This article was originally published in the Feb. 9, 2012, edition of The Mercury.

HERSHEY – Every one of the Top 10 ranked teams in Pennsylvania are here. Actually, all but two of the Top 15 are here.

Owen J. Roberts is among them.
And, as usual, confident.

The Wildcats, a spotless 18-0 after Wednesday night’s win over Pottsgrove closed out their second straight unbeaten Pioneer Athletic Conference season, open their second straight appearance in the PIAA-Class AAA Team Duals this evening (6 p.m.) against Greensburg Salem.

But unlike a year ago, when they took on and nearly upset District 11 power Nazareth in a familiar and considerably friendlier environment (Methacton High School’s gym), the Wildcats will be dealing with the Golden Lions here at the Giant Center … a sprawling arena where many wrestling dreams begin but, unfortunately, end as nightmares.

Since 2005, when the state tournament went to a double-elimination format, Upper Perkiomen and Boyertown are the PAC-10’s only other Class AAA teams that have competed here. And only one, Upper Perkiomen’s powerhouse six years ago, survived the grind and won it all.

With the possible exception of the annual Powerade, there simply isn’t any collection of talent in any Pennsylvania setting – tournament, invitational or otherwise – that can measure up against what is here, year after year, in the state duals.

Owen J. Roberts, mind you, has certainly earned a spot in the 16-team field. Owen J. Roberts, mind you, belongs here.

But as good as the Wildcats are, everyone else – literally a Who’s Who in Pennsylvania Wrestling – is, too.

For starters, there are the top four teams situated in the rankings ahead of the No. 5 Wildcats. That elite foursome includes unbeaten No. 1 (and No. 5 in the nation) Canon McMillan (22-0); unbeaten No. 2 (and No. 25 in the nation as well as four-time defending duals champion) Central Dauphin (20-0); No. 3 (and four-time duals champion) Easton (19-2); and No. 4 Erie McDowell (14-1). If that group isn’t enough to rattle the wrestling nerves, there is No. 6 Norristown (9-1), which OJR outlasted in last Saturday’s District 1 final; No. 7 Mechanicsburg (14-1); No. 8 Big Spring (18-3), which eliminated Spring-Ford last year and Council Rock North this past Monday in a pair of opening-round thrillers; No. 9 Parkland (19-3), which eliminated Spring-Ford in the opening round this past Monday night; and No. 10 North Allegheny (17-4).

The rest of the field includes No. 12 Delaware Valley (17-4); unbeaten No. 13 Central Mountain (15-0); No. 15 Greensburg Salem (14-4); unbeaten No. 23 DuBois (13-0) and the only two unranked entries, La Salle (14-1) and Jersey Shore (12-4), who ironically, face off against one another tonight.

Almost forgot, more than 40 of the teams’ wrestlers are ranked among the Top 10 in their respective weight classes, too … including five returning state champions.

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Owen J. Roberts faces a Lions’ lineup quite similar to its own – one with very few holes, or noticeable weak spots.

Greensburg Salem, which finished third in District 7, advanced through the opening round with a 60-16 laugher over District 8 champion Taylor Allderdice. There is strength down low with Austin Caldwell (31-11) and Carl Kelley (27-13) at 106 and 113, respectively; in the middle with Tyler Reinhart (35-5) and Zach Voytek (33-3) at 132 and 152; and up top with Anthony Calbe (26-6) and Tanner Hahn (34-4) at 170 and 220.

The Wildcats are likely to counter that select six with Aston White (19-6) and Derek Gulotta (20-6) at 106 and 113; with Demetri D’Orsaneo (22-8) and Kyle Shronk (25-6) at 132 and 152; and with Gordon Bolig (22-8) and either Jim Warta (27-6) or Brad Trego (22-9) at 170 and 220.

That leaves, of course, eight other bouts.

On paper, which resolves nothing, OJR should be favored in three of them with Colby Frank at 120, Adam Moser at 138, and Andrew Kinney at 145.

Head coach Steve DeRafelo’s concern will be the toss-ups – specifically at 126 with Dominick Petrucelli; at 160 with Mike Lenge; at 182 with either Tyler Rogers or Paul Minninger; at 195 with either Nick DeAngelo or Warta; and at 285 with either Trego or Kevin Kerwin.

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OJR defeated Big Spring (31-25) in both teams’ very first match of the season at the Bealer Memorial Bear Duals in Boyertown. Both teams are situated in the upper-half of the AAA bracket. Big Spring has to deal with Easton in its opener. … Longtime Easton head coach Steve Powell is a graduate of Henderson, where he was a two-time section champion (1971-72) for the Warriors. … Central Dauphin, which swept its record fifth straight District 3 title last weekend, has won a state-record 93 straight dual matches. The Rams, who open tonight against Norristown, will likely put that streak on the line in an expected semifinal showdown with powerful Canon-McMillan, which shouldn’t have a problem with Parkland or the winner of the Delaware Valley-DuBois in getting to the semifinal round. The Macs have six wrestlers ranked No. 1 in the state, including defending state champions Connor Schram (120) and Cody Wiercioch (170). … The field’s other three returning state champions are Erie McDowell’s Steve Spearman (138), who is actually ranked second behind Canon-McMillan’s Solomon Chisko; Easton’s Mitchell Minotti (145); and Central Mountain’s Brian Brill (160).