The Wrestling Dynasty Continues as Burrell Wins WPIAL AA Again

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, January 31, 2015 | 10:08 PM

The Burrell wrestling team has built a dynasty over the past decade, and that success continued on Saturday, as the Buccaneers defeated McGuffey 38-25 to capture their ninth straight WPIAL Class AA Championship at Canon-McMillan High School.

(Left: Burrell wrestlers celebrate 9th straight district crown after beating McGuffey)

Burrell (11-5) which entered the postseason as the top seed, edged Jefferson Morgan 38-30 in the semifinals earlier on Saturday to advance to the finals. On the other side of the bracket, No. 3 McGuffey upset South Fayette, the second-place squad each of the past two seasons, 33-28, to reach the championship round.

The Highlanders (22-4) grabbed an early lead, as three straight victories to open the bout staked them to a 10-0 advantage. The Bucs would battle back, though, capturing three straight victories of their own. Dillan Jeffrey notched a major decision, and Jason Roberts followed with a pinfall for the Bucs. With the score deadlocked 10-10, Noah Hanna captured the decision to put Burrell ahead by three.

After McGuffey again knotted the match, the Bucs captured four straight bouts to clinch in the victory.

Damon Greenwald secured a major decision, and unheralded sophomore Bobby Hickman scored the biggest points of the match for Burrell, as he edged Huey Gillespie 5-3. Burrell added six more points via forfeit in the 182-pound class, and junior standout Robert Scherer sealed the outcome for the Bucs with a pinfall victory.

Although championships have become the expectation at Burrell, the enjoyment of capturing the title doesn’t wane, according to Burrell head coach Josh Shields.

“It never gets old,” he said. “Every year it’s a new group of guys, a new hero every year.”

To that point, this year’s hero was Hickman, who entered action on Saturday with a record of just 4-12.

“Who’s going to step up and beat someone maybe they’re not supposed to beat?” Shields asked of his unheralded grappler. “This year, Bobby got the opportunity and went out there and seized it. He wrestled great and battled hard the entire time and came back in the third period.”

Both Burrell and McGuffey will advance to the PIAA postseason, as will South Fayette, as the Lions bested Jefferson-Morgan 37-30 in the consolation match.

Burrell Buccaneers 38 – McGuffey Highlanders 25
113 – Gage Nicolella (M) dec. Trent Bechold (B) 3-0
120 – Teague Nicolella (M) dec. Cory Christie (B) 2-1 (OT)
126 – Aaron Harris (M) major dec. Ethan Awes (B) 15-6
132 – Dillan Jeffrey (B) major dec. Jared Whirlow (M) 13-4
138 – Jason Roberts (B) pinfall Nicholas Cage (M)
145 – Noah Hanna (B) dec. Jeff McConn (M) 3-2
152 – Dillon Richey (M) dec. Shaun Gates (B) 4-3
160 – Damon Greenwald (B) major dec. Luke Shingle (M) 22-10
170 – Bobby Hickman (B) dec. Huey Gillespie (M) 5-3
182 – Alex Moses (B) forfeit
195 – Robert Scherer (B) pinfall Jimmy Duchi (M)
220 – Liam McElhoes (M) pinfall Phil Coutch (B)
285 – Allan Beattie (B) pinfall Ryan Stienstraw (M)
106 – Lane Kline (M) forfeit.

Tags: Burrell