Burrell dominates WPIAL Class AA subsection meet in typical fashion

By: Greg Macafee
Wednesday, January 20, 2021 | 9:12 PM

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In typical Burrell fashion, the Bucs went out and made a statement Wednesday during its WPIAL Class AA section 3A match, defeating South Allegheny, Riverview, Knoch, and Valley in convincing fashion.

In four duals, the Bucs lost only three matches and gave up 12 total points. For Burrell coach Josh Shields a performance such as Wednesday’s was good to see as they head into the rest of the season.

“This, obviously, has an impact on the postseason and the seeding and everything that comes with that,” Shields said. “So it’s good to come in here and dominate from beginning to end.”

The Bucs started with victories over South Allegheny and Riverview. Although there were only six contested matches, Burrell allowed only three points.

The 14-time defending WPIAL Class AA champions shut out South Allegheny as Simon Slahtovsky (152), Colby Christie (172) and Cole Clark (189) picked up wins in the 62-0 victory.

Riverview’s Logan Bechtold (145), who wrestled with Burrell last season, picked up the only three points with an 8-5 decision over Dalton Corwin.

AJ Corrado (172) and Cole Clark (189) also picked up pins to finish off the match for Burrell, as the rest of the points were earned by forfeit.

“I think everyone kind of came together well today and wrestled as a team, and I think this just continues to build our confidence through the year,” said senior Ian Oswalt, who wrestled in one match and picked up a 35-second pin. “The more matches we have will play a role in us getting tough as a team.”

The Bucs also got a good look at Knoch, which is a newcomer in the section after dropping down from Class AAA. Burrell got the best of the Knights as well 57-6.

Eli Reese picked up the lone points of the match for the Knights as he pinned Burrell’s Philip Walsh. Although Burrell won in dominating fashion, Shields said he is sure they will see the Knights in the playoffs. 

“They had almost a full roster, and they had some good kids and the kids battled and we were able to get some pinfalls and that’s what is most important in team competition,” Shields said. “That was definitely a good match, and Knoch is a tough team. They’ll be a team that’s in the WPIAL playoffs, so it was good to really dominate that match from top to bottom and that’s what you like to see.”

The Knights earned two victories, beating South Allegheny, 36-12, and Riverview, 39-3, and are second in their subsection. But for first-year Knoch coach Bob Waldron, who was facing Burrell for the first time, Wednesday night was an eye-opener, and the Knights are hoping to improve from it.

“We’re not going to feel defeated or frustrated about our performance,” Waldron said. “We are going to turn it around and try to improve and progress from it. Now we have an idea of what the competition is like, and we can get out there and plan a little better for it.”

Burrell won its final match of the night, 60-3 over Valley. Dion Lyons earned a 9-6 decision over Burrell’s Aaron Edwards to pick up three points for the Vikings.

Greg Macafee is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Greg by email at gmacafee@triblive.com or via Twitter .

Tags: Burrell, Knoch, Riverview, South Allegheny, Valley