Burrell downs McGuffey for ninth straight team title win
Teague Nicolella of McGuffey tries to escape Corey Christie of Burrell during their 120-pound bout in the finals of the WPIAL Class AA Team Tournament Saturday at Canon-McMilllan High School. Nicolella won a 2-1 decision in overtime when Christie was called for his third caution. Burrell won the dual meet 38-25.
Ryan Stienstraw of McGuffey locks up with Al Beattie of Burrell during their heavyweight bout in the finals of the WPIAL Class AA Team Tournament Saturday at Canon-McMilllan High School. Beattie pinned Stienstraw in 5:28 to help Burrell to a 38-25 victory.
In 22 seconds, Ryan Steinstraw pinned Thayer Phillips and sealed McGuffey’s 33-28 victory against South Fayette in the semifinals of the WPIAL AA team tournament.
Dillon Richey controls the action against Christian Dedi during a 160-pound bout in the WPIAL Class AA team tournament. Richey’s 3-0 decision helped McGuffey post a 33-28 win against South Fayette.
Huey Gillespie held on for a 7-6 victory against Joe Bastaroli in a key 182-pound bout as McGuffey upended South Fayette, 33-28, in the semifinals of the WPIAL Class AA team tournament.
CANONSBURG – Maybe it’s just in the water, or maybe it has been infused into the area’s culture, but the high school wrestling team at Burrell High School just does not lose in the WPIAL Class AA Team Tournament.
Not to South Fayette, not to McGuffey, and probably not to Franklin Regional if the WPIAL allowed the Class AAA champion to take up the challenge.
Burrell disposed of Jefferson-Morgan, 38-30, in the semifinals and had an even easier time knocking off McGuffey, 38-25, to capture its ninth consecutive Class AA team title.
In the third-place match, South Fayette downed Jefferson-Morgan, 37-30. Both rounds were held Saturday in the Canon-McMillan High School gymnasium.
Burrell, McGuffey and South Fayette each qualified for the revamped PIAA Class AA Team Tournament. Burrell heads to Hershey for Thursday’s first round. South Fayette will travel to Saegertown to face the District 10 second-place finisher, and McGuffey will host the third-place finisher in District 10, Fort LeBoeuf. Both preliminary-round matches will be held at 7 p.m. Monday. The winners enter the first round in Hershey Thursday.
Burrell won eight of the last 11 bouts, wiping away an early 10-4 lead by McGuffey.
“They just have a better team than us,” said McGuffey head coach Mark Caffrey. “I was happy with the way we wrestled. Going into the tournament, I thought Jefferson-Morgan could beat them and we would have our hands full with them. You can see why they have won nine titles in a row.”
Burrell (7-4) hurt McGuffey in the upper weights, where Alex Moses won by forfeit, and Robert Scherer (195) and Al Beattie (Hvy) each won by fall. That stretched a 20-13 lead after 170 to 38-19 with one bout remaining.
“I understand that nothing lasts forever,” said Burrell coach Josh Shields. “Every year is different. Every year, we seem to have new heroes and new captains. This team had only one returning state qualifier and we usually have three or four.
“This victory is so satisfying because a lot of people counted us out. They thought we would be down this year. But we have confidence and it showed here.”
McGuffey (24-4) came into the tournament as the third seed and knocked off second-seeded South Fayette, 33-28, in the semifinals. The Highlanders were missing two starters in Connor Thompson (170) and Luke Desmond (132, 138)
“Everything had to go right for us to win,” said Caffrey. “Burrell has a great program and they were simply better than us.”
Third-Place
South Fayette 37, Jefferson-Morgan 30: South Fayette preserved a spot in the team tournament by winning four consecutive bouts in the middle of the lineup to come away with a 37-30 victory.
Shane Ging pinned Aaron Mylan at 132, Mike Cusick won a 14-0 major decision over Austin Goldsberry at 138, Michael Carr had a pin at 145 and Ben Previte decisioned Trevor Jamison, 2-1, at 152 to turn a 9-3 deficit into a 22-9 lead.
“Being the third-place team, we have a harder road (to Hershey),” said South Fayette head coach Rick Chaussard. “District 10 has some good teams. I’m sure it will be a tough match. There’s not much time to prepare and not much time to reflect (on the loss to McGuffey).”
Gavin Teasdale (106) got the first of his two pins and Brendan Howard won by a 20-5 technical fall over Jasper Wolfe to give J-M a 9-3 lead. Howard’s win was the 144th of his career and broke the school record of 143, set by Dustin Conti two years ago.
“Brendan is reaping the rewards that seniors do,” said Jefferson-Morgan head coach Mike Lesko. “He’s been through hard times, and now he is at the top of his game.”
Semifinals
McGuffey 33, South Fayette 28: Three crucial victories propelled McGuffey past South Fayette, 33-28, in the semifinals.
Gage Nicolella pinned Andrew John at 113, Aaron Harris shut out Shane Ging at 132, and Huey Gillespie scored at the buzzer to edge Joe Bastaroli at 182.
“The matchups went the way we thought they would,” said Chaussard. “We just didn’t win. We gave up a fall we didn’t expect at 113, and I knew we were in trouble at that point.”
Brett Beltz won by fall at 195 and Rasaun Culberson by decision at 195 to give South Fayette a 28-27 lead. The pin gave Beltz the 100th victory of his high school career.
But Ryan Stienstraw pinned Thayer Phillips in 22 seconds to put the match away.
Burrell 38, Jefferson-Morgan 30: Burrell won seven of the final nine bouts to come away with a 38-30 win over Jefferson-Morgan.
Shaun Gates (152) and Beattie (Hvy) each won by fall and Moses had a forfeit win in the run.
Teasdale (113) and Bill Bowlen (195) each had a pin for the Rockets.