Burrell’s Mikey Scherer exceeds expectations in return to mat
By:
Wednesday, February 12, 2020 | 7:44 PM
Burrell’s Mikey Scherer works toward a pin against Quaker Valley’s Donovan Cutchember in the 220 weight class semifinal on Saturday, Feb. 1, 2020, in WPIAL Class AA team wrestling championships at Chartiers-Houston High School.
When Burrell’s Mikey Scherer was in eighth grade, he decided he didn’t want to wrestle anymore.
Looking back, he said he wasn’t having any fun in the sport. So as he stepped into the high school corridors as a freshman, he thought he never would step on the mat again.
Then his senior year rolled around.
After his final season on the football field ended with 84 total tackles and 1,049 rushing yards, a few of his teammates tried to convince him to come out for the wrestling team. His parents followed, and, soon enough, Scherer decided it was time to prove himself on the mat one more time.
“I would say I didn’t leave on a good note. I would say I wasn’t very good,” Scherer said. “So I wanted to come back and prove some people wrong and prove that I was good.”
Scherer’s older brother, Robert, went 111-49 during his three-year career at Burrell, winning a WPIAL championship in 2015. Wrestling was in Mikey’s blood. He just needed to listen to a little bit of advice from Robert as he stepped back onto the mat.
“(Robert) just told me I needed to go out and have fun,” Scherer said. “And I’m definitely having fun now.”
This season, Burrell’s 220-pounder has been proving competitors wrong left and right. He is 26-7 with 14 pins, 10 decisions and two forfeits.
While he has lost seven times this season, Scherer hasn’t been pinned, which includes two losses at the Powerade tournament, one of the toughest wrestling tournaments in the country.
Burrell coach Josh Shields has been happy with the effort Scherer has given throughout the season.
“His record, obviously, speaks for itself,” Shields said. “He’s got 20-plus wins. He’s had a lot of falls, and he’s gotten a lot better since Day One. He’s really been a huge asset for our team, and he’s given us a lot of flexibility at the top of our lineup.”
Scherer hit the ground running. He placed eighth at the King of the Mountain, which was his first tournament back on the mat.
Then he turned in a 3-2 record at Powerade and came within a match of placing in the top eight.
“That definitely gave me a confidence boost,” Scherer said. “I mean, those were some of the best kids in the country, and I was really close to placing. So I figured if I could hang with some of the best, then I figured I could do well.”
Midway through the season, Scherer started to hit his stride. He earned a third-place finish at the Westmoreland County tournament. After his loss in the semifinals to Greensburg Salem’s John Meyers, Scherer ran off a 14-match winning streak that didn’t end until this past weekend at the PIAA Class AA team tournament.
Along the way, he earned wins over Kiski Area’s Jack Dilts, Quaker Valley’s Donovan Cutchember and recorded seven straight pins in the middle of his winning streak.
“He’s, obviously, an athletic kid, and he’s tough and he’s hard-nosed,” Shields said. “But he really moves well for a big guy. His offense is what separates him. He’s able to get the legs. He’s able to finish, and that doesn’t happen too often in the higher weight classes.”
Now, Scherer is onto the individual sectional and WPIAL postseason. He heads into the Section 3-AA tournament as the No. 1 seed in the 220-pound bracket before the WPIAL tournament Saturday. In order to achieve his ultimate goal, Scherer said he simply has to do what he has been doing.
“I just gotta keep that aggressive mindset that I’ve had all season long,” Scherer said.
Greg Macafee is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Greg by email at gmacafee@triblive.com or via Twitter .
Tags: Burrell
