Watch the wrestling championships live as part of 3 things to watch Saturday in WPIAL athletics

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, February 2, 2018 | 11:48 PM

The big questions heading into the 2018 WPIAL team wrestling championships are can Burrell continue to climb the consecutive title ladder? Can the Bucs become only the sixth team in district sports history to reach the ‘golden dozen'?

On Saturday at Chartiers-Houston, Burrell looks to claim a 12th consecutive WPIAL Class 2A wrestling championship with two more victories. The Bucs will face McGuffey at noon in one semifinals match while Freedom battles Derry at the same time in the other final four contest.

The two winners meet in the finals at 2 p.m. in a match that can be seen on the TribLive High School Sports Network .

Burrell is attempting to tie the Upper St. Clair boys' golf (1994-2005) and the Clairton boys swimming teams (1946-1957) for fourth longest district consecutive team title runs at 12 in a row.

The longest such streak is the Bethel Park boys swim team with 20 straight WPIAL championships from 1981-2000, followed by 14 in a row currently going on for the Sewickley Academy boys tennis team, which started in 2004, and the 13 straight crowns captured by the Norwin girls volleyball team from 1974-1986.

Don't forget 3A

The WPIAL Class 3A wrestling semifinals and championships will also take place Saturday at Trinity.

At noon, defending champion Kiski Area faces Waynesburg while top seed Canon-McMillan squares off with Seneca Valley. Coming out of the quarterfinals on Wednesday, it was thought it would be the Big Macs against Hempfield in one of the semifinals matches after the Spartans edged the Raiders by criteria in their second-round match. But an internal investigation by Hempfield school officials found an ineligible wrestler was used in the win and once that result was overturned, Seneca Valley moved on.

While Kiski Area is the reigning champ, it has been a while since the Cavaliers' semifinals opponent has won district mat gold. Thirty years ago, Waynesburg last won a WPIAL team wrestling title. That 1988 championship was the school's fourth crown.

Seneca Valley has never won WPIAL wrestling gold and is a heavy underdog against a Canon-McMillan team that is looking for its first district championship since winning four straight from 2010-13.

The Class 3A championship match can be seen on the TribLive High School Sports Network at 2 p.m..

Saturday showdowns on the hardwood

While there are only a pair of WPIAL section basketball games Saturday, one from each gender, there are still plenty of other showdowns slated that could affect Wednesday's Trib 10 power rankings.

On the girls side, the No. 2-ranked Class 6A team squares off against the top squad in Class 4A when Peters Township hosts Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic at 1:30 p.m..

The boys' have two standout games Saturday evening at the Hoops for a Cure event at Sewickley Academy.

Two top-ranked teams meet at 6:30 p.m. when Class A No. 1 Vincentian Academy battles Class 4A No. 1 and undefeated Quaker Valley. That is followed by yet another top-ranked team, Lincoln Park in 3A facing Class 2A No. 2 Sewickley Academy.

Don Rebel is a TribLIVE High School Sports Network broadcaster and staff writer. Reach him at drebel@tribweb.com.

Tags: Burrell, Canon-McMillan, Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic, Freedom, Kiski School, Lincoln Park, McGuffey, North Catholic, Peters Township, Quaker Valley, Seneca Valley, Sewickley Academy, Vincentian Academy, Waynesburg, Waynesburg Central