Burrell wrestling season comes to disappointing end at PIAA tournament
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Friday, February 9, 2024 | 3:46 PM
Burrell junior Isaac Lacinski takes down Reynolds’ Colton Tupper during their 189-pound match Friday.
Burrell coach Josh Shields cheers on his team during their quarterfinal match against Bishop McCort at the PIAA Class 2A team tournament Friday in Hershey.
Burrell freshman Carter Thomas has Bishop McCort’s Dealon Britt on his back during the 114-pound quarterfinal at the PIAA Class 2A team tournament Friday in Hershey.
HERSHEY — It wasn’t the end to the dual-meet season the Burrell wrestling team was looking for Friday at the PIAA Class 2A team championship.
After reaching the quarterfinals with a win Thursday, the Bucs were beaten by District 6 champion Bishop McCort, 51-15, and then fell to District 10 champion Reynolds, 39-24, in the consolation round.
The Bucs showed their frustration after the match, which Burrell coach Josh Shields said came from not performing well as a team.
“Obviously it’s hard to compete against the private schools,” Shields said. “It was a race to fourth place.
“We knew what we faced. I was hoping we’d perform better against Reynolds. When we lost to them at Brookville, we were hoping for a similar performance. But they reversed two matches, and we lost some close ones. It’s tough to swallow.”
Reynolds (20-1) defeated Burrell, 30-28, at Brookville. This time Burrell won only four bouts:a pin by Cooper Hornack and three forfeits.
The Bucs won three matches against powerful Bishop McCort — a forfeit to Cam Baker at 107, a technical fall by Carter Thomas at 114 and a major decision by Luke Boylan at 215.
“I don’t think it was a lack of effort,” Shields said. “We had been wrestling really well the past month, and we didn’t Friday. We knew it would be tough matches. I was hoping we could rebound after the first match.”
The Crimson Crushers (18-0) won nine consecutive bouts, erased an early deficit and defeated the WPIAL champions.
Burrell took an 11-6 lead early in the match after Baker received a forfeit win at 107, and Thomas posted a 17-2 technical fall of Dealon Britt at 114.
That’s when Bishop McCort took over, getting pins from Jax Forrest at 127, Bo Bassett at 139, Melvin Miller at 152 and Jackson Butler at 160. They also received technical fall wins by Lincoln Sledzianowski at 121, Mason Gibson at 133 and Devon Magro at 172.
Luke Boylan ended Bishop McCort’s run with a 9-0 major decision win at 215 against Marquez Gordan.
Now that the regular season has ended, it’s time for Shields’ favorite time of the year: individuals. That starts Feb. 17 at Greensburg Salem.
“It starts in a week, and hopefully we get some to states,” Shields said. “We have a lot of guys who are on the bubble.”
Hornack is a returning state champion and three-time PIAA placewinner. He finished second in 2021 and fourth in ’22.
Baker placed fourth in the PIAA last season, and Lacinski was a PIAA qualifier.
BISHOP McCORT 51, BURRELL 15
107: Cam Baker (B) won by forfeit.
114: Carter Thomas (B) t.f. Dealon Britt, 17-2 (3:50).
121: Lincoln Sledzianowski (BM) t.f. Luca Rosa, 23-7 (5:49).
127: Jax Forrest (BM) p. Julian Betrucci, 2:19.
133: Mason Gibson (BM) t.f. Jacob Stewart, 26-11 (2:51).
139: Bo Bassett (BM) p. Caydn Crawford, :31.
145: Sam Herring (BM) d. Cooper Hornack, 6-0.
152: Melvin Miller (BM) p. Ben Catullo, 1:33.
160: Jackson Butler (BM) p. Patrick Nee, 3:03.
172: Devon Magro (BM) t.f. Nico Zanella, 20-5 (5:49).
189: Owen McMullen (BM) d. Isaac Lacinski, 2-1 (TB-2).
215: Luke Boylan (B) major Marquez Gordon, 9-0.
*285: Jordan Butler (BM) p. Ayden Kun, 3:52.
(*) match started at 114 pounds.
Records: BM 18-0; B 15-3.
REYNOLDS 39 , BURRELL 24
*107: Cam Baker (B) won by forfeit.
114: Angelo Lomonte (R) d. Carter Thomas, 3-1.
121: Waylon Waite (R) major Luca Rosa, 17-3.
127: Louie Gill (R) major Julian Bertucci, 17-3
133: Logan Stewart (R) major Jacob Stewart, 18-6.
139: Cooper Hornack (B) p. Greyden Gustas, :48.
145: Chase Bell (R) won by forfeit.
152: Emery Johnson (R) d. Calio Zanella, 7-5.
160: Vito Gentile (R) p. Ben Catullo, :17.
172: Louie DeJulia (R) d. Nico Zanella, 5-3 (SV).
189: Colton Tupper (R) won by injury default over Isaac Lacinski, :42.
215: Luke Boylan (B) won by forfeit.
285: Ayden Kun (B) won by forfeit.
(*) match started at 107 pounds.
Records: B 15-4, R 20-1.
Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.
Tags: Burrell
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