Burrell Wins Record 11th Straight WPIAL AA Wrestling Crown

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, February 4, 2017 | 6:20 PM

Every year begins the same way in AA WPIAL wrestling, with fans asking one question, who will end Burrell’s reign? And for the 11th year in a row, the answer remains the same, no one.

Burrell came in to Saturday with an intensity that was clearly unmatched, and they dominated from start to finish en route to their 13th overall WPIAL crown. It started with their semi-final win over Derry, where after losing the first match by fall, rattled off 11 straight wins to knock off the Trojans 44-18. They advanced to the finals, where they would meet Freedom for the second straight season. The Bulldogs were coming off a 38-30 win over South Fayette, avenging an earlier 40-28 loss from the South Side Duals.

The match started at 106 pounds, which was the perfect spot for Burrell to jump out to an early lead on Freedom. Outside of an 8-4 decision for ZJ Ward of Freedom over Bryan Gaul at 113, Burrell was able to jump out to a commanding 24-3 lead. That was thanks to four falls from Trent Valovchik, Trent Bechtold, Dillon Jeffrey, and Ethan Awes.

Freedom would tighten the match up, with the Komara brothers (Chase and Kody) getting back to back wins to make the score 24-12 at the halfway point. But then Burrell would respond right back, as Corey Christie picked up a technical fall and Shaun Gates added a forfeit to widen the lead to 23, 35-12. After an exciting match at 170 pounds, where Dean Ward of Freedom overcame a pair of deficits to defeat Austin Mele in double overtime, Burrell senior Anthony Marra was called on to put the match away. And he did. Marra took Bryson Miller of Freedom to overtime before securing the match winning takedown to take a 4-2 victory. This gave Burrell a 38-15 lead with three bouts to go, securing the Bucs of their 11th straight WPIAL Championship. Burrell would go on to win the match 44-27 over Freedom.

To hear from Burrell seniors Dillon Jeffrey and Anthony Marra, check our Youtube page to see Center Stage interviews. For a full recap of the AA WPIAL team tournament, listen in to Inside the WPIAL Wrestling Circle, Monday night at 7:00 PM. Burrell head coach Josh Shields will be a special guest on the show.

Burrell Buccaneers 44 – Freedom Bulldogs 27

106 – Trent Valovchik (B) fall Thomas Young (F) 4:59 – 6-0 Burrell

113 – ZJ Ward (F) dec. Bryan Gaul (B) 8-4 – 6-3 Burrell

120 – Trent Bechtold (B) fall Austin Alberts (F) 2:22 – 12-3 Burrell

126 – Dillan Jeffrey (B) fall Gordon Kalamasz (F) 3:00 – 18-3 Burrell

132 – Ethan Awes (B) fall Jake Pail (F) 3:14 – 24-3 Burrell

138 – Chase Komara (F) dec. Daniel McCarthy (B) 8-2 – 24-6 Burrell

145 – Kody Komara (F) fall Sean Stuben (B) 1:09 – 24-12 Burrell

152 – Corey Christie (B) tech. fall Brett Johnston (F) 17-0, 4:00 – 29-12 Burrell

160 – Shaun Gates (B) won by forfeit – 35-12 Burrell

170 – Dean Ward (F) dec. Austin Mele (B) 9-7, 2OT – 35-15 Burrell

182 – Anthony Marra (B) dec. Bryson Miller (F) 4-2, OT – 38-15 Burrell

195 – Mason Slahtovsky (B) fall Nick Wolfe (F) 4:50 – 44-15 Burrell

220 – Randy Simmons (F) fall Phil Coutch (B) 2:53 – 44-21 Burrell

285 – Evan Sweesy (F) won by forfeit – 44-27 Burrell

Derry Finishes in 3rd

After coming in second in their Section one week ago, Derry responded back in a big way. The Trojans looked strong in their match against South Fayette, winning 5 of the first 6 to take a 25-6 lead and winning the last 4 matches of the day to secure a 49-21 win and more importantly, a berth into the PIAA Championships. They will wrestle Monday night against the District 10 runner-up for the right to advance to Hershey on Thursday.

Derry Trojans 49 – South Fayette Lions 21

106 – Kace Sabedra (D) maj. dec. Noah Broyles (SF) 11-3 – 4-0 Derry

113 – Colin Dunn (SF) fall Garret Lenhart (D) 1:45 – 6-4 South Fayette

120 – Jason Baker (D) fall Eoin Horowitz (SF) 0:36 – 10-6 Derry

126 – Shawn Broadway (D) fall Cort Blatz (SF) 1:42 – 16-6 Derry

132 – Onreey Stewart (D) dec. Eli Brinsky (SF) 14-9 – 19-6 Derry

138 – Trey Weinell (D) fall Michael Gates (SF) 2:45 – 25-6 Derry

145 – Mike Cusick (SF) dec. Dom Jellison (D) 7-2 – 25-9 Derry

152 – Michael Dedi (SF) fall Gannon Lenhart (D) 5:28 – 25-15 Derry

160 – Colten Nemcheck (D) dec. Camden Hoover (SF) 7-4 – 28-15 Derry

170 – Joe Bastaroli (SF) fall Hunter Hebenthal (D) 4:28 – 28-21 Derry

182 – Dominic Deluca (D) fall Kirk Hegarty (SF) 1:49 – 34-21 Derry

195 – Matt Marron (D) dec. Mark Kurchena (SF) 2-0 OT – 37-21 Derry

220 – Hunter Edmiston (D) fall David Gubinsky (SF) 1:28 – 43-21 Derry

285 – Noah Wiencek (D) fall Jake Walker (SF) 2:23 – 49-21 Derry

Tags: Burrell, Derry Area, Freedom