Bits and Pieces 45

Bits and Pieces 45

October 31, 2001

A major change in the way wrestlers will choose the weight classes in which they will compete is under way here in Delaware. This change’s purpose is to avoid the potentially dangerous results of drastic weight "cutting" by an athlete to compete in a lower weight class than is sensible and safe.

Five states have already implemented a plan that will become mandatory for the 2003-2004 high school wrestling season, and "Delaware hopes to voluntarily implement the plan for the 2001-2002 season," stated William Penn Athletic Director and recently retired head wrestling coach Jack Holloway.

Holloway, Director of the National Wrestling Coaching Association’s Scholastic Division explained that on November 1 of this year, wrestlers will be weighed in and have their preseason weight recorded. Wrestling practice will then begin around the 15^th of November and then on December 1, the wrestlers will be weighed in again. All weigh-ins are done while the athlete is fully hydrated.

A formula based on body fat percentages and body weight percentages will then be calculated and will provide a certain range of weight classes in which the wrestlers can then qualify. Athletes then follow a strict plan of action to trim the weight necessary to reach the lowest weight class in their range, if that is the goal for the athlete and the wrestling coach.

In January, the wrestlers are then re-weighed and can then adjust their weight classes once again if so desired. If a new lower weight class can be obtained based on the formulas, a wrestler could then attempt to reach that class provided the weight-loss plan is followed again.

The action plan is a six-week plan that allows for only a certain amount of weight loss per week fully hydrated. Should an athlete manage to reach the desired weight category in, for example, four weeks instead of six, they would still not be able to compete at the goal weight class until the six-week period has expired.

These rules are designed to avoid the weight-loss practices that more than a few former wrestlers came to regret beyond their wrestling years. The occasional death while trying to cut absurd amounts of weight was the ultimate reason for creating this new rule. Hopefully, Delaware wrestling coaches will vote unanimously to employ this strategy voluntarily this year.

The Fall State Tournaments are just around the corner now and we’ll take a look, first, at the volleyball tournament seedings.

Here is how the State Tournament teams are selected:

A. - The tournament field will be comprised of the following 16 teams: the first place team from Blue Hen Flight "A"; the first place team from Blue Hen Flight "B"; the first place team from the Catholic Conference; the first place team from the Independent Conference; the first place team from the Henlopen Conference; and 11 at-large teams.

1. - A team must play a minimum of 14 matches at the varsity level in order to be considered for either a conference or an at-large berth in the tournament.

2. - Only the results of matches that consist of THE BEST TWO OUT OF THREE 15-POINT GAMES OR THE BEST THREE OUT OF FIVE 15-POINT GAMES IF PLAYED OUT OF STATE will be used to determine tournament berths or seed the qualifying teams (see D. 1. a. below for exception).

3. - The results of matches played after Monday, October 30, 2001 will not be used to determine tournament berths or seed the qualifying teams.

B. - If a conference does not have a method for breaking ties, the Committee will use the following tie-breaking procedures:

1. - If two (2) or more teams are tied in the standings and at least one team will not qualify for the tournament, the conference representative will be determined by the results of head-to-head competition.

2. - If, after considering head-to-head competition, the teams are still tied and at least one team will not qualify for the tournament, the conference representative will be determined by the point index system described in D. 1. below.

3. - If, after considering head-to-head competition and their point indices, two (2) teams are still tied and only one team will qualify for the tournament, a play-off will be conducted by the Committee to determine the conference representative.

4. - If, after considering head-to-head competition and their point indices, three (3) teams are still tied and at least one team will not qualify for the tournament, one team will draw a bye and the other two (2) teams will play. If necessary, the winner of that match will play the team that drew the bye to determine the conference representative.

5. - If a conference qualifier chooses not to participate in the tournament, that berth will be awarded to another at-large team.

C. - The at-large teams will be selected by the Committee according to the following criteria:

1. - The 11 teams, excluding the first place team in each conference, with the highest point indices as determined by the point index system described in D. 1. below will receive the at-large berths.

2. - If a tie exists for the final at-large berth, the results of head-to-head competition will determine which team qualifies for the tournament.

3. - If, after considering head-to-head competition, a tie still exists for the final at-large berth, the team with the highest overall win-loss percentage will qualify for the tournament.

4. - If, after considering head-to-head competition and overall win-loss percentage, a tie still exists for the final at-large berth, a play-off will be conducted by the Committee to determine which team will qualify for the tournament.

5. - If, after considering head-to-head competition and overall win-loss percentage, three (3) teams are still tied for the final at-large berth, one team will draw a bye and the other two (2) teams will play. The winner of that match will play the team that drew the bye to determine which team will qualify for the tournament.

6. - If, after considering head-to-head competition and overall win-loss percentage, three (3) teams are still tied for the final two (2) at-large berths, a draw will be conducted to fill one of the berths. The other two (2) teams will play to fill the remaining berth.

D. - After the tournament field has been selected, all of the qualifying teams will be seeded according to the following point index system and tie-breaking criteria:

1. - A team will receive two (2) points for each regular season win, no points for a loss, one bonus point for playing an opponent with a win-loss record of .501 or better, and one additional bonus point for playing an opponent with a win-loss record of .701 or better. The point index will be determined by dividing the total points accumulated by the number of matches played.

a. - Pool play will count as one match played with no points earned if a team fails to advance to the next round of the tournament.

2. - The team with the highest point index will be seeded #1, next highest #2, etc.

3. - If a tie exists, seeding will be determined by the results of head-to head competition.

4. - If a tie still exists after considering head-to-head competition, seeding will be determined by the better overall win-loss record during the regular season.

5. - If a tie still exists after considering 3. and 4. above, seeding will be determined by a draw.

The Conference Champions:

The Catholic Conference: St. Marks
Blue Hen Flight A: A.I. duPont
Blue Hen Flight B: Charter
Independent Conference: Tower Hill
Henlopen Conference: Caesar Rodney

Saturday' First Round
At McKean
#8 Newark (12-4) vs #9 Dickinson (10-9) at 6:30
#1 St. Marks (17-1) vs #16 St. Thomas More (8-8) following

At St. Elizabeth
#5 Charter (16-2) vs #12 Caesar Rodney (15-4) at 6:30
#4 Ursuline (12-4) vs #13 Brandywine (10-6) following

At Brandywine
#2 St. Elizabeth (16-2) vs #15 Christiana (9-7) at 6:30
#7 Padua (6-9) vs #10 Caravel (12-4) following

At Friends
#3 A.I. duPont (18-1) vs #14 Tower Hill (12-6) at 6:30
#6 Archmere (12-6) vs #11 Hodgson (11-8) following

The Field Hockey tournament seedings are not in my possession, so the seedings are a rough estimate based on the following information.

Here is how to figure out which Field Hockey teams will advance to postseason play:

A.The tournament field will be comprised of the six (6) conference champions and ten (10) at-large teams.

1.Henlopen North Champion, Henlopen South Champion, Blue Hen "A" Champion, Blue Hen "B" Champion, Independent Champion, and Catholic Champion.

If fewer than four (4) schools in a conference are sponsoring varsity field hockey teams, the conference champion will not receive a guaranteed berth. However, the conference teams will be eligible for at-large berths.

b.A conference champion must play a minimum of six (6) "designated conference games" in order to receive a guaranteed berth. If a conference champion does not satisfy this requirement, the team will not receive an automatic berth but will be eligible for an at-large berth.

2.The at-large teams will be selected according to overall record and strength of schedule as determined by their "Combined Win-Loss Percentage" described in C. below 3.A team must play a minimum of twelve (12) games at the varsity level in order to be considered for the tournament. B.Selection of Conference Champions 1.If there is a tie for the conference champion's berth, the following tie-breaking criteria will be used:
		a.The winner of the regular season game between the two teams will be the conference representative. If the teams played twice and each won one game, the following point system will be used:

3 Points for a Win, 1 Point for a Tie, 0 Points for a Loss.

Percentage - Total Points Accumulated

Total Possible Points

NOTE:Only conference games will be used to determine this percentage.

3 Points for a Win, 1 Point for a Tie, 0 Points for a Loss.

b.If a tie still exists and only one of the teams will qualify for the tournament, the Committee will conduct a playoff. If both teams will qualify for the tournament, the Committee will seed the teams involved.

c.If there are three (3) teams tied for the conference champion's berth and at least one of the teams will not qualify for the tournament, one team will draw a bye and the other two (2) teams will play. If necessary, the winner of that game will play the team that drew the bye to determine which team will qualify for the tournament.

C.Selection of At-Large Teams 1.At-Large teams will be selected according to their "Combined Win-Loss Percentage" as determined by the following procedure:

a.Only those opponents who played a minimum of twelve (12) games at the varsity level will be included in an at-large team's win-loss record.

b.The following point system will be used to determine both an at-large team's overall win-loss percentage and their opponents' overall win-loss percentages.

Percentage - Total Points Accumulated

Total Possible Points

f.If three (3) teams are tied for the last at-large berth, the Committee will use the results of head-to-head competition during the regular season to break the tie. If, after considering head-to-head competition, the teams are still tied, one team will draw a bye. The remaining two (2) teams will play and, if necessary, the winner of that game will play the team that drew the bye to determine which team will qualify for the tournament. g.All playoff games will be under the control and supervision of the Committee. D.Seeding for Bracket Placement

c.The opponents' overall win-loss percentages are added together and divided by the number of opponents to determine the opponents' average percentage. Opponents played twice are counted twice.
d.The opponents' average percentage is added to the at-large team's overall percentage and divided in half to determine their "Combined Win-Loss Percentage." Opponents' % + At-Large Team's % ¸ 2 = Combined Win-Loss %NOTE: By including the opponents' win-loss percentages, the Committee is taking into consideration the strength of a team’s schedule.
	e.If two (2) teams are tied for the last at-large berth, the Committee will use the following tie-breaking criteria:
	(1)The winner of the regular season game between the two (2) teams will qualify for the tournament.
(2)If the teams split or did not play during the regular season, the Committee will conduct a playoff to determine which team will qualify for the tournament.
		All of the qualifying teams will be seeded using the at-large selection procedure described in C. above and placed into a bracket accordingly. If two (2) or more teams are tied with the same "Combined Win-Loss Percentage", the results of head-to-head competition during the regular season will determine which team will receive the higher seed.

Catholic Conference: St. Marks
Blue Hen Flight A: Brandywine
Blue Hen Flight B: Concord
Independent Conference: Tower Hill
Henlopen North: Cape Henlopen
Henlopen South: Smyrna or Indian River

At Large Berths: Smyrna or Indian River, Delmar, Milford, Caesar Rodney, Mt. Pleasant, Caravel, William Penn, Wilmington Friends, Wilmington Christian, Ursuline. Lake Forest is a bubble team as is Sussex Central.

Seedings might be something like this: #1 Tower Hill, #2 Cape Henlopen, #3 Milford, #4 St. Marks, #5 Smyrna, #6 Indian River, #7 Caesar Rodney, #8 Delmar, #9 Wilmington Christian, #10 Brandywine, #11 Concord, #12 William Penn, #13 Mt. Pleasant, #14 Ursuline, #15 Caravel, #16 Friends. But as you can tell, without a calculator and all of the results, its hard to figure.

That reminds me....please start sending more results this way so I can help sort this stuff out and print it.

Over to soccer now and remember that the final seedings have not yet crossed my path so these are estimates...kinda for fun if you know what I'm saying.

Here is how to figure out who will go on to the state soccer tournament:

A.The tournament field will be comprised of the following 16 teams:

1.Blue Hen "A" Champion, Blue Hen "B" Champion, Henlopen North Champion, Henlopen South Champion, Independent Champion and Diamond State Champion.

a.If a conference champion chooses not to participate in the tournament, that berth will be awarded to another at-large team.

2.Non-conference team with highest point index. 3.9 at-large teams. B.The 9 at-large teams will be selected according to the following point index system and tie-breaking procedures: 1.Teams in contention for an at-large berth will be awarded 3 points for each win, 1 point for each tie, and 0 points for each loss during the regular season. In addition, 1 bonus point will be awarded for each win or tie against a team with a regular season win/loss record of .500 or better 2.Each team's point index will be determined by dividing the total points earned by the number of games played.3.The 9 teams with the highest point indices, excluding the six (7) teams which received guaranteed berths, will be the at-large selections.

4.If two (2) or more teams are tied with the same point index, head to-head competition during the regular season will be used to break the tie.

5.If, after considering head-to-head competition, a tie still exists and ALL OF THE TEAMS WILL QUALIFY FOR THE TOURNAMENT, the following criteria will be used to break the tie:

Most bonus points.
Most wins.
Win-loss percentage against common opponents.
Draw by the Committee.

6.If, after considering head-to-head competition, a tie still exists between two (2) teams for the final at-large berth, the Committee will conduct a playoff to determine which team will qualify for the tournament.
7.If, after considering head-to-head competition, a tie still exists between three (3) teams for the final at-large berth, one team will draw a bye and the other two (2) teams will play. The winner of that game will play the team that drew the bye to determine which team will qualify for the tournament.8.If, after considering head-to-head competition, a tie still exists between three (3) teams for the final two (2) at-large berths, the criteria stipulated in 5.a. - 5.d. above will be used to fill one of the berths. The other two teams will play to fill the remaining berth.
	C.In the case of a tie for a conference berth and the conference does not have a method for determining its representative, the Committee will use the following tie-breaking procedure: 1.If two (2) or more teams are tied in the conference standings, head-to-head results during the regular season will be considered first. 2.If, after considering head-to-head results, a tie still exists between two (2) teams for the conference berth and one team will not qualify for the tournament, a playoff will be conducted to determine the conference representative. 3.If, after considering head-to-head results, a tie still exists between three (3) teams for the conference berth and at least one of the teams will not qualify for the tournament, one team will draw a bye and the other two (2) teams will play. If necessary, the winner of that game will play the team that drew the bye to determine which team will qualify for the tournament. D.A team must play a minimum of 12 games at the varsity level in order to be considered for the tournament. A game will count as a varsity level contest only if the opposing team has played at least 10 games against varsity level opponents. 2. Tournament Pairings A.After the tournament field has been selected, all 16 teams will be seeded according to the point index system and tie breaking criteria used to determine the at-large teams. The team with the highest point index will be seeded #1, next highest #2, etc.
	So far we look something like this.... Non Conference: Salesianum Blue Hen Flight A: Glasgow Blue Hen Flight B: Concord Henlopen North: Dover Henlopen South: Indian River Independent: Tatnall Diamond State: Wilmington Christian At-large berths: St. Marks, St. Elizabeth, A.I. duPont, Sussex Central, Milford, Caravel, Caesar Rodney, Tower Hill, Red Lion Christian. Don't go running around saying that Manlove said all of this was precise, because it just isn't, it's just an early look.

The football formulas to figure the four at-large berths are complex as well, but I can't find them to post them right now (when I find them I will.) There are two divisions, as we all well know, with the Flight A, Flight B, Henlopen North, and Henlopen South conference winners each getting an automatic berth. Flight A and Henlopen North are in D1 and the other in D2.
Right now everyone would think that Newark is a lock for an automatic berth, but the truth is that they are currently tied at 4-0 in conference play with William Penn. Their matchup in a couple weeks will decide the conference. The Colonials may need the win to reach the playoffs, but a loss wouldn't necessarily mean an early end to the season. With a loss, Newark would most likely still reach the playoffs since the rest of their schedule is weak.
In the Henlopen South, Dover and Caesar Rodney are tied with 3-0 records and the Riders are in the same position as William Penn, and Dover is in the same position as Newark. Sussex Central is 6-1 (2-1), Sussex Tech is 5-2 (1-2), St. Marks is 4-4 and Sallies is 3-4. All those teams are on the brink with the Spartans and the Sals most likely needing to buy tickets to attend the playoffs this year.
There are only 16 teams in Division 1, which I think goes unmentioned far too often. It's far easier to be a perennial playoff contender with just 16 teams in a division than it is a 40 team division (which is why the division system needs to be eliminated in Delaware.)

In D2, things are a little more interesting. Middletown is your Flight B leader at 4-0 with an important game against Concord (3-0) coming up. The Raiders are 6-1 overall and need a win against Hodgson this (3-1, 6-2) week for the Middletown game to have conference championship implications.
Delmar is your Henlopen South leader at 3-0 (7-0) and Woodbridge follows with a 5-3 overall mark. The nonconference leader is Archmere at 6-1 and St. Elizabeth is now 5-2. The loss by the Vikings to St. Marks last week opened up the chances for post season play for Hodgson. Their losses are to Middletown and to Sussex Tech (a D1 school.) Should they finish the season clean, the Silver Eagles should be an at-large playoff team. Archmere is sitting pretty right now and St. Elizabeth needs to win the rest of their games also to have a shot.

The Wilmington College men's soccer team is headed to the CACC conference tournament Thursday. Since they won the regular season conference title they earned a bye in the first round. The Wildcats were recently ranked #22 in the nation in the NAIA which is extraordinary since it is just a second year program. Smyrna's Winner Okorie is a fine candidate for conference player of the year having led the Cats in scoring. Brett and Brian Scholl from the Glasgow high program are with the team as is Luke Dilworth, a St. Marks product who plays defense as is the brother of the Goddess of Soccer, Ashley Dilworth who is playing Midfield with Goldey-Beacom college.

The CACC volleyball tournament will be held at Goldey-Beacom college this coming Saturday. Goldey-Beacom is the 2 seed and Wilmington College is the 3 seed. Goldey gets a first-round bye along with the conference champs from Bloomfield College in New Jersey. Wilmington will play the 6 seed Teikyo Post and the winner will take on Goldey at 3 p.m. The winner will be Wilmington, so a third match of the season will take place between Goldey and Wilmington at that time. This is a good reason to head over to Pike Creek on Saturday. We will most likely be there to tape parts of that contest which is for bragging rights first and then for an NAIA Region Ten tournament berth. That Region Ten tournament will be held at Wilmington College on the 10th.
Picking a winner of the Wilmington-Goldey contest will be tough. Both teams swept their matches in their wins. The Lightning were without their 6 foot middle blocker Loria Bafundo in match two. She had a broken finger that has since healed and she has been cleared to play.
But Wilmington has come together in a big way. After starting their season 3-7, the Wildcats ended up with a 16-9 record. The freshmen Lindsay Miller and Lauren DiSabatino were big reasons for the second half surge as they caught on to the coaching stylings of Steve Lenderman. Former St. Marks stars Aleesa DeglioBizzi and Erin McNulty are also blossoming into consistent players themselves, DeglioBizzi in particular is swinging like a completely different player than she was in the first half.
So that will be a fun match to watch for volleyball fans.

Before we head to Pike Creek we will be at White Clay Creek State Park for the County Cross Country championships. We will shoot from between 6-8 parts of the course where the Archmere Auks (who have a Manlove running for them) will try to outrun Salesianum, a task that will be daunting for sure.

I'll have a couple extra pieces in this section during the next couple weeks as the tournament action unfolds.

Marshal Manlove

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