Burrell wrestlers look sharp in shutout win over Valley

By: Dave Mackall
Wednesday, December 20, 2023 | 10:17 PM

From the moment the Burrell wrestling team set out Wednesday on a short bus ride to Valley until the time they returned home, the Bucs treated the evening like any other.

It mattered not that they were heavy favorites.

“Just go out and wrestle your match,” said Cooper Hornack, Burrell’s returning PIAA champion.

One by one, every Bucs wrestler — even those accepting a forfeit victory — executed a routine that more times than not produces a winning result, and No. 2 Burrell came away with a 66-0 rout of shorthanded Valley in a Section 6-2A match.

Hornack, who claimed WPIAL and PIAA championships at 127 pounds last year, has made the jump to 145 this season and registered his fifth pin while improving to 8-0 by stopping Valley sophomore Keiz Hernandez in 1 minute, 27 seconds.

It was just the third match for Hernandez, who is in his first varsity season.

“I told Keiz I thought he did a really good job,” Valley coach Dane Johnson said. “To have to go up against a state champion, I thought he did well. I liked the overall effort of our group.”

Three other Burrell wrestlers came away with pins: Cameron Baker at 114, Carter Thomas at 121 and Julian Bertucci at 133.

Burrell (3-0, 2-0) added five forfeit victories as Valley (0-3, 0-3) dressed just seven wrestlers because of injuries and ineligibilities.

The final score nearly matched Burrell’s season-opening 68-0 decision against Ligonier Valley.

“I don’t really look at the wrestlers too much,” said Hornack, who improved his career record to 124-19. “Don’t worry about them. Worry about what you’re going to do and what moves you want to focus on. Just go out there and win your match for the team and get the points.”

Among Hornack’s other victories this season is an 11-6 decision against Arash Yazdani of Brentwood (Tenn.) Academy at the McCallie School (Tenn.) Invitational on Dec. 9. Burrell finished second to the host school among 39 teams.

“I tell these guys all the time that it doesn’t matter who’s across from you. Your effort doesn’t change,” Burrell coach Josh Shields said. “Whether you’re going against a kid in his first year or whether you’re going against the best kid, that should not matter. Your effort is going to be the same out there.”

“They know that and they treat every match the same.”

Other Burrell winners were Calio Zanella (139), Ben Catullo (152) and Isaac Lacinski (172).

“It’s not really hard to keep these guys motivated,” Shields said. “We kind of knew coming in there would be some good matches. They have some tough, competitive kids.”

Shields cited Ben Linderman, who dropped a 3-0 decision at 139, Ryan Long, who lost an 8-3 decision at 152, and Charles Perkins, who fell 4-0 at 172, as particularly tough outs.

“The focus is to go out there and do your job,” Shields said. “The kids know who has the tougher matches and the kids get behind those guys.”

Both teams will take their Christmas break before swinging back into action. Burrell, the defending WPIAL Class 2A runner-up, will head to the annual Powerade Tournament on Dec. 29-30 at Canon-McMillan. Valley resumes competition on Dec. 27-28 at the Southmoreland Holiday Classic.

Tags: Burrell, Valley