). In 2014, Wyoming Sem won National Preps, snapping Blair Academy (NJ)'s 33 year stranglehold on the title. National Preps is the "state tournament" for boarding schools and private schools that are not members of their state athletic associations.
Here are the wrestlers that Sem has used in major tournaments and duals this year, with hometowns (from the Wyoming Seminary website). National rankings are in front of wrestlers who have them.
106: Nick Fea, Middletown (NY)
106: Mark Botello, Hingham (MA)
113: #13 Troy Spratley, Factoryville (PA)
120: #8 Lachlan McNeil, North York (ON)
126: #12 Zeke Escalera, Morganfield (KY)
126: Drew Munch, East Stroudsburg (PA)
132: #5 Beau Bartlett, Phoenix (AZ)
138: #10 Jonathan Miers, Easton (PA)
145: Connor Kievman, Minersville (PA)
152: Benny Baker, Newark Valley (NY)
160: Jake Stefanowicz, Harvey's Lake (PA)
170: Cole Rees, Erie (PA)
182: #7 Darrien Roberts, Nazareth (PA)
195: Mike Doggett, Harvey's Lake (PA)
195: Austin Cooley, Fall River (MA)
220: #5 Jake Kaminski, Riverside (IL)
285: Nate Miller, Gap (PA)
The football roster includes players from 11 towns in Pennsylvania, including suburban Philadelphia and suburban Pittsburgh, plus players from Illinois, Florida, New Jersey, New York, Texas, Canada, Austria, and Germany. This does include a bunch of postgrads who would not be able to compete in PIAA events (not clearly listed on the website, so I don't know is a senior and who is a 5th year).
So my question - good addition for the PIAA? It's certainly one of the best teams in the country, but their geographic reach is also quite expansive. It seems to me that National Preps is exactly where they should be competing, but we may see them in the 3A fold (I'm assuming they'd declare up even though by size they are a 2A school) sooner rather than later.
