Bethlehem Catholic will get a chance to show the nation how good they really are on the mats this weekend when they’ll travel to Philadelphia on Saturday for the first annual, Who’s #1 Duals, which will be held at Penn’s historic Palestra.

The eight-team tournament, which will feature five teams ranked in the nation’s top-10, will be broken down into two, four-team pools, where Becahi will square off against the three teams in their pool throughout the day.

Depending on how the Hawks finish in their pool, they’ll face a team from the opposite pool that finishes in the standings equal with Becahi.

The star-studded lineup for Becahi starts at 9 a.m. against Lake Highland Prep (FL), followed by an 11 a.m. match against Bergen Catholic (NJ) and then wrapping up pool action at 1pm against St. Augustine Prep (NJ).

The other pool is made up of Blair Academy (NJ), Delbarton (NJ), Clovis (CA) and Holy Cross (NJ).

The Hawks enter the week ranked seventh nationally by Flo Wrestling. Bergen Catholic enters with the highest ranking of any team in the tournament at third, while Clovis is ranked fifth, followed by Blair at sixth and Lake Highland coming in at eighth.

That pairs the Hawks with their first two matches of the day against top-10 competition, something that head coach Jeff Karam is looking forward to.

“When you can go out and get national exposure, it helps our program and our kids,” said Karam. “Our guys will get a lot of attention from college coaches at the event and we’ll learn from the experience as well. We’re wrestling some great teams and it’ll really show our guys where we’re at.”

Of course, Becahi (6-0) will still have work to do in the Lehigh Valley before they head south to Philly, starting with Wednesday’s East Penn Conference meet against Parkland (10-1).

“Parkland is always a tough task,” said Karam. “They’ve always wrestled us really well and it’ll be a good test for us to have that early in the week.”

While the Hawks will be sizeable favorites for Wednesday’s bout, all eyes will be on their performance Saturday against some of the country’s elite, especially for senior 126-pounder Luke Karam.

Karam enters the field ranked second in the country by Flo, but will face the first and fourth ranked wrestlers at his weight in his first two bouts. Joey Silva, sophomore, of Lake Highland comes into their opening match ranked fourth in the country, while the rematch everyone will be watching comes in the 11am bout against Bergen, when Karam will meet Bergen’s top-ranked Nick Suriano.

Suriano, who is a Penn State commit, pinned Karam in the first period during their finals match at the Beast of the East on December 20. It was the fourth Beast of the East title for Suriano.

Now, Karam has the daunting task of handing him his first ever high school loss.

“First of all, Luke has to get by the Silva kid first, because that’s going to be a tough bout,” said Karam. “As far as Suriano, he’s just so strong. Technically, I think Luke is right there with him, but we’ll have to try some different things. The kid’s never lost in high school. It’s going to be real tough, but Luke is really excited about the opportunity.”

Mikey Labriola (170), ranked eighth by Flo, will also get the chance to wrestle a top-10 ranked opponent in pool action, as Bergen senior Joe Grello is ranked ninth in the nation.

Consolation duals for 3rd, 5th and 7th place will take place at 3pm. The championship dual for Who’s #1 bragging rights will take place at 6pm.

While a Becahi run to the title bout may be a tall task, just being in the conversation bodes well for the state of the program.

“We’re all real excited for this weekend,” Karam said. “It’s really an honor to be apart of such an event and I think our guys will step up to the challenge.”