Mapletown takes another step in wrestling rebirth

When the fifth-place dual meets take place tonight in the WPIAL Section Team Tournament, no school will be more pleased to be there than Mapletown.
Just five years since the wrestling program was restarted, Mapletown is making its first appearance in the Class AA team postseason. Maybe more important, the program is showing that the faith many had for its success has been realized.
“I think it says a lot about where we’ve come in five years,” said Mapletown head coach Chris Shilk. “After five years, we’re not kicking the door down, but we’re knocking on the door. People are having to respect us as a program now that we’re definitely in the hunt for things. The kids have worked hard, and a lot of kids who are participating in the tournament have been with me for four of those five years. It’s a good sign of what we put our kids through with this program.”
The Maples, whose wrestling program was dormant for nearly three decades before beginning again in 2011, have steadily improved. They finished third behind McGuffey and Beth-Center. Mapletown travels to Mt. Pleasant for a 7 p.m. dual meet against the Vikings. The winner earns a spot in the WPIAL Team Tournament, which begins next week. The matches are simply for seeding Nos. 1 through 4 for the WPIAL Team Tournament.
Mapletown got into the Section Team Tournament with a 42-39 win over Bentworth. Shilk said it took a while before the wrestlers understood what they accomplished.
“The immediate reaction was almost one of disbelief,” said Shilk. “They carried themselves as if it were any other dual meet. Once it sunk in, there was a little bit of celebration in the locker room. We do our discussions down in the practice facility the following day, and that’s where it sunk in. For the first time since I’ve been part of the program and the program was restarted, we’re headed for the (postseason).”
Something that was almost unthinkable when the program was restarted.
“The community, at first, was skeptical, like they might be with seeing anything new,” Shilk said. “But I’ll tell you this, over the course of the five years, the feedback from the community has grown. They are really supportive. When I talk to some of the people who have grown up there … they told me that there was a time when this was a wrestling community – Waynesburg, Mapletown, Jefferson, West Greene all were neck and neck. Our gym is always packed when it’s dual meet night.”
At the other end of the spectrum, South Fayette is ready to chase a section title. The Lions are two wins away from that, taking on Burgettstown at 6 p.m. in the semifinals of the Section 1 tournament at Freedom. If successful, the Lions would battle either Freedom or Chartiers-Houston in the 7:30 p.m. finals.
“We set our goals to get the best matches,” said South Fayette head coach Rick Chaussard. We upgraded out schedule with Triple-A teams and I hope it pays off in the end.”
South Fayette (13-5) has scored 60 or more points in the 11 victories and the losses came in a powerful Franklin Regional Duals and a non-section dual meet against Canon-McMillan. The Lions are coming off a first-place finish in the Allegheny County Tournament Sunday at Fox Chapel, beating two Class AAA powers in North Allegheny and Pine-Richland.
“I wasn’t sure we could hold them off in the finals,” Chaussard said. “They had four in the finals and we had two.”
One of the big surprises for the Lions this season has been the performance of Corey Supan, a 195-pounder who was mostly a reserve the past two seasons.
“He was something like 4-7 coming in,” Chaussard said. “When we shifted our lineup around, he got in. Now, he’s 20-9. That’s been key. What I like about this team is we’re more balanced through our lineup.”
A lineup that includes defending state champion Mike Carr, a 145-pounder who is undefeated through 20 bouts this season.
“He’s handled (the high expectations) really well,” said Chaussard. “In the Allegheny County tournament, he came up to me and asked, ‘Do we need a fall?’ I said yes and he got the fall. He
knows people are gunning for him but he is handling it well.”
In other section action, Upper St. Clair, Belle Vernon and Connellsville are at Peters Township; Montour, Canon-McMillan and Waynesburg are at West Allegheny; and Southmoreland, Beth-Center and McGuffey are at Derry. In fifth-place bouts, Trinity travels to Hopewell and Fort Cherry is at South Side Beaver. Both matches start at 7 p.m.