Injunction seeking eliigbility for wrestler denied

U.S. District Judge Petrese Tucker has denied Josh Dziewa's request for a preliminary injunction that would allow him to compete for the Council Rock South wrestling team following his transfer from Pennsbury.

Dziewa transferred to Council Rock South in September after his parents separated. He submitted a PIAA transfer waiver request to Pennsbury requesting that the school consent to his competing immediately for Council Rock South.

Pennsbury principal Lisa Becker returned the waiver form, challenging his eligibility to compete right away . She asked the PIAA District 1 Committee to review the circumstances of the transfer to determine whether it was motivated by athletic reasons.

Following an Oct. 15 hearing, the District 1 Committee ruled Dziewa ineligible to compete for Council Rock South for one year from the date of his transfer. The committee determined the transfer was for athletic purposes.

The Council Rock South wrestling program is one of the top programs in District 1. Competing for Pennsbury last season as a sophomore, Dziewa was 44-2.

John and Lori Dziewa, the wrestler's parents, appealed the committee's decision to the PIAA Board of Appeal. After a Nov. 14 hearing, the board upheld the district committee ruling. Eleven days later, PIAA executive director Brad Cashman released a letter outlining 24 findings used to support the appeal board's decision.

Among them was a determination that differences in explanations for the transfer by Dziewa and his parents "undermined their assertion that the transfer was for academic reasons."

The parents, maintaining the PIAA ruling would hurt their son's academic performance and his ability to gain admission to college, sought the preliminary injunction in federal court.

"The judge denied our injunction request," said Charles Mandracchia, attorney for the Dziewas, "but she did say the PIAA ruling was arbitrary and capricious, and we might have a federal cause of action."

Mandracchia said he and the family had not decided whether to appeal the court's ruling.

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