All the info you need on the Southwest Regional tournament

I spent six hours today working on a predictions column on www.tribdem.com.
I tried to look at results for each of the wrestlers and balance that out with past performances by individuals and teams. I also took my personal experiences into account, so it probably skews more heavily toward the guys I saw on a regular basis. Oh, and after going pretty close to the seedings in the lower weights, I probably got a little too crazy in terms of upsets in the upper weights.
I didn't do projections for a team champion, but I did a little calculating for the blog and came up with the following:

• Berlin Brothersvalley and Chestnut Ridge each have six state qualifiers according to my projections (that's when realized I might have leaned too heavily on guys that I saw in person).
• Derry, Jefferson-Morgan, South Fayette and Westmont Hilltop each have four qualifiers.
• Jefferson-Morgan led the way with three finalists.
• Only one team had two champions and that team probably won't figure into the team race.

Mark Dugan of Off the Mat made picks which appear alongside mine in The Tribune-Democrat. Joe Tuscano of the (Washington) Observer-Reporter picks the top three finishers at each weight on his blog. Ryan Spring said on his blog that he will have picks in Friday's Bedford Gazette, and I assume that Todd Irwin will have picks in the Altoona Mirror.

 ---

One the line(s): In case you haven't seen the brackets yet (where have you been?) here's a link to them. 

  ---

Live updates and chat: I plan to do a live chat similar to what I did last week for the District 5 tournament on The Tribune-Democrat website for both days of the regional tournament. Even if  you can get the live results elsewhere, I'd appreciate it if you can stop by and say hi, as the hits on our website help others at the newspaper see how important the wrestling community is to our coverage.

---

The schedule: Here's the schedule that the media was given: 

Friday

• 4: 15 p.m. Doors open to public
• 5 p.m. Opening round on five mats
• 7:30 p.m. Quarterfinals on three mats; consolations on two mats

Saturday

• 9:15 a.m. Doors open to public
• 10 a.m. Second-round consolations on five  mats
• 11:30 a.m. Semifinals and third-round consolations on five mats
• 1:30 p.m. Fourth-round consolations on five mats
• 4:45 p.m. Parade of champions
• 5 p.m. Consolation finals and finals on three mats

It doesn't say as much, but I'd assume that the gym will be emptied after the fourth-round consolations.
Ticket prices are $3 for students for first and second sessions and $4 for finals; adults are $4 for first and second sessions and $6 for finals. All-session passes are available, although there is no discount, so it's $10 for students and $20 for adults.

Update - Breaking news: SW regional tournament will not be held at IUP or Johnstown

I covered this more extensively for The Tribune-Democrat, including thoughts from some coaches. I also found some good news for the area, as the PJW Junior High Championships will be coming to the region next year.


Update: I spoke with Tom Grenell, general manager of the War Memorial, and Dr. Robert Lombardi, executive director of the PIAA. Both said they are open to the tournament returning to Johnstown in 2016.

I received an email Tuesday from Frank Vulcano at Canon-McMillan High School saying that the Southwest Class AA Tournament will be held there. Here is the release from the PIAA. (And,yes, they screwed up the date of the release, putting February instead of January.):

PIAA Southwest AA Regional Wrestling Tournament to be hosted by Canon-McMillan HS – February 27 & 28, 2015  
Mechanicsburg, PA., (February 13, 2015) - The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association, Inc. (PIAA) announced this afternoon due to the inability to secure the annual regional wrestling weekend dates of February 27 & 28, 2015, PIAA has moved the Southwest AA Regional Wrestling Tournament to Canon-McMillan High School in Canonsburg, PA. 
Previously, the tournament has been held at the War Memorial Arena, Johnstown, PA, but due to a week-long commitment in their schedule, the War Memorial was unable to host this year. The SW AA Regional Wrestling Tournament encompasses 15 wrestlers per weight class with wrestlers representing schools located in PIAA Districts V, VI and VII. 
PIAA Executive Director, Dr. Robert A. Lombardi stated, “PIAA is very appreciative of CanonMcMillan High School and Athletic Director, Frank Vulcano, Jr., to be able to host this year’s regional. We all believe it is important to host this regional on dates and times that wrestlers’ families and their school communities can attend without disrupting the teams, the school day or personal work schedules. Canon-McMillan’s ability to host on Friday and Saturday solved a major concern for all of us in the wrestling community. We are grateful to Athletic Director, Frank Vulcano, Jr., and his leadership at Canon-McMillan. We know he and his school will host an outstanding event. 
The SW AA Regional Wrestling Tournament tentative time schedule is attached with various informational items for schools and the wrestling community.   PIAA contact: Dr. Robert A. Lombardi, Executive Director 

The worst-kept secret in the wrestling world was that the regional tournament would not be held in Johnstown this year due to a conflict with Disney on Ice shows, which cannot be rescheduled and, frankly, are far more lucrative than the wrestling tournament.
Most rumors had the tournament moving to IUP this year but that was a problem because IUP could be hosting the college basketball tournament that weekend, which would have forced the tournament to a Thursday-Friday schedule.
The good news with this switch is that it's back to a Friday-Saturday format that is much better for fans. The bad news is that it's back to the Washington area, which is where the tournament was for years when it was just districts 5 and 7. With District 6 in the mix, Indiana and Johnstown are much more centrally located.
Vulcano and Canon-Mac do a great job with the POWERade Tournament, so I have no doubt that the tournament will be expertly run. My concern is that the tournament is not centrally located and, given the power that the WPIAL has, it could be in their neck of the woods for the foreseeable future.
I was encouraged by my conversation with Dr. Lombardi, so hopefully it will return to Johnstown next year.