SOL TEAMS READY TO DO BATTLE FOR DISTRICT ONE SUPREMACY
by GLENN KAISER
Ten Suburban One Leage wrestling squads have been placed in the 16-team 2026 District One Team Championships bracket. The round of sixteen commences this coming Thursday, as higher seeded teams host first round match-ups. The SOL is clearly the most dominant league in all of D1, however, everyone will be chasing down the Pioneer Athletic Conference’s Boyertown, who is the #1 seed with a 16-1 dual meet record. The Bears have been a dominate team in 2025-26 with wins over numerous SOL teams in the bracket, but they have yet to face Council Rock South, who come in as the #2 seed.
The Golden Hawks (9-2) will take on the Ches-Mont’s Oxford Hornets, who come in as the #15 with a losing record of 5-6. CRS looks to have a great path to the finals, but there are four other SOL teams in the lower half of the bracket with them, and an unpredictable #6 seed Garnet Valley from the Central League with a 9-3 record. Central Bucks East, a surprise to many with the type of team success they have had at 8-2, is seeded #3 and will grapple the PAC’s # 14 seed, Upper Perkiomen, with a solid 8-1 record.
CB East came out of nowhere in the team rankings, in impressive fashion downing some traditional big names early and often this season including Spring-Ford 42-25 to open their dual season. They followed with three big wins at the Big Red Duals, taking down #5 Pennsbury (8-8) 33-32, #11 Neshaminy (10-5) 39-25 and Kennett 44-29. They most recently knocked off cross-town rival #16 CB West (5-4) 36-31. Their schedule has been brutal, with their two losses coming at the hands of Faith Christian Academy, the #1 team in the nation, and Boyertown. Nonetheless, they will be tested here at the D1 duals where experience and depth are key.
The other match-up down below will be na SOL non-league dual if you will, as #7 Quakertown (7-5) will battle #10 Souderton (10-9). Quakertown holds an early win over the Indians 35-29, but this one will be for higher stakes. Q-town has done nothing but get better heading into the D1 Team Championships with recent wins over Plymouth-Whitmarsh 38-29 and Hatboro-Horsham 52-14 to essentially secure another SOL Liberty title. Both P-W and H-H were also under consideration for this event but did not get in.
Moving to the top-half of the bracket, Pennridge is in the #4 spot with a solid 13-2 record with a surprising early season loss to #5 Pennsbury 36-34. They look primed to meet in quarterfinal action if they can advance wrestling in their home gyms. The Rams will collide with #13 Council Rock North (5-8), and the Falcons will do battle with the #12 North Penn Knights (16-1). Pennridge has been rolling as of late and downed CR North earlier this season 35-23. North on the other hand has struggled as of late in duals, losing five of six duals, including losses to SOL foes Neshaminy and Pennsbury. North Penn on the other hand seems to have an inflated record with no real signature wins other than beating #16 CB West in a close one 37-32.
West will have to take on Boyertown, ranked #9 as a AAA dual team by PA Power, out of the gate in a hostile environment unfortunately. CR South is ranked #8 by PA Power, just ahead of the Bears, as both teams are clearly the two best teams in the tourney, with a lot of parity after them.
Here’s a look at the SOL teams round of 16 matchups with my predictions:
#1 Boyertown over #16 CB West-Boyertown wins handily, as the Bucks snuck in as the last seed. West has star-power, but Boyertown has the experience and depth. Boyertown is the defending D1 Team Champion.
#5 Pennsbury over #12 North Penn-Pennsbury is just too strong a dual meet team top to bottom. Despite both teams lacking a superstar, the Falcons roll here.
#4 Pennridge over #13 CR North-The Rams are rolling, and they have been on the big-time team stage before, winning a D1 team title in 2023 and as runner-up in 2024. They also recently placed in the PIAA Team Championships, finishing fourth in 2024, missing out on the bronze medal losing narrowly to Central Mountain 28-24.
#3 CB East over #14 Upper Perk-Upper Perk has history on their side in this tourney. They both have the star power. The Patriots have light-weights Johnny Hunter and Chase Williams, complemented by upper-middle weight Jake Stein. The Indians counter with lower-middle weights Ben Godshall and Sean Murray and will have an impressive freshman, Chase Ulmer, at 121. Big match-ups include Perk’s Zane Saeger vs East’s Stein at 160. It will be a chess match and a battle royale here in Buckingham. Coach Dave Scarpill may just have the right recipe to see his troops advance all the way to the PIAA bracket.
#11 Neshaminy at #6 Garnet Valley-This one is too close to call in one of the better matchups early in this tournament. Only one team will advance, and it will be all hands-on deck for both teams. Garnet has proven over the years they are a dangerous team, knocking off a top-ranked CR North back in the day. However, Neshaminy is no stranger to these duals and not a team you’d like to see out of the gate. They are rugged and never stop wrestling even when things aren’t going there way. I’ll give the advantage to Garnet, but Neshaminy wins by a point or two. Their schedule is just better…
#7 Quakertown over #10 Souderton-Souderton has some big wins this season, but Quakertown is Quakertown. They will get to the quarterfinals and then look out, as they could be a team that may be disruptive in the wrestle-backs.
#2 CR South over #15 Oxford-The Golden Hawks are hungry and would love to get a chance to dethrone Boyertown, they are star-studded and will not take any team lightly on their mission. Oxford will counter with some big names, but they have struggled against some of D1’s better teams this season, losing to CRN and OJR. South won the D1 team title in 2022 and 2024, along with five other titles.
#9 Avon Grove downs #8 Owen J Roberts in a tight one, but if OJR has both Bechtolds healthy, this one goes to the Wildcats.
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