Shorthanded Canon-McMillan rolls over Trinity
Joe Tuscano/Observer-Reporter
Jacob Gardner of Canon-McMillan tries to turn A.D. Nelson of Trinity at 120 pounds but has the move stopped by the referee for potential danger. Gardner won the bout 7-5 to help C-M to a 39-22 victory Wednesday.
Ken Hayman of Canon-McMillan has his arm around the neck of Daniel Boardley in the 126-pound bout Wednesday. Hayman won a 10-2 major decision. Canon-Mac won the dual meet, 39-22.
Canon-McMillan went into Wednesday evening’s wrestling match against rival Trinity without two of its better wrestlers.
Logan Macri, a Powerade Christmas Wrestling Tournament champion, and Gerrit Nijenhuis, a Powerade runner-up, were both MIA. Macri was nursing an injury and Nijenhuis had a family situation.
Even without those two, the Big Macs still stretched their muscles, coming away with a 39-22 victory over the Hillers in a Sub-Section 4A dual meet in Class AAA.
The win puts C-M at 5-0 in the section and earns a spot in Wednesday’s Section 4 Team Tournament at West Allegheny. The Big Macs take on WA and Waynesburg meets Moon in matches there.
The winners battle for the Section 4 title. Canon-McMillan has won each section title since 2001.
Trinity travels to Ambridge Wednesday in the fifth-place bout with a 7 p.m. start. The top five teams advance to the WPIAL Team Tournament.
“We were confident in the guys we had,” said C-M head coach Jeff Havelka. “People had to step up and wrestle up weights. It was just a great effort by the boys and by the team as a whole. You go with who you got and our guys stepped up.”
Canon-McMillan jumped on Trinity from the 220-pound start with three consecutive pins to take an 18-0 lead.
Zach Rohaley pinned Regis Seng in 56 seconds and Giomar Ramos stuck Will Edgar in 2:55. Jimm Baxter capped the run with a pin in 4:25 of Justin Walters.
Giani Martini stopped C-M’s run with a 7-3 decision over Michael Binni at 113.
But Jacob Gardner, stepping in for Macri, won a 7-5 decision over A.D. Nelson to stretch the Big Macs’ lead to 21-3.
“I found out a couple days ago when the coaches called me over and said I’d be wrestling for him,” said Gardner, a sophomore who started last year but who has wrestled only two varsity bouts this season. “I was confident. I just tried to stay smart and use my stuff.”
Ken Hayman made it 25-3 with a 10-2 major decision over Danny Boardley at 126.
Trinity mounted a comeback when Micah Finley pinned Blake Joseph in 4:41 and Dante Cecchine (152) and Cole Whitmer (160) won by decision and major decision, respectively.
But a technical fall by Tim Hritsko (138) and a pin by Tanner Rohaley at 145 stunted any momentum Trinity had.
“We needed to win the swing matches,” said THS head coach Mark Powell. “Waynesburg came down to a couple of swing matches. Canon-Mac came down to a couple swing matches. When we started this thing seven years ago, we were winning two (bouts) against Canon-Mac. Now, it’s coming down to two swing matches. So it feels good to make progress. It’s never nice to lose to Canon-Mac, but the kids can see the system works. We keep making it close but that’s not going to cut it.”