Despite being down 2 starters, Burrell wrestling rolls into Class 2A team semifinals

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Wednesday, January 29, 2025 | 10:14 PM


Calio Zanella was sporting a nose plug to stymie the bleeding, highlighting one of the major challenges facing Burrell’s wrestling team this week.

The top-seeded Buccaneers are battling illness as they attempt to defend their WPIAL Class 2A crown. Burrell was missing two starters, but the Buccaneers didn’t allow that to slow them down during the first two rounds of the WPIAL playoffs Wednesday night at home.

Burrell bullied Greensburg Salem, 58-15, and Southmoreland, 55-15, to reach the semifinals.

“My nose has been dry. There is a sickness going through our team,” Zanella said. “We have to stay focused, get the vitamins in and get better.”

The Buccaneers advanced to the semifinals Saturday at Peters Township High School.

Southmoreland (8-7) advanced to the quarterfinals by surviving a tight match with Jefferson-Morgan, 36-33. The Scotties led 33-17 with four matches left when the Rockets rallied to tie the match with pins from James Dulaney (133 pounds) and Dominic Snowden (145), as well as a tech fall from Johnny Gilbert (139).

Shawn Hollis gave Southmoreland the win by grinding out a 5-0 win at 152 pounds.

“That was a huge win for him,” Scotties coach Terry Quashnock said. “He had to fight adversity to make weight. He had to starve himself to get there, basically.”

Burrell (11-1) never let the Scotties get momentum. The Buccaneers built a 16-0 lead through three matches on pins for Isaac Lacinski (172 pounds) and Logan Shank (189) and a major decision from Luke Boylan (215).

“We’re down two starters, and our guys stepped up,” Burrell coach Steve Ansani said. “They wanted to get to the semifinals and make an impact there.”

David Sager (285) and Parker Thompson (107) picked up consecutive wins for the Scotties to cut the lead to 16-9, but the Scotties didn’t have the firepower to keep up.

“We have a lot of young guys looking for experience,” Quashnock said. “We have a lot of sophomores and freshmen on the team that’s big for them. It’s a tough match. You are working uphill. You don’t want to get discouraged and keep moving forward.”

After Burrell forfeited at 121 pounds, the Buccaneers closed the match with six straight wins. The Buccaneers collected bonus points in all of those contests. Cam Baker (127), Luca Rosa (133), Jacob Stewart (139) and Julian Bertucci (145) picked up pins for the Buccaneers.

Zanella picked up a pair of wins, a pin against the Golden Lions and a major decision against the Scotties. He said Burrell’s mentality is always the same.

“My mentality was always staying on the attack,” Zanella said. “We want to wear these guys out. We know we are conditioned enough for this. We know we can go the distance if we have to.”

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