Rams pipeline going strong
Maryland reaping wrestling benefits of Pine-Richland
Tri-State Sports & News Service
The University of Maryland wrestling team will have three Pine-Richland wrestlers on its roster next year.
Brendan Burnham is a sophomore for the Terrapins. He will soon be joined by his younger brother Garret and Rams teammate Hunter Baxter, who are both seniors at Pine-Richland.
“We’ve had success with WPIAL wrestlers in the past,” Maryland coach Kerry McCoy said. “That’s one of the main reasons we recruited Brendan. It’s good to keep the pipeline from Pine-Richland coming.”
Brendan Burnham started last year as a true freshman and posted a 9-11 record at 165 pounds.
“Brendan had shoulder surgery after the season,” McCoy said. “We also moved him up to 174. He’s currently redshirting, but that could change before the season ends.”
Baxter and Garret Burnham decided to join their former teammate at Maryland over the summer after a few visits to the campus.
“I made a couple visits with Garret to watch Brendan and I loved the campus,” said Baxter, a four-year starter for the Rams. “I was also very impressed with the team and the coaching staff. It was a perfect fit for me.”
Baxter is one of three current WPIAL wrestlers who have made three consecutive PIAA Class 3A appearances. He placed eighth in the state as a 113-pound sophomore and fourth last year at 120.
“We project Hunter at either 133 or 141,” McCoy said. “And he may redshirt. We’ll just wait and see when we get him in the practice room.”
Garret Burnham has verbally committed to Maryland, but hasn’t officially signed a letter-of-intent yet, so McCoy could not comment on him.
“I’m a recruited walk-on with the possibility of earning a scholarship in the future,” Burnham said. “I talked with a few other schools that had scholarship money available, but I wanted to be with my brother at Maryland. I also have a good relationship with coach McCoy.”
Burnham is a three-year starter who won a Class 3A Section 3 title as a 120-pound sophomore, but finished sixth in last year’s tournament at 126 after defaulting in the consolation semifinals with a shoulder injury.
“I haven’t done much in the postseason the past two years due to injuries,” Garret Burnham said. “I had surgery on my shoulder a couple weeks after the season ended. In fact, my brother and I had shoulder surgery at the same time. So we both spent the summer rehabbing.”
Burnham and Baxter are both returning champions at this weekend’s Allegheny County Tournament, which began this morning at Fox Chapel High School.
Baxter has advanced to the finals in his three previous appearances at the county tournament and claimed two titles. He won at 120 last year and is now competing at 132.
“I just broke the school record for career victories,” Baxter said. “Sam Brehm [a 2008 graduate] had 118 wins. I got my 119th win against Knoch.”
Baxter, who now has 124 career wins, is seeded No. 1 at the county tournament. He was looking forward to a possible showdown with North Allegheny’s Luke Landefeld, who won a county title in 2014, but Landefeld was scratched from the tournament with a concussion.
“I’m disappointed that Luke can’t wrestle,” Baxter said. “I hope he’s able to wrestle in the section tournament.”
Burnham is seeded No. 2 at 138, but surprisingly finds himself in the toughest quarter of the bracket, as North Allegheny’s Zach Stedeford is the No. 7 seed. Stedeford missed most of last season with an injury.
“I’m in a very tough bracket,” Burnham admitted. “Zach should have been seeded much higher. It will be tough to get back to the finals, but I’m always up for a challenge.”