HERSHEY - The PIAA Class AA Team Wrestling Championships took their toll on Hamburg.
Wrestling for the eighth time in 11 days, some of the Hawks didn't have the energy or fight they displayed during their three state tournament victories. At the same time, Burrell entered motivated for payback and on a roll through the wrestlebacks.
So the Buccaneers won 10 bouts to cruise past Hamburg 42-22 in the consolation semifinals Saturday at the Giant Center.
The Hawks (21-5), who defeated Burrell 35-33 in the preliminaries, finished in a tie for fifth with Brookville, a team Hamburg beat 34-33 in the quarterfinals.
As expected, Bethlehem Catholic (15-0) won its fourth straight Class AA championship with a 41-15 victory over Reynolds. Burrell dumped Boiling Springs 45-20 in the third-place dual.
Nearly as expected, Franklin Regional (23-1) captured the Class AAA title with a 37-23 win over Greater Latrobe in an all-District 7 final. Nazareth topped Cumberland Valley 39-18 in the third-place dual.
In the rematch with Hamburg, Burrell leadoff wrestler Robert Scherer (220), Dean Edwards (106), Anthony Marra (126) and Damon Greenwald (138) avenged losses they suffered during Thursday's first meeting. That, combined with its standout middleweights, enabled Burrell to cruise.
"You could see from the first match they were all over us, and we were just kind of flat,'' Hamburg coach Derek Sola said. "⦠If we have a match like that against a team like that, that's what happens. You can't do that. You've got to have everybody wrestling hard like we did the last couple days.
"That's how you've got to be,'' he added. "You can not come in and be flat against a team like that or you'll lose by 20.''
Sean Stanish (34-6), Chris Kummerer (34-4), Cody Miller (35-2) and Austin Bashore (32-3) won for Hamburg.
At 120, Stanish pancaked Jason Roberts and pinned him in 3:49, and at 182, Miller stuck Alex Moses in 2:00. Bashore won by forfeit.
Wrestling 132-pounder John Andrejcik, ranked 14th by Off the Mat, for the second time, No. 16 Kummerer won again, 13-4. After rallying for a 7-5 decision Thursday, Kummerer hit a fireman's dump for a quick 4-0 lead. Andrejcik cut the deficit to 6-4 with a pair of second-period takedowns, but Kummerer answered with a takedown and two tilts in the third period to earn a major decision.
"I learned you've got to go out with everything you've got. You can't hold back,'' said Kummerer, who wrestled at the Giant Center for the first time this week. "Holding back's not going to get you anything. If you want it, you've got to take it. You have to leave everything on the mat.
"This is like my first test run at states,'' he added. "When I go to the postseason, it's like, 'OK, I've been there. I'm good. I've seen the atmosphere. I'm calm. It's not anything new.' It's definitely a plus.''
Despite losing its last two duals, Hamburg won five times in the past 11 days to earn its first trip to team states. The Hawks defeated ELCO and Northern Lebanon and fell to Boiling Springs to place second in District 3.
Coming into the 20-team state draw, Hamburg ranked 12th according to Off the Mat. In states, the Hawks defeated No. 9 West Branch, No. 7 Burrell and No. 4 Brookville.
"I'm still kind of upset with our performance right now,'' Sola said. "Looking back on it, after a little while, we did some pretty good things here this weekend. We beat some really tough teams.
"I think all that talk about Bermudian Springs and us, it was the best thing for us,'' he added. "It just fueled us. We had that chip on our shoulders the last two days, and we wrestled that way and we wrestled really hard. We were able to prove that we do belong here.''
Now Hamburg will try to quickly refresh and regroup for the individual postseason. Sectionals are this coming Saturday at Annville-Cleona.
Beyond that, the Hawks are looking forward to next season. Seven senior starters will graduate, but Hamburg has a solid junior high team and lots of kids in the program. The Hawks hope to use this year's run as a springboard to the future.
"This is probably going to be the biggest challenge we've ever had as coaches this offseason,'' Sola said. "With seven guys leaving and seven guys that we've really depended on, it will be a big challenge. But we're excited about it. We don't think it's doom and gloom. We're excited about it.'' Meet Summary
PIAA Team Wrestling Championships
Class AA
Saturday
At Giant Center, Hershey
Fourth-Round Consolation
Burrell 42, Hamburg 22
220 - Scherer (B) dec. Lackey, 2-0 SV; 285 - A. Beattie (B) dec. Roberts, 4-0; 106 - D. Edwards (B) dec. Eaddy, 4-1; 113 - Jeffery (B) pinned Eicher, 1:34; 120 - Stanish (H) pinned Roberts, 3:49; 126 - Marra (B) dec. Mega, 7-1; 132 - Kummerer (H) maj. dec. Andrejcik, 13-4; 138 - Greenwald (B) dec. Oswald, 4-3; 145 - Falleroni (B) pinned Kochel, 3:50; 152 - S. Edwards (B) tech. fall James, 24-9, 4:51; 160 - D. Beattie (B) pinned Lavigne, :35; 170 - Pattock (B) maj. dec. Herber, 10-1; 182 - Miller (H) pinned Moses, 2:00; 195 - Bashore (H) won by forfeit