East Xtra: Burrell's McKillop wins Powerade title
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Burrell's Travis McKillop did not receive the Outstanding Wrestler Award at last week's Powerade Christmas Tournament, but the Buccaneer senior would have been an excellent choice after winning the championship of the strongest of the 14 weight classes.
McKillop claimed the 160-pound title with a 4-3 victory in a grudge-match against Charleroi Area's Cody Wiercioch.
"I knew coming in that 160 was one of the strongest weight classes, but I also felt I was capable of winning," McKillop said. "This title means even more since I beat two wrestlers to whom I had lost. I stepped it up and did my thing."
Take a look at the top eight seeds and its easy to see why 160 was the weight class with the most talent.
• Wiercioch, a PIAA Class AA champion and WPIAL runner-up last year as a freshman, was the top seed. Wiercioch was also a defending Powerade Tournament champion.
• Central Catholic's Jason Luster, a National Prep School champion last year at Kiski School, was seeded second. Luster also won titles at the Ironman Tournament and Beast of the East Tournaments earlier in December.
• McKillop, a two-time WPIAL Class AA champion and two-time PIAA place-winner, was the No. 3 seed.
• Colonial Forge's Scott Reilly, a Virginia state third-place finisher, was seeded fourth.
• LaSalle College's Shane Springer, a PIAA Class AAA runner-up, was the No. 5 seed.
• West Allegheny's Aaron McKinney, a WPIAL Class AAA champion and PIAA runner-up, was seeded sixth.
• Christiansburg's Rich Eva, a two-time Virginia state champion, was the No. 7 seed.
• Ripley's Adam Bicak, a West Virginia state champion, was seeded eighth.
"I knew if I could get to the semifinals, I would probably have a rematch with Jason Luster," McKillop said. "He beat me, 2-1, in the quarterfinals of the Ironman Tournament."
McKillop posted a 7-4 victory in the rematch. That set up another rematch with Wiercioch. McKillop beat Wiercioch in last year's WPIAL title match, then lost to him in the Southwest Region final. Wiercioch went on to win the state title, while McKillop finished a disappointing fifth.
First Published January 6, 2011 12:00 am
