PITTSBURGH -- History was made in last night's undercard match at the Dapper Dan Wrestling Classic in multiple ways. The WPIAL (Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League) won all thirteen of the bouts to secure a 42-0 dual meet victory over its opponents from the state of Michigan. This shutout was the first ever in the history of the event, either main event or undercard. The previous low for points occurred by the OVAC (Ohio Valley Athletic Conference) in 2002, when they went 2-11 in dual matches as part of a 36-6 defeat against the WPIAL.
In addition, a trio of wrestlers from Burrell High School were among the match winners for the WPIAL squad, marking the first time in the undercard dual meet history that one WPIAL school had three wrestlers earn victories in the event. On three different occasions a single school for the opposing squad has earned four victories (St. Edward, Ohio in 1984; West Des Moines, Iowa in 1985; and Claymont, Ohio in 1992).
Wrestling against state third placer Terry Turner (Davison) at 130 pounds, Dave Makara opened the match with a takedown and three-point near fall, and led 5-1 after the first of two periods. The undercard match features two periods of wrestling, both 2-1/2 minutes long, starting in the neutral position. The lead would extend to 7-1 with an opening takedown for Makara in the second period. Despite two late takedowns by Turner, Makara would win 8-6.
With the match having started at 112 pounds, Makara's victory stretched the WPIAL lead to 12-0. Despite the loss, Turner would be named the Outstanding Wrestler for the Michigan squad.
The next match featured Makara's teammate Jeremy Landowski taking to the mats at 135 pounds against state champion and Junior National freestyle All-American Camryn Jackson (Lansing Eastern). Landowski scored a four-point move during the first period, which would give him a 4-0 lead after the conclusion of that period. Though Jackson would answer with a takedown to start the second period, Landowski earned an escape and closing takedown to earn the 7-2 victory.
"It's exciting to wrestle a kid of that caliber," Landowski said of facing Junior National freestyle All-American. "To beat him is even better. It feels like all the hard work paid off."
He was the second of three Burrell wrestlers to participate in the undercard event, with teammate Travis McKillop on the Pennsylvania team for the main event. "It means the world to be wrestling with three of my teammates in this event," said Landowski. "We've been wrestling together since we were 7 years old."
The third of those teammates was three-time state placer Brian Beattie at 215 pounds, who wrestled against state runner-up Jacob Hampton (Haslett). Shooting in with a high-crotch shot to a lift finish inside the first period of the match, Beattie scored a fall in 51 seconds to earn Outstanding Wrestler honors for the WPIAL squad.
"It feels good to get the pin, somewhat makes up for not winning a state title," said Beattie. "It's an honor to be named Oustanding Wrestler, considering the caliber of wrestler on this WPIAL squad."
The four Burrell seniors were part of a squad that ended the season ranked No. 30 according to InterMat, and earned a PIAA Class AA (small-school) state title. One other notable winner for the WPIAL was 2010 state runner-up Lorenzo Thomas (Pittsburgh Central Catholic), who finished third this year at 152 pounds. He wrestled up a weight class at 160, and competed against 171-pound state champion Matt Vandermeer (Clarkston).
The Penn bound Thomas, a Beast of the East champion in December, scored a 6-0 victory on the strength of a takedown in each period and a second period turn. "I felt that weight differential," observed Thomas. "However, I was able to stay in an open position, and not let (Vandermeer) use his strength against me.
"I've been coming to this event since I was a kid, so it feels good to participate. I've been competing against many of the WPIAL kids ever since youth, and it's great to have them be teammates this evening."
Results:
112: Paul Bewak (Hempfield Area) dec. Devane Dodgens (Chippewa Hills), 4-0
119: Derrick Nelson (Waynesburg) dec. Brandon Fifield (Leslie), 3-2
125: No. 5 Geoff Alexader (Shady Side Academy) dec. Joey White (Dundee), 6-0
130: Dave Makara (Burrell) dec. Terry Turner (Davison), 8-6
135: Jeremy Landowski (Burrell) dec. Camryn Jackson (Lansing Eastern), 7-3
140: Mike Innes (Chartiers-Houston) dec. Brian Gibbs (Bedford), 5-3
145: Nick Catalano (Canon-McMillan) dec. Matt Frisch (Oxford), 2-1
152: Nick Carr (South Fayette) dec. Dan Fleet (Lowell), 6-1
160: Lorenzo Thomas (Pittsburgh Central Catholic) dec. Matt Vandermeer (Clarkston), 6-0
171: Nick Bonaccorsi (Bethel Park) dec. Ben Ralston (Oxford), 4-0
189: Kyle McWreath (Trinity) dec. Anthony Abro (Canton), 2-1
215: Brian Beattie (Burrell) pinned Jacob Hampton (Haslett), 0:51
285: Jeff Tarley (Beth Center) dec. Cody Wolever (Hesperia), 6-1
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