Dec 8, 2015 3 min read

There are easier season-opening dual meets in wrestling but Mark Powell doesn’t mind.

The head coach at Trinity High School will bring his wrestlers to Canon-McMillan tonight to not only open the Class AAA season but compete in the first Section 4A match.

First whistle is at 7:30 p.m.

“It’s probably not the optimum time to wrestle them, but the gutters need cleaned out,” said Powell, “so we’re going to clean them out.”

As any homeowner can tell you, it’s tougher to do that in December.

The Hillers are running into a Canon-McMillan team coming off a team victory in a 19-team Cumberland Valley Kickoff Classic over the weekend.

“Trinity is always a big match for us,” said Canon-McMillan head coach Jason Cardillo. “It’s hard not to be excited about it.”

Trinity returns all but three starters from a team that finished third in Section 4A and earned a berth in the WPIAL Team Tournament. Two of those losses – Cameron Reynolds and Robert West – combined for 23 victories. Junior Mike Kolosky and seniors Ryan Yocum, Justin Ritter and Austin Fife will be the heart of the Hillers’ attack.

“We have a full team and I think we’re going to open some eyes this year,” said Powell. “I think we are going to have an exciting team.”

Powell said he will “put our best guys on their best guys” but that leaves Cardillo somewhat in the dark with the Hillers’ lineup.

“They didn’t wrestle over the weekend, so we’re not sure where their wrestlers will be,” he said. “We’ll prepare the same way no matter who we wrestle.”

Canon-McMillan is coming off an impressive team title in the Cumberland Valley tournament, outdistancing such schools as Easton, Council Rock South and Boiling Springs. The Big Macs had three individual titles and nine medalists. Blaze Kansco won at 170 pounds, Tommy James at 182 and Brendan Furman at heavyweight.

“Kansco wrestled a really smart tournament,” said Cardillo. “Tommy James looked good and Brendan Furman did a really nice job and got us some pins (for team points). He finished fourth last year. That (team performance) was a step in the right direction. We want to accomplish our goals, including winning a WPIAL (team) title.”

Logan Macri finished second at 113, falling in the finals to Matthew Parker of Pennridge, a fifth-place finisher at the state tournament. Matt Oblock was second at 126, also falling to a Pennridge wrestler, Kordell Rush, in the finals, 6-4.

The Hillers are competing in the North Coast Classic in Independence, Ohio, Dec. 11-12, the Powerade Christmas Wrestling Tournamnet at Canon-McMillan, Dec. 29-30, the Tri-CADA Tournament at Albert Gallatin Jan. 8-9; and the Top Gun Tournament in Alliance, Ohio, Jan. 15-16. Those events used up most of their scheduling points and kept this past weekend free, but Powell said the Hillers used the free time to get in some good practices.

“We’ve got to close the gap on these guys,” said Powell. “I’m excited to see what’s going to happen.”