Everyone across the country knows that Pennsylvania is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, wrestling hotbeds in the country. The wrestling culture of PA can’t be found anywhere else in the country and one of the biggest reasons for that is how out-of-pocket the Team State Championships are. For the first time ever, FloWrestling is bringing the madness of PA State duals to your living room.

WATCH THE PIAA DUAL STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS

Prelims: Thursday, 2 p.m. | Quarterfinals: Friday, 12 p.m. | Finals: Saturday, 1 p.m.

For those who don’t know, Pennsylvania has two classes, AA and AAA. Scroll on down and see who the can't-miss programs are for this weekend on Flo’s inaugural streaming of the Pennsylvania State Duals. 

AAA

Bethlehem Catholic

The favorite in the field to take home the AAA team title at the Hershey Giant Center is Bethlehem Catholic. BeCa is led by its senior national treasure and number one ranked wrestler in the country at 145, Ryan Anderson. To round out BeCa’s murderers' row in the middleweights, you've got Escape the Rock Champ Luca Frinzi and Escape the Rock finalists Kenny Herrman and Cole Handlovic, who are all ranked top three in the state. BeCa dominated its way through the District 11 dual tournament and will start its next step toward a state title against Boyertown, which shouldn’t pose much of a threat. If the Golden Hawks get past Boyertown, they will either have Seneca Valley or Mifflin County in the quarterfinals on Friday. I don’t see any of the teams on the top side being able to prevent BeCa from making it back to the state finals.

Northampton

PA State Duals is always dripping with national high school wrestling stardom, and this team-title contender is no different. Northampton is home to Julian Chlebove, who you’ve definitely seen hitting some filth on some of wrestling's biggest stages. Chlebove is ranked No. 8 in the country at 132. Some other hitters in the lineup are 113-pounder Alex Hanley, 145-pounder Jagger Condomitti and 152-pounder Michael Kistler, all of who got on the podium at Escape the Rock. Northampton actually lost in the D-11 Dual semifinals, but the Konkrete Kids were able to redeem themselves beating two of the state's best teams when they took down Nazareth in the consolations and then went on to beat Liberty for true second and qualify for the state tournament. Northampton already beat Central Dauphin in its preliminary match on Monday night and will face off with Selinsgove next. Northampton is favored to win against Selinsgove and would be my pick against probable opponent Canon McMillan to make it to the semis.

Kiski Area

Kiski may lack the national stardom that's all over the PA State Duals, but this team is no less dangerous a threat to the state title. Kiski is a very well-rounded squad that is pretty much solid everywhere in its lineup, with half its wrestlers ranked in their weight class on PA Powers rankings. Kiski is also built to give BeCa some trouble. Kiski has No. 4-ranked Darren Miller at 132, No. 3-ranked Cam Connor at 152 and No. 4-ranked Jack Blumer at 160 to contest the guns BeCa has at those weights. The District 7 champs have Owen J. Roberts in the first round and will have their hands full if they beat them. Kiski will probably have a very tough quarterfinal match against Cathedral Prep, the District 10 champ and the next team in this preview.

Cathedral Prep

Cathedral Prep is powered by the big boys with a savage roster up top. The upper weights are led by, but not limited to 182-pound star Carter Starocci, the No. 4 nationally ranked Penn State recruit. Starocci is followed by Dorian Crosby at 220, and returning state placer and returning state finalist Kawuan Deboe at heavyweight. If Cathedral Prep can make it past Spring Ford, which would be expected, it will get Kiski in the quarters on Friday. Cathedral would be an underdog in the matchup against Kiski but the Ramblers have a shot. If the stars align and Cathedral Prep and Canon McMillan get upsets, we can get a clash of nationally ranked rivals with Starocci and Gerrit Nijenhuis again.

Seneca Valley

Alejandro Herrera has been quite the world beater this year, taking out guys like Jacob Decatur and Kurt McHenry. If Seneca Valley gets past its first-round matchup with Mifflin, its going to need to take after its world-beating 113-pounder to get past Bethlehem Catholic. Luckily for Herrera and Seneca Valley, Herrera won’t be alone. They’ll also have the first half of the best one-two punch in the state with Dylan Chappell, the top-ranked 106-pounder in the state.

AA

Reynolds

The returning AA state champion is back and its lineup looks like it has what it takes to repeat, but it won’t be easy. PA Power’s top-ranked team will have its hands full with its draw. Reynolds has a tough first-round matchup with Notre Dame, which will set up a premiere bout between the top two wrestlers in the state at 120, Notre Dame’s Ryan Crookham and Reynolds' Beau Bayless. The rest of Reynolds' roster is riddled with other studs, including returning state champ Gary Steen, who’s ranked 10th in the nation; returning state third-place finisher, Rocco Bartolo; and a bunch of other ranked wrestlers to fill out the lineup. The strength of Reynolds' lineup will most likely get the Raiders to the semis where they will probably run into one of the other teams in this list.

Southern Columbia

The biggest threat to Reynolds winning another state title is Southern Columbia and the Tigers are sitting pretty on the opposite side of the bottom bracket from hell. According to the PA Power rankings, four of the top five teams in the state are on the bottom side and Southern Columbia is the only top five team on the top side of the bracket. Even though it seems to have an easy draw, Southern Columbia certainly didn’t need it with the squad it has. Kole Bisco at 113 and Gaige Garcia at 195 are contenders for a state title, and Southern Columbia also has returning state placer Cade Linn and many other talented wrestlers. Southern Columbia’s biggest competition on the top side of the bracket will probably be Chestnut Ridge, but I think the smart money is on Southern Columbia to make it back to the state finals.

Saucon Valley

The District 11 champ may have the toughest draw of any team on this list. The quarterfinal grouping Saucon Valley sits in has the No. 3-, No. 4-, and No. 5-ranked teams in the state, with Saucon Valley being the No. 3. Saucon Valley will need its top guys—like returning state finalist Josh Joneses, No. 3-ranked Matt Arciuolo and returning state qualifier Thomas Spirk—to give it all they got if Saucon Valley even wants to make it through its first-round matchup with No. 4 Muncy. Whichever team wins this huge first-round matchup won’t have it much easier in the quarters where it will probably have Burrell, the No. 5-ranked team in the state. Then, the team that makes it out of that quarterfinal grinder will probably have returning state champs Reynolds in the semis.

Burrell

The District 7 champ is led by some young fire power with two returning sophomores, 120-pounder Ian Oswalt and 138-pounder A.J. Corrado, who both earned all-state honors as freshmen. Burrell has a very winnable first round against Newport and will have the luxury of letting Saucon Valley and Muncy beat each other up before meeting one of these teams in the quarterfinals. It’s a toss up for which of these three teams will be able to punch its spot into the semis, and Burrell just may have the young talent to do it.

Chestnut Ridge

I mentioned Chestnut Ridge earlier as being the biggest competition for Southern Columbia, but first Chestnut Ridge will have to get past a tough Greenville team, which could very well end up as Southern Columbia’s semifinal opponent. Chestnut Ridge will need help from the young and the old alike, including stud sophomore 106-pounder Kai Burkett and senior returning state third-place finisher Jared McGill, if it wants to get past the heavyweight power combo of Greenville with Jacob McMaster at 220 and Max Wills at heavyweight.