Top-ranked Burrell, Kiski Area to be tested at respective section wrestling tournaments

By: HSSN Staff
Tuesday, January 22, 2019 | 6:21 PM

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Austin Mele racked his memory for a time he faced an Elizabeth Forward wrestler in his Burrell career, and nothing emerged.

The senior 160-pounder should get his chance Wednesday, as the Class AA No. 1 Bucs and Warriors square off at 6 p.m. in the semifinals of the Section 3-AA tournament at Burrell. The winner of that match will advance to the section championship, where it will face the winner of the other semifinal between Derry and Valley.

It’s the first step of the WPIAL team wrestling postseason, which will culminate with the Class AA semifinals and finals on Feb. 2, and Burrell has two streaks it would love to continue: 15 consecutive section championships and 12 straight WPIAL titles.

“We want to kind of just go out there and shut out both teams, going out and trying to send a couple signs to the other people across the state, knowing that we’re coming,” Mele said. “That’s kind of big. I know we’ve been working for a while, but with this Wednesday coming up, we definitely want to go out there and perform our best just to show people that we’re ready for the state time.”

The Bucs’ section got notably more difficult in 2018-19. Although their subsection remained largely the same, save for the addition of Highlands, WPIAL realignment brought teams like Derry (9-3) and Elizabeth Forward (4-1) into the opposite subsection. Derry finished as WPIAL runner-up behind Burrell just last season, and the unfamiliar Elizabeth Forward roster presents the Bucs (5-2) another challenge.

“I’m just looking at paper results to make my judgments, but we haven’t seen them … and there’s some tough guys,” Burrell coach Josh Shields said. “I do think we’re finally where we should be (in the section). It’s good. Derry is ranked there, and that’s a team that’s going to be challenging us for a WPIAL championship.”

Burrell comes into the tournament with 108 consecutive section victories, and Wednesday marks the first step in what the Bucs hope becomes a high finish at the PIAA tournament in mid-February. They come into the postseason relatively healthy, Shields said.

Weather postponed Burrell’s annual trip to Brookville for the Ultimate Duals last weekend, so Wednesday could provide the team its strongest Class AA competition to date.

“We haven’t really been tested outside of the two matches that we’ve wrestled at the Triple-A level (Kiski Area and Waynesburg),” Mele said. “But we really hope that this is the time we’re at our peak the most.”

Valley (7-2), which will square off with Derry in the semifinals, is making its fourth consecutive postseason appearance and can crash Burrell’s party. The Vikings lost 57-19 to Burrell last week, a match in which they forfeited four weight classes.

“Hopefully, we can compete there,” Valley coach Dane Johnson said. “If we can beat (Derry), we’ll probably wrestle Burrell again; if we don’t, we’ll go for third and fourth (place). All we can do is wrestle with the guys who show up and are there, and as long as they give 100 percent of their best effort, I’m happy with it.”

The four teams competing at Burrell on Wednesday all will advance to the WPIAL team playoffs, which begin Jan. 30.

Highlands (7-8) can earn a spot of its own in the team postseason with a win over Southmoreland (7-2) in the Section 3-AA fifth-place match. The Golden Rams are seeking their first playoff trip since 2011 after not winning a section match last season.

Section 1-AAA

Realignment also mixed up Section 1-AAA last offseason, and Kiski Area coach Chris Heater was happy to see it.

Not only did the changes put the Class AAA No. 1 Cavaliers back in the same subsection with old Westmoreland County rivals like Franklin Regional, Norwin and Penn-Trafford, they in turn made the competition more difficult.

Kiski Area (9-0), the two-time defending WPIAL champion, is hosting the Section 1-AAA tournament and will face Greensburg Salem in the semifinals; the other semifinal will pit Hempfield against Norwin, with the winners advancing to the championship match. The semifinals start at 6 p.m. Wednesday and the finals at 7:15.

“I think we’re lucky, we’re fortunate that we have the level of competition in our section that we do,” Heater said. “I think all of these teams we wrestle just help prepare you for those tough matches. Wrestling teams that maybe don’t have the full team, they still have some really good, outstanding individuals.

“Some of your good guys are getting good matches, and some of your middle-of-the-road guys are getting middle-of-the-road matches. It’s all good looking and moving forward. We get (good matches) on a regular basis.”

Westmoreland County traditionally features some of the top wrestlers and teams in the state, and this season is no different. All four teams that will wrestle at Kiski Area on Wednesday have spent the entire season in the Tribune-Review’s top-10 rankings.

Heater, who traditionally puts together a grueling schedule for Kiski Area, believes Wednesday will provide another test for the Cavaliers, who come into the postseason mostly healthy after claiming their subsection title.

“(The wrestlers are) excited because it’s the next step in the process,” Heater said. “We try to keep everything in perspective and everything in front of us. Our focus is the first match, and right now the only team we know we’re wrestling is Greensburg.”

Doug Gulasy is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Doug at dgulasy@tribweb.com or via Twitter @dgulasy_Trib.

Tags: Burrell, Highlands, Kiski School, Valley