Freshmen continue long tradition for Burrell wrestling

By: HSSN Staff
Tuesday, December 19, 2017 | 10:00 PM

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As a state medalist as a junior high wrestler and listed among the top incoming freshmen by PA Power Wrestling during the preseason, Ian Oswalt had quite the reputation to live up to before he stepped onto a varsity wrestling mat at Burrell.

He thinks he can do even better.

“It kind of gets me excited for the season to maybe prove myself, to think maybe I could do a little bit better than where they put me at,” Oswalt said. “It just like drives me every day.”

One of three freshmen in Burrell’s starting lineup, Oswalt took a strong step by placing fourth in his first major varsity competition, last weekend’s King of the Mountain Tournament at Central Mountain High School.

It’s the type of performance 11-time defending WPIAL Class AA champion Burrell has come to expect from ninth-graders over the past decade-plus. Oswalt, A.J. Corrado and Aaron Edwards are filling the roles of dozens of Burrell wrestlers in the past who became starters or key contributors as freshmen.

“Coming up to a team like this, they expect a lot out of you,” Corrado said. “You have big shoes to fill, so you’ve got to wrestle hard on it.”

Burrell began the preseason with six potential freshmen for the lineup. Corrado, Edwards and Oswalt earned their spots in wrestle-offs and hit the ground running at King of the Mountain, which brings together some of the top teams in the state.

All the better, said Burrell coach Josh Shields, a starter during his freshman season in 2002-03.

“We bring them up for a reason, and that’s to play a part in this lineup — not only in the practice room, but on the mat,” Shields said. “All those guys we’re expecting to go out there and not just step out there but perform.”

Members of Burrell’s wrestling program since their early childhood, Edwards and Oswalt said they attended many of the Bucs’ matches as they grew up and imagined their own time on the mat.

For Edwards, it was a matter of carrying on a family legacy — older brothers Derek and Dean wrestled for Burrell.

“I was always hoping to, and now it’s coming true,” Edwards said. “It’s definitely exciting, but I got a little nervous my first two matches. I’m trying to get over those nerves.”

Corrado had something of an outsider’s perspective after moving from the Riverview school district to Burrell last year.

“I didn’t expect us to be training as hard as we do, but the training here is like no other school’s, I don’t think,” he said. “(We do) a lot of running at the beginning of practice to get warmed up. We condition at the end. We drill at the end of practice. It’s harder than a wrestling match. Our goal is to be conditioned for more than just a wrestling match.”

That work gets freshmen prepared quickly for the rigors of competition, particularly for a school with the lofty goals of Burrell. The Bucs wrestle a difficult schedule — in addition to King of the Mountain, they will wrestle at the Powerade Christmas Tournament and have nonsection matches scheduled against Class AAA No. 1 Kiski Area and No. 4 Hempfield.

“These guys have wrestled at a high level, but going from the junior varsity and (Junior Olympic) days to varsity and seeing the tough competition match after match, a tournament like King of the Mountain, these kids, probably the only thing similar to that would have been their state tournament,” Shields said. “And that’s something we’re doing week-in and week-out.”

They also see tough competition in the practice room. The three freshmen are working every day in practice against the likes of Trent Bechtold, a four-year starter, Bryan Gaul, a three-year starter, and Valovchik — wrestlers who make their opponents earn everything they get, said Shields, whose practice partner as a freshman was two-time state champion Joe Makara.

The freshmen said they have a mixture of nerves and excitement as they go through a full varsity wrestling season for the first time and try to help Burrell win its 12th consecutive title.

“It’s a lot of pressure, almost, keeping the WPIAL run (going) and everything because I have three years after this,” Oswalt said. “Just going in wrestling a better kid, or a kid that has a big reputation, you’re going to be a little bit nervous, but I’m just going to go in there and do my best.”

Doug Gulasy is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at dgulasy@tribweb.com or via Twitter @dgulasy_Trib.

Tags: Burrell