What to watch for in WPIAL sports on Feb. 2, 2022: WPIAL team wrestling field hits mats

By: Don Rebel
Tuesday, February 1, 2022 | 11:59 PM

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Only twice in Burrell’s 15-year WPIAL Class 2A team wrestling championship run have the Bucs had to participate in the first round of the district team tournament.

They won’t this year, either.

The Bucs earned the top seed again and will be one of four teams to scout first-round matches prior to their quarterfinals matches Wednesday.

Burrell, along with Burgettstown, Quaker Valley and Beth-Center, not only earned opening-round byes as a top-four seed, but they will also host a 2A quarterfinal right after the first-round matches.

Burrell will face the Montour/Fort Cherry winner, Burgettstown will take on the Freedom/Southmoreland winner, Quaker Valley draws the Laurel/Knoch winner, and Beth-Center will battle the Jefferson-Morgan/Mt. Pleasant winner.

The only two times the Bucs participated in the first round since 2006 were 10 years ago when Burrell beat Derry, 47-21, and five years ago in 2017 when the Bucs hammered Fort Cherry, 69-6.

3A first round and quarters

There are no byes in the WPIAL Class 3A team wrestling playoffs. Sixteen teams will square off at four sites Wednesday in the first round, followed by the eight winners meeting at each host site in the quarterfinals right after the opening round.

At Waynesburg, the hosts and defending champion Raiders will face Thomas Jefferson in the first round while Franklin Regional takes on Norwin.

At Canon-McMillan, the host Big Macs battle West Allegheny while Bethel Park meets North Allegheny.

At Connellsville, the host Falcons go up against Peters Township while Kiski Area meets Pine-Richland.

Finally, at Latrobe, the host Wildcats tangle with Penn-Trafford while Armstrong battles Butler.

The two winners at each site meet after the first round in the district quarterfinals.

The one winner from each site moves on to the WPIAL semifinals and championship finals scheduled for Saturday afternoon.

Second best

The North Catholic girls basketball team is one victory away from clinching at least a share of the Section 1-3A championship.

Who finishes behind the Trojans in second place is up in the air.

Freedom visits Laurel on Wednesday in a game that can clear up the fight for second, or really muddy the runner-up waters.

The Bulldogs are in second place with a 6-2 record and can take a big step toward cementing their position with a win.

The hosts Spartans are 5-3 and need a win to force a tie for second place and earn a split of the head-to-head tiebreaker between the two teams. Freedom won the first meeting on Jan. 10, 53-49.

This game was slated for Thursday; however, with another storm system coming through, it has been moved to Wednesday and can be seen at 7:30 p.m. on Trib HSSN.