For the third time this year Bethlehem Catholic defeated Northampton. The all District 11 final provided plenty of drama as the Konkrete Kids pushed the Golden Hawks to the limit in the final dual of the year. All bouts are archived on FloArena and can be played on-demand. Here are some finals thoughts from Hershey.

Konkrete Kids Are Back

The Konkrete Kids made their first State Dual appearance since 2009. That year they finished third, marking the second medal in a row as Northampton finished in the runner-up position in 2008. After defeating Stroudsburg, Nazareth and finally Liberty in the true second place match at the District 11 Duals the Konkrete Kids were determined to make the most of their opportunity in the state tournament.

Ironically, the preliminary match that Northampton drew was against Central Dauphin. Central Dauphin defeated Northampton in the title match in 2008 and the semifinal in the Konkrete Kids last appearance in 2009. Northampton made sure their first appearance in a decade wasn’t a short one as they rolled to a 43-15 victory over the Rams. 

The Konkrete Kids kept the momentum going in Hershey as they dominated District 4 Champion Selinsgrove 64-9 and District 3 Champion Cedar Cliff 48-19. This set up a huge semifinal with returning runner-up Kiski Cavaliers. Kiski came into the dual undefeated and were WPIAL Champions. Northampton showed a lot of grit in the close matches as they were 3-1 in bouts decided by two points or less. They knocked off the returning runner-up 34-22 to secure their spot in the finals opposite of Bethlehem Catholic.

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Bethlehem Catholic won the dual, but it was certainly an effort that the Konkrete Kids can be very proud of. They won several of the individual battles, including Jagger Condomitti’s upset of #1 Ryan Anderson. A lot of “what if,” scenarios can be entertained as Devon Britton has been sidelined for a large portion of the season as he recovers from injury. Quite a run for Seth Lisa’s squad.

Integrity Is Still Emphasized By Coaches

The consolation semifinal between Council Rock South and Cedar Cliff came down to the final bout. The Golden Hawks held a five point lead as they sent junior Cole Flanagan to the mat at 152lbs., Cedar Cliff countered with senior Danny Zigue. With an 8-0 lead, Flanagan controlled the bout into the final minute when the bout got turned on its head, literally. Zigue was looking for a headlock when Flanagan defended the lock by lifting Zigue clear of the mat. Flanagan returned Zigue to the mat with force and was called for an illegal slam. The recovery clock started for Zigue and the entire contingent from Council Rock held their breath.

If Zigue was unable to continue, the Colts would win the bout by disqualification and take the dual meet 29-28. Everyone on both sides knew the situation. It would have been easy for the Cedar Cliff wrestler to say he was unable to continue and they would pick up a state medal moving into the third place match. That didn’t happen. Zigue was able to continue and finished the match. He scored a takedown in the closing seconds, but lost 8-3. Council Rock took the dual 31-23 and earned the state medal ultimately finishing fourth. 

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Would the Cedar Cliff wrestlers liked to take a medal home after their efforts at the Giant Center? Absolutely, but they weren’t going to sacrifice their integrity to get the satisfaction of wearing a medal out of the Giant Center. Years from now the medal would be collecting dust on a mantel or be boxed up in an attic. The lesson the Colts left the Giant Center with will be carried with these young men every day for a long time. They have integrity and aren’t going to take advantage of rules to get something they didn’t earn. 

Bethlehem Catholic On A Historic Run

Programs have won four titles in a row at the AAA level. Easton ran off four in a row between 2001 and 2004. They followed that up by coming up short in the title bout 2005 through 2007. Seven straight appearances in the championship match is quite a run. Central Dauphin also was able to run off four straight between 2008 and 2011. So Bethlehem Catholic hasn’t matched the four AAA titles or Easton’s seven straight final appearances. What they have done is unique to their program. 

Bethlehem Catholic won four straight AA titles between 2011 and 2014. The following year they voluntarily transitioned to the AAA level and suffered a semifinal defeat, before finishing third. They didn’t feel sorry for themselves and go away. They responded by making the next four AAA finals and have come away from the Giant Center with titles in three of those duals. Their lone defeat was a 30-29 criteria loss to Nazareth in the 2017 final. Can the Golden Hawks run off two more in a row to match their AA feat? Only time will tell.

District 11 Hurt By Concentration Of Power

This year the parity in District 11 AAA was incredible for fans to watch. It was equally hard to digest the reality of the qualifying system, when you realized it is possible that District 11 could have had the four best dual meet teams in the state. I think everyone would agree that “fair is not alway equal, and equal is not always fair,” could apply here. According to district size there is fair representation with two District 11 teams qualifying for the state tournament. However, the quality in the district deserved more representation at the state level this season. 

Bethlehem Liberty had dual wins over both Northampton and Bethlehem Catholic. They had a chance to defeat both of those teams at the District 11 Tournament and didn’t quite get it done, but they probably deserved a chance to be in the field. Throw in Nazareth and Stroudsburg, that makes five teams ranked in the top ten by PA Power Wrestling. Does the system need reform? That debate happens all across the board in high school athletics and it is really difficult to come up with a perfect system. Knowing they probably belonged in the field still won’t take the sting out of this postseason for Liberty.