Next wrestling season could see a difference in weight classes, as last week’s PIAA Board of Directors meeting approved a reduction from 14 to 13 weight classes on its first official reading.

The vote was passed by a 30-0 margin and would essentially eliminate the 195-pound weight class.

Liberty head coach Brandon Hall thinks the change will be beneficial to the sport moving forward.

“I think it’s a positive for wrestling,” said Hall. “It was important that they kept the lightest weights intact, but also keeping a weight class up top for kids who aren’t heavyweights but over 200-pounds. The expectation was that this would have come at the national level, so there is some surprise that the PIAA is going to 13 weight-classes on their own.”

Under the current proposal the new weight classes would be 106, 113, 120, 126, 132, 138, 145, 152, 160, 172, 189, 215 and 285.

In previous years, the weight classes were the same until 160, but then went 170, 182, 195, 215 and 285.