Burrell senior wrestler Feroce surprises at PIAA regionals

By: Paul Schofield
Friday, February 21, 2020 | 8:41 PM

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While it was business as usual for Burrell juniors Ian Oswalt and AJ Corrado, senior Ricky Feroce capped off Day 1 of the PIAA Class AA Southwest Regional on Friday at IUP’s Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex with a satisfying victory.

Feroce, a 182-pounder who lost in the consolation round last year, collected two wins and will join Oswalt and Corrado in the semifinals at noon Saturday.

Anyone reaching the semifinals qualifies for the PIAA Championship on March 5-7 at Giant Center in Hershey.

Feroce opened with a win against West Branch junior Ethan Yingling and followed with an 8-4 win against Westmont Hilltop senior Mason Muto, who had upset No. 2 seed Seth Holderbaum of Chestnut Ridge.

“It was confident that I could beat Holderbaum,” Feroce said. “Qualifying for states is a different feeling, redemption from missing out last year.”

Burrell coach Josh Shields said he was happy for Feroce, who is a big part of Burrell wrestling program.

“He’s been working really hard,” Shields said. “That’s good for him.

“This tournament is tough; you never know what’s going to happen. I know Ian and AJ wanted to more points, but they got the win and advanced. We only lost one wrestler.”

Oswalt (41-5) opened with a pin against Westmont Hilltop junior Roy Dunn at 132 pounds and followed with a 5-1 victory against Forest Hills sophomore Noah Teeter, who wrestled at Mt. Pleasant last season.

“I felt I dominated in the first match and even though the score didn’t indicate it, I thought I controlled the match against Teeter,” Oswalt said. “Now that I qualified for states, I want to focus on winning this.”

Corrado (152) started the day with a second-period pin against Bald Eagle Area senior Drew Koleno and followed with a 10-7 victory against Forest Hills junior Ryan Weyandt.

Corrado wasn’t pleased with how he wrestled and did not want to speak about it.

The Burrell wrestlers still alive in the consolation round are freshman Nico Ferra (106), sophomore Nick Salerno (120) and senior Noah Linderman (160).

Junior Shawn Szymanski (113) pulled out with a leg injury, senior Mikey Scherer (220) withdrew because of personal reasons and freshman Logan Bechtold (138) didn’t win a match.

Valley sophomore Micah Hughes (106) and sophomore Dion Lyons (126) are alive in the consolation round after first-round losses.

Highlands sophomore Jrake Burford began the day with a 10-7 victory against Marion Center senior Hunter Armstrong, but he dropped a 9-7 decision to Chestnut Ridge junior Kaleb Miller in sudden victory at 138.

Rams sophomore Brock White (160) stayed alive in the consolation round after defeating Mt. Pleasant senior Patrick Brewer, 6-4.

Highlands’ Jeremiah Saunders (220) and heavyweight Jeremiah Nelson had not wrestled for a second time on Friday.

Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.

Tags: Burrell