JOHNSTOWN - Burrell freshman 119-pounder Travis McKillop wrestles with the confidence of a seasoned veteran. Before arriving on the high school scene, McKillop was a regular Junior Olympics state qualifier and captured two gold medals. McKillop showed he is ready to continue that kind of dominance at the varsity level by comfortably defeating Forest Hills junior David Fogle, 7-2, to capture his first PIAA Class AA Southwest Regional title Saturday night at Cambria County War Memorial arena. The victory continues an impressive run for McKillop. He also won section and WPIAL titles and nailed a crucial win in the WPIAL team final. "I can't describe how I feel," McKillop said. "I've worked so hard, and I believed in myself. The kid I wrestled was no joke. He made it to states last year and did pretty well." Other local wrestlers to win regional titles were Burrell seniors Shane Welsh (135), Jordan Shields (140) and Bob Speer (145), and Shady Side junior and New Kensington resident Dane Johnson (125). Four regional champions in the same season is a record for Burrell, with its previous high being three. Welsh, Shields and Speer won consecutive finals. They are Burrell's new "Death Row," a nickname the Bucs used in the past for a group of dominating wrestlers in consecutive weight classes. "We're the reincarnation of it," Welsh said. Welsh and Speer won their first regional titles, while Shields claimed his third. "It feels great to be able to complete three in a row," Speer said. "I didn't want to let anybody down." However, all three had to work hard to win championships. Welsh knocked off Central Cambria's Phil Steinberg, 4-2, in triple overtime. Shields edged South Side Beaver's Dominick Demor, 3-1, in overtime. And Speer hung on to beat Mount Union's Keith Ryan, 3-2. "We don't expect the easy road, but we're prepared for the hard road," Burrell coach Chris Como said. "We're peaking at the right time." Shields, a state champion at 130 pounds last season, and Demor have a strong rivalry going. Last weekend, Shields slipped by Demor, 3-2, in triple overtime in the WPIAL finals. "We wrestled back and forth in junior high," Shields said. "I've known him for a long time. It's a good rivalry. He's a good kid, but my enemy on the mat." The top five finishers in each weight class advanced to the state Class AA championships, which will be held Thursday through Saturday at Giant Center in Hershey. Other local wrestlers earning a trip to the state championships were Burrell freshmen Brian Beattie (285) and Jeremy Landowski (112). Beattie and Landowski finished fourth and fifth, respectively. Many local wrestlers were faced with a crucial fifth-place bout, but only Landowski emerged victorious. He beat Somerset's Luke Lohr, 5-2, in fifth-place action. Burrell's Tyler Berger (125), Kittanning's Jamie Atwood (145), and Valley's Mike Kuhns (160) and Kyle Dudley (189) lost in fifth-place bouts and were stopped one win short of moving on to the state championships. Kuhns and Dudley are brothers, and both were looking for their first trip to Hershey. With Kuhns being a junior and Dudley a sophomore, the siblings will have an opportunity to get to the state tournament again next season. "They'll make some adjustments and work hard over the summer," Valley coach Steve Ansani said. In the team point race, Burrell finished second with 138 points. Shady Side Academy won the title with 141 1/2 points.

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