Burrell stays alive, Derry eliminated in PIAA wrestling tournament

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, February 9, 2018 | 11:27 AM

HERSHEY — WPIAL Class AA champion Burrell stayed alive in the PIAA Class AA Wrestling Championship consolation round Friday morning by defeating District 1 champion Faith Christian Academy, 54-15.

The Bucs (12-6) will face the loser of the Southern Columbia/Brookville match at 4 p.m. at the Giant Center.

Derry (21-4) was eliminated from the tournament, falling short to District 6 runner-up Huntingdon, 36-30.

Burrell got pins from Trent Valovchik (106), Ian Oswalt (120), Bryan Gaul (126), Corey Christie (152), Shaun Gates (160), Zach Rupert (195) and Mason Slahtovsky (220).

“Our goal is to finish top four,” Burrell coach Josh Shields said. “I thought we wrestled well and put Thursday's disappointment behind us. We showed up and did what we needed to do.”

Burrell dropped a controversial decision to Muncy, 34-30, in the opening round.

Huntingdon built a 30-0 lead on Derry, but held on for the victory.

The biggest win came at 220 pounds where Landon Fisher pinned No. 1 Dom DeLuca of Derry.

Huntingdon also won two close decisions to start the match.

Derry coach Mike Weinell was not pleased with how his team prepared for the 8 a.m. match and let them have it afterwards.

“I told them they should have won the match because they were the better team,” Weinell said. “They weren't prepared to wrestle.”

Pins by Colton McCallen (106), Ty Cymmerman (120) and Shawn Broadway (126) pulled the Trojans to within 33-18.

“The lower weights did a good job getting us back in the match,” Weinell said. “The close losses and Dom's pin were the difference. Dom is wrestling with a sore shoulder and he should be prepared for tough matches like this.”

Paul Schofield is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at pschofield@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Schofield_Trib.

Tags: Burrell