When's the next snow storm or ice storm going to hit the area? Probably on a Tuesday or Thursday, which is when most wrestling teams have dual meets scheduled.
Teams have had to juggle their schedules a lot this season because of wintry weather, which is something that spring teams are more accustomed to.
One example was last week's Claysburg-Kimmel-Northern Bedford match, which was scheduled for last Tuesday at Northern Bedford. But the ice storm caused the meet to be moved to Saturday. But, it was postponed again when several inches of snow fell Saturday.
That match is now set for Feb. 4. No word on whether the school's athletic directors consulted the National Weather Service when they were re-scheduling the match.
The weather postponements, questions and confusion about the weather affect wrestling teams more than basketball teams because of wrestlers cutting and maintaining their weight.
''Whenever the schedule gets moved around and you're not sure when you're going to wrestle because of the weather, it makes it tough to hold your weight and make sure your weight is where it needs to be,'' Bedford coach Brian Creps said.
It's just not dual meets and tournaments that are affected. Many schools have a policy of no school, no after-school activities. That means no practices, where wrestlers lose most of their weight and maintain their conditioning.
''We weren't able to get in and practice the last two days,'' Creps said after his team's 58-13 win over Claysburg-Kimmel on Thursday. ''It made it a little tough.''
The Bisons were one of the few teams in any sport that competed Saturday, beating North Star, 57-22, to improve to 7-0.
The season starting a week later this year further complicated scheduling events. It will be even more complicated next year because the season will start a week later than this year under new PIAA rules.
But that's a topic for another day. Hopefully ice and/or snow won't be falling on that day. Wrestling teams deserve a break.
Brett injury defaults
P.J. Brett is one of the key weapons in Bedford's lethal lineup, but he injury defaulted 11 seconds into his 189-pound bout against North Star's Jeremy Frampton.
Brett, who is the top-ranked 171-pounder in the Mirror rankings, moved up a weight to get some competition. The Bison senior has a history of injuries, missing much of last season with an injury.
Weight allowance arrives
On Thursday, wrestlers will get a break when the two-pound weight allowance kicks in. That's when they get to weigh two pounds over the weight they're wrestling at.
Teams will take advantage of the new rule by adjusting their lineups as wrestlers lose weight. For the wrestlers, the weight they're dropping to will most likely be the weight they'll go at in the postseason. For the teams, it's a chance to strengthen their lineups.
A number of medal-seeking wrestlers will be dropping this week.
Tough debut
So, you're a first-year wrestler and you decide to come out for the team. You want to make the lineup, but you want to ease into it maybe against an average opponent.
That's not what Juniata Valley's Toby Boyd encountered at the Juniata Duals on Jan. 3. His introduction to high school wrestling came against Hempfield's returning Class AAA state champion Jake Kemerer.
Kemerer made it a short introduction, pinning Boyd in 18 seconds in a 64-11 dual meet win.
