Smaller lineups prove to be problem for WPIAL wrestling programs

By: HSSN Staff
Wednesday, January 31, 2018 | 12:05 AM

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As Burrell recognized its 2008 PIAA championship wrestling team after a recent match, current coach Josh Shields noted one particular fact about the only state title team in school history: The Bucs accomplished the feat with a mere 17 wrestlers, or just three above the number needed to fill out a starting lineup.

“The quality of the kids they had on the team, to put something together like that, with that limited numbers, you've got to avoid injuries and any type of outside circumstance,” Shields said. “For them to be able to come together and stay healthy throughout the year is a feat in itself.”

It's a feat some WPIAL wrestling teams might have to match in the coming weeks.

Although Burrell has 20 wrestlers — about a normal number for Shields' tenure — as the Bucs attempt to win their 12th consecutive WPIAL Class AA championship, other teams from the WPIAL aren't so lucky.

Just down the road from Burrell at Kiski Area, the Cavaliers will attempt to defend their WPIAL Class AAA title with 24 wrestlers after seeing as many as 38 to 40 in past years. Coach Chris Heater said the number has dropped in the past handful of years, but this is the smallest group. And from conversations with other coaches, he isn't alone.

“The last two years is when it started dipping down into the 20s,” Heater said. “Over the past five or six years and stuff, it seems it's been on a slow decline. But it really seems for most teams out there, it seems from last year to this year there was a big dropoff.”

The problem isn't an unspoken one. Heater said he discussed it with coaches during preseason and during tournaments.

“Some of them are struggling across the board at all levels of their program,” he said. “For us, we have 30 on our junior high team, which is a little lower than it has been. (But) our goal in our elementary program every year is to have 100 kids, and I think we have 106.”

The numbers crunch hit several schools hard. In Burrell's Class AA, Section 3B, Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic didn't field a team, and Jeannette opted for a co-op agreement with Class AAA Hempfield. Valley had 11 wrestlers, not enough to fill out a starting lineup without forfeits.

The same was true at Class AAA schools like Plum, with just 13 wrestlers on the preseason roster; Penn-Trafford, which saw its numbers drop to eight in December for injuries and other causes; and Fox Chapel, where coach Ron Frank fielded one of his smallest and most inexperienced teams in his 30-plus years as coach.

Lower numbers have an impact through injuries or illness. Kiski Area missed three of its starters for differing lengths of time, and the Cavaliers dropped a nonsection match to Canon-McMillan without having their top lineup. Valley, already dealing with its own numbers problems, had to forfeit eight bouts against Burrell when four of its other wrestlers were sick.

And then there's a less-obvious issue: Lower numbers make it more difficult for coaches to tinker with lineups, putting wrestlers into more advantageous matchups, during the team wrestling postseason.

“Especially during those dual meets, there are a lot of moves to be made, but when you've got 17 guys, there's not a lot of moves to be made,” Shields said. “So the lineup you have is the lineup you go forward with.”

Although it might be impossible to pinpoint an exact reason for the drop, Heater said in some circumstances he has seen wrestlers who decide not to come out for the team because it might be difficult to crack the lineup.

“It is (tough) because I think we're one of the programs that's had a lot of success over the years in having guys come out,” Heater said. “We've had other coaches ask us over the years how do you have seniors on the team who have never started for you but they're still there?

“We've always been very fortunate and been very proud of that fact. But that's starting to slowly dwindle away a little bit because these kids have so many options or so many things they're involved in.”

Heater said he thinks it's key that coaches are involved in the school as well. He is as a teacher at the high school.

Shields said he recruits athletes from other sports to get them to try wrestling during the winter season, extolling the virtues of the sport as good for strength and conditioning.

“Numbers everywhere are becoming an issue, not just in wrestling but in all school sports,” Frank said. “If we can get kids to do multiple sports, if we can get kids that are unafraid of the challenge, then I think that's great.”

By this point in the season, the numbers are the numbers, and teams just make do with their own situations.

Burrell's main challenge with numbers came in finding quality competition.The Bucs adapt yearly to a numbers-challenged section by wrestling high-quality opponents in nonsection matches (Kiski Area and Waynesburg) and in dual and individual tournaments.

“It's just keeping kids motivated day-in and day-out, just looking at the bigger picture,” Shields said. “Just knowing this is a necessity. We have to wrestle our section schedule the way it is. It's keeping them motivated, keeping them focused and making sure they know we have to do this to accomplish our goals.

After earlier injury problems, Kiski Area enters the wrestling playoffs the healthiest it's been as a team this season. The Cavaliers had their expected 14 starters in the lineup at the Section 1-AAA tournament last week and responded by winning the title.

“We had all the pieces together,” Heater said. “It's kind of a good time of year to put it all together.”

Doug Gulasy is a Tribune-Review staff writer.

Tags: Burrell, Fox Chapel, Kiski School