The 2023 PIAA Team Dual State Championships kick off Thursday in Hershey. Here are my dual-by-dual predictions for the AA tournament.

I reviewed every matchup and jotted down projected lineups for each team. Then I scored each matchup that I came up with. I want everyone to understand that I did not account for forfeits or possible injuries. If I knew that a wrestler would not be in the lineup, I took them out, but scores reflect every match being wrestled without forfeits. I will end these predictions with an explanation of each matchup, but first, let me run through my initial thoughts.

The District 11 teams looked less impressive than I thought going into this. Now, that does not mean they are terrible. It just means they have vulnerabilities that teams can exploit. Notre Dame-GP has one of the most arduous paths to the finals, and Faith Christian can knock them off. Saucon Valley is different from the team they were last year, and it showed in the Pigtail matchup. That dual opened my eyes to the holes in the lineup that Burgettstown can exploit. That is why Burgettstown can take out Saucon Valley to advance to the Semi-Finals.

Berks Catholic is a team that no one is talking about but should. The lineup is stacked from top to bottom, and I believe the best lineup in the AA tournament. They can win this whole thing, and that is my prediction. Faith Christian and Notre Dame-GP will have a tough road to the Semi-Finals, and I think Berks Catholic will not make it easier.

Faith Christian and Notre Dame-GP will meet twice in this tournament, and Faith Christian will win both matchups. We could see the change in who is dominant and who is not, like we saw last year. Southern Columbia and Reynolds dominated the AA division for years, and it gave way to Notre Dame-GP and Saucon Valley to dominate the previous season. However, short-lived Faith Christian can take over as the most dominant team in the state, starting with a good showing here. Although I did not pick them to win this year, they still have an excellent chance of winning. The experience in the Berks Catholic lineup appeals to me more than the youth of Faith Christian; next year, that will be a different story.

Alright, now let me briefly break down my predictions.

Round of 16

Burgettstown defeats Honesdale 36-18

Burgettstown wins 9/13 matches with 4 bonus point wins. Honesdale picks up 4 wins including 2 bonus point wins.

Saucon Valley defeats United 28-21

Saucon Valley wins 8/13 matches with 2 bonus point wins. United picks up 5 wins with 3 coming with bonus points.

Chestnut Ridge defeats West Perry 29-27

Tight dual with Chestnut Ridge winning 7/13 matches with 4 bonus point wins. West Perry wins 6 matches with 4 wins including bonus points.

Warrior Run defeats Ft LeBouef 26-23

Another tight dual with Warrior Run taking 7/13 matches and 3 wins with bonus points. Ft LeBoeuf wins 6 matches and has 3 wins by bonus points.

Berks Catholic defeats Canton 35-16

Berks Catholic wins 8/13 matches with 5 wins coming with bonus points. Canton wins 5 matches but only 1 includes bonus points.

Brookville defeats Burrell 27-25

Real tight dual that comes down to the end. Brookville wins 7/13 matches with 4 wins including bonus points. Burrell wins 6 matches with 3 bonus point wins.

Notre Dame-GP defeats Huntingdon 29-21

Notre Dame-GP wins 7/13 matches but takes 4 win with bonus points. Huntingdon wins 6 matches with 3 wins including bonus points.

Faith Christian defeats Reynolds 37-16

Faith Christian wins 8/13 matches with 5 wins including bonus points. Reynolds wins 5 matches with only 1 win including bonus points.

Consolation Round 1

United defeats Honesdale 31-20

United wins 7/13 matches with 5 wins coming with bonus points. Honesdale wins 6 matches but only wins 2 with bonus points.

West Perry defeats Ft LeBouef 28-26

West Perry wins 7/13 matches with 3 wins including bonus points. Ft LeBouef wins 6 matches with 4 coming with bonus points.

Burrell defeats Canton 30-24

Burrell wins 7/13 matches with 5 wins including bonus points. Canton wins 6 matches with 2 wins including bonus points.

Huntingdon deafets Reynolds 33-19

Huntingdon wins 7/13 matches with 5 wins including bonus points. Reynolds wins 6 matches but only 1 win includes bonus points.

Quarterfinals

Burgettstown defeats Saucon Valley 28-25

Burgettstown wins 7/13 matches with 5 wins coming with bonus points. Saucon Valley wins 6 matches with 3 wins including bonus points. Burgettstown has an impressive lineup that has the ability to beat anyone in the state. It will be a tight dual that comes down to the final matchup depending on the starting weight.

Warrior Run defeats Chestnut Ridge 28-24

Warrior Run wins 7/13 matches with 3 wins including bonus points. Chestnut Ridge wins 6 matches and takes 3 wins with bonus points. Warrior Run just has too much talent in the middle of the lineup that includes the three Milheim brothers. That will lead them past a very good Chestnut Ridge team.

Berks Catholic defeats Brookville 36-15

Berks Catholic wins 8/13 matches with 6 wins coming by bonus points. Brookville wins 5 matches all by regular decision. This is the match that will open some eyes to Berks Catholic. Brookville has looked very good this year and according to the rankings, way better than Berks Catholic. I think Berks Catholic will put their name out there with a statement win.

Faith Christian defeats Notre Dame-GP 24-22

Faith Christian wins 7/13 matches with 3 wins by bonus points. Notre Dame-GP wins 6 matches with only 2 wins coming with bonus points. The matchup we would have liked to see in the Finals is happening in the Quarterfinals and it will be a good one. Faith Christian just has a deeper lineup than Notre Dame-GP has and matches up well weight-by-weight.

Consolation Round 2

Notre Dame-GP defeats United 31-20

Notre Dame-GP wins 7/13 matches with 4 wins including bonus points. United wins 6 matches with only 2 wins including bonus points.

West Perry defeats Brookville 35-19

West Perry wins 8/13 matches with 5 wins including bonus points. Brookville wins 5 matches with only 2 wins including bonus points.

Chestnut Ridge defeats Burrell 31-26

Chestnut Ridge wins 7/13 matches with 5 wins including bonus points. Burrell wins 6 matches with 4 wins including bonus points.

Saucon Valley defeats Huntingdon 31-26

Saucon Valley wins 6/13 matches but rides 5 wins by bonus points to victory. Huntingdon wins 7 matches with 3 wins by bonus points.

Semi-Finals

Burgettstown defeats Warrior Run 29-21

Burgettstown wins 8/13 matches with only 2 wins by bonus points. Warrior Run wins 5 matches with only 2 wins by bonus points. Burgettstown matches up very well against Warrior Run and counters some of the strengths of their lineup. They will ride lower weight wins to take the dual and advance to the state finals.

Berks Catholic defeats Faith Christian 26-16

Berks Catholic wins 8/13 matches with only 2 wins including bonus points. Faith Christian wins 5 matches but only 1 win comes with bonus points. Berks Catholic counters every great weight that Faith Christian has and steals some wins they maybe should not win. It will be difficult for Faith Christian to rebound after an emotional win over Notre Dame-GP earlier in the day.

Consolation Round 3

Notre Dame-GP defeats West Perry 32-22

Notre Dame-GP wins 7/13 matches with 5 wins including bonus points. West Perry wins 6 matches but only 2 wins include bonus points.

Saucon Valley defeats Chestnut Ridge 29-23

Saucon Valley wins 7/13 matches with 4 wins including bonus points. Chestnut Ridge wins 6 matches with 3 wins including bonus points.

Consolation Semi-Finals

Notre Dame-GP defeats Warrior Run 32-20

Notre Dame-GP wins 7/13 matches with 5 wins with bonus points. Warrior Run wins 6 matches but only wins 2 matches with bonus points. Notre Dame-GP will go on a run in the consolation bracket and will take out Warrior Run in the Consi-Semis. The important thing about beating Warrior Run is being able to beat one of the Milheim brothers and Notre Dame-GP will have an opportunity to take one here.

Faith Christian defeats Saucon Valley 26-24

Faith Christian wins 7/13 matches with 3 wins including bonus points. Saucon Valley wins 6 matches with 4 wins coming with bonus points. Faith Christian gets to do the whole District 11 tour in the consolations starting with Saucon Valley before getting to wrestle Notre Dame-GP for third. Faith Christian will pick up some key wins before getting to Saucon Valley’s best wrestlers which will help them win.

Third Place

Faith Christian defeats Notre Dame-GP 27-20

Faith Christian wins 8/13 matches with 3 wins including bonus points. Notre Dame-GP will win 5 matches with 3 wins by bonus points. Faith Christian gets another big win in this tournament by defeating Notre Dame-GP the second time for third. I think Faith Christian can flip a couple matches that they lost in the Quarterfinals to get the victory.

Finals

Berks Catholic defeats Burgettstown 29-19

Berks Catholic wins 7/13 matches with 4 wins coming with bonus points. Burgettstown wins 6 matches with only 1 win by bonus points. Berks Catholic just has too much talent for Burgettstown to keep up with and that is the difference. I do not think people realize how deep of a lineup Berks Catholic has and they are my favorite to win the state championship.