Burrell’s Corrado, Oswalt come up short in quest for PIAA wrestling gold

By: David Bohr
Saturday, March 7, 2020 | 10:34 PM

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HERSHEY — Burrell came home from the PIAA Class AA wrestling championships Saturday with two silver medals.

Ian Oswalt and A.J. Corrado qualified for the finals Friday evening, but both lost on the last day of the three-day event at Giant Center.

Oswalt lost a 5-1 decision in three overtimes to Brock McMillen of Glendale in the 132-pound final.

After a scoreless overtime, Oswalt (45-7) was on top to begin the first of two 30-second extra sessions. McMillen failed in his first two escape attempts but broke free with 5 seconds left to take a 2-1 lead. In the next period, McMillen kept Oswalt down and scored three near-fall points to put the bout out of reach and claim his second straight state title.

The only scoring in regulation was a second-period escape by Oswalt and a third-period escape by McMillen. About 5:40 of the six minutes were spent with neither wrestler holding a positional advantage.

Oswalt said his biggest regret in the match was not pushing harder to get a shot in early.

“I’ve just got to let it go more and wrestle,” Oswalt said. “He didn’t wrestle me the way I wanted, but it’s not his fault. I should have been more aggressive.”

The silver medal is the third PIAA medal in three years for the junior. He was fourth last season and fifth as a freshman.

Corrado also lost a narrow championship bout, 3-2 to Caleb Dowling of St. Joseph’s at 152 pounds.

“It’s exciting to make the finals, but I wasn’t satisfied, and I’m still not satisfied,” Corrado said.

Dowling took the lead with a quick takedown in the first period. Corrado (45-8) escaped late in the period, but never evened the score. Corrado and Dowling traded escapes in the second and third periods, but in the last 1:55 of the match, Corrado could not get the takedown he needed to take the lead.

Like his classmate Oswalt, it was the first final for Corrado and his third state medal. He was fifth last season and seventh in 2018.

Oswalt and Corrado each lost to their respective finals opponents at the Southwestern Regional, and they said they already were setting goals of winning gold next season.

Meanwhile, their senior teammate, Ricky Feroce, ended his career with a win.

Feroce (39-16) won the fifth-place match against Ethan Finch of Sheffield, 4-1. Feroce scored a reversal in the second period to take a 2-0 lead and added two near-fall points on the final buzzer.

Burrell finished 10th in the team standings with 53 points.

In Class AAA, Kiski Area had two medal winners.

Jack Blumer placed fourth at 160 pounds after losing 9-4 to Connor Herceg of Nazareth in the third-place match. After a scoreless first, Herceg went ahead in the second period with an escape and a takedown. All four points for Blumer (39-4) came on escapes.

Blumer was denied a trip to the finals when he was beaten by eventual state champion Luke Nichter of Chambersburg, 6-4, in the 160-pound semifinals. He bounced back to claim a 9-1 triumph over Connor Quinn of Oral J. Roberts in the consolation round, pushing him into the third-place match.

Brayden Roscosky finished sixth in the 195 bracket. He lost to Jason Henderson of Delaware Valley in the fifth-place match, 11-8. He trailed 6-1 after two periods and made a little surge at the beginning of the third with an escape and takedown, but Henderson responded with a takedown and reversal to win.

Roscosky (39-8) entered the day in the consolation bracket and won a 3-2 decision over Jackson Talbott of Central Dauphin in his first match. In the consolation semifinals, Roscosky was beaten by Cumberland Valley’s Jake Lucas for the second time this weekend. He had lost to Lucas 3-1 in Thursday’s Round of 16, and on Saturday morning, he dropped a 6-2 decision.

Tags: Burrell, Kiski Area