Burrell Gets One for the Thumb in Winning a 5th Straight WPIAL AA Wrestling Title

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, February 5, 2011 | 12:00 AM

After giving Chartiers-Houston a 6 point head start, Burrell never looked back in the 2011 WPIAL Class AA team Wrestling championship match Saturday at Chartiers Valley High School. The Bucs rattled off 6 straight victories after giving up a forfeit at 103 pounds, four of those wins by fall for as Burrell won the battle of the Bucs 54-20 for a fifth consecutive WPIAL Class AA gold crown.

Freshman Zac Kelly and seniors Dave Makara, Jeremy Landowski, and Cole Harkins all picked up pins, giving Burrell a commanding 30-6 lead after the first 7 weight classes.

Chartiers-Houston would try to catch up, picking up a pair of wins at 145 and 152, but Burrell continued their domination. They picked up 4 straight falls by seniors Travis McKillop, Jay Taylor and Brian Beattie and sophomore Dakota Deslauriers. That pushed the lead to 54-14.

Chartiers-Houston would win the final bout of the night at 285 (a fall by junior Nate Grandelis), but they weren't able to keep up with the powerhouse Burrell, falling by a score of 54-20.

Overall this is Burrell's 7th WPIAL championship in school history and their 5th consecutive WPIAL title. While the results show a great performance, it is not surprising to head coach Ryan Yates, who said, "every guy that steps out on the mat knows I have high expectations." What does that entail? Yates said simply, "I expect these guys to perform at an elite level." The Burrell wrestlers are doing that right now as they work towards what they have wanted from day one, winning a state title.

Listen in to head coach Ryan Yates talk about his victory on Inside the WPIAL Wrestling Circle, Monday night at 7pm on msasports.net

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