McGuffey’s drop has meant rise in Class AA
When McGuffey High School’s wrestling program dropped to Class AA this season, most expected a strong showing in the WPIAL Team Tournament and even more success in the upcoming individual tournaments.
The first wish has come to fruition.
The Highlanders qualified for the team tournament for the first time since 2007 and won their first postseason dual meet since 2003.
Now, McGuffey sits in the semifinals and has two more hurdles to clear before winning its first team title of any sort since 1999.
The third-seeded Highlanders will take on No. 2 South Fayette at 1 p.m. today at Canon-McMillan High School. The other semifinal pairs fourth-seeded Jefferson-Morgan against top-seeded Burrell, which is looking for its ninth consecutive WPIAL team title in Class AA.
The Class AAA semifinals will be held at Penn Hills High School, where No. 3 North Allegheny battles second-seeded Franklin Regional and No. 4 Latrobe takes on top-seeded Belle Vernon in 1 p.m. matches.
Semifinal winners in both classifications will wrestle for the team championships at 3:30 p.m. at the same sites. These finalists also qualify for next weekend’s PIAA Team Tournament.
The 26-24 win over Connellsville in the 1999 Class AAA finals was McGuffey’s third team title in four seasons. The Highlanders made it to the finals in seven consecutive seasons in the 1990s.
“We felt we could make a strong run in the team tournament and win a section title,” McGuffey head coach Mark Caffrey said of expectations in Class AA. “And that’s what we did.”
South Fayette has made it to the finals the past two seasons only to stumble against Burrell. The Lions fell 35-30 two years ago, and lost a 37-29 decision last season.
“I enjoy the team tournament,” said South Fayette head coach Rick Chaussard. “I try to get the kids to enjoy it, too. I think it’s a lot of fun.”
McGuffey needs to win big in the lightweights and at 220 and heavyweight to counter South Fayette’s strength. Lane Kline at 106, Gage Nicolella at 113 and Teague Nicolella at 120 will be counted upon to earn bonus points. Liam McElhoes at 220 and Ryan Stienstraw at heavyweight provide a good 1-2 punch.
“Bonus points will be huge,” said Caffrey. “Usually, when you get to this point, the match scores are going to be low. So any major or (technical fall) will be huge. We can’t give them up or we’ll lose the match.”
South Fayette’s strength is in the middleweights, where Shane Ging (132), Mike Carr (138), Ben Previte (145), Brett Beltz (160) and Jared Walker (170) sit. The Lions will look for Andrew John (113) or Jasper Wolfe (120) to stop McGuffey down low.
“Each team looks at bonus points in certain situations,” said Chaussard. “The other team knows that. It’s harder to get bonus points now than in December or January matches. The tough part is the (semifinals and finals) being held in one day. We have to look at three teams because we could end up wrestling two of them. The wrestlers like them because they only have to make weight once.”
In the top part of the bracket, the health of Anthony Marra is a concern for Burrell. The 160-pounder has not wrestled in the postseason. Still, Jefferson-Morgan matches up well with Burrell, but have had difficulty in past tournaments of taking advantage. Gavin Teasdale (106) and Brendan Howard (120) are capable of winning by fall down low, and Trevor Jamison (145), Trevor Kniha (152) and Bill Bowlen (170) are capable of earning bonus points, depending on the matchups.
In Class AAA. A team from Washington or Greene County has not made it to the semifinals for the first time since the format changed in 1979. The top four seeds – Belle Vernon, Franklin Regional, North Allegheny and Latrobe – will battle for the title Franklin Regional won last year.