Big Macs win twice in power quad
Joe Tuscano/Observer-Reporter
Gerrit Nijenhuis of Canon-McMillan takes some fingers to the face while wrestling Justin Cramer of Hempfield at 195 pounds. Nijenhuis won by fall.
By Joe Tuscano/Staff writer/jtuscano@observer-reporter.com
Matt Furman of Canon-McMillan uses his head during his 170-pound bout with Julian Shillinsky of Hempfield.
VANDERGRIFT – Sometimes it’s the way you lose in wrestling that matters most.
Conlan O’Donahue only gave up a regular decision in the final bout to assure Canon-McMillan a 32-30 victory over Kiski to go 2-0 in a Class AAA power quad meet Friday night at Kiski High School.
The Big Macs opened the evening with a 39-28 victory over Hempfield.
Canon-McMillan came into the event the No. 3 team behind Hempfield and Waynesburg in the Observer-Reporter Preseason Rankings. Kiski was fourth and Seneca Valley was fifth.
Those rankings are sure to change soon after Seneca Valley roared to two easy victories, 46-23 over Hempfield and 38-29 over Kiski.
“We tell the kids in these matches to do their jobs,” said Canon-McMillan head coach Jeff Havelka. “Sometimes, that’s what it comes down to. I thought we wrestled well. Obviously, it’s still early in the year and we have a lot to work on. Overall, I thought we did a good job. They were both stressful matches. Both teams were solid so we knew that we had to wrestle well all the way up and down the lineup.
“We have Powerade coming up and I think this was a nice confidence builder for us.”
Kiski trailed early in the bout but made up for it with pins through the middle of the lineup. The Cavaliers went up, 27-26, but wins by Gerrit Nijenhuis at 182 and Gio Ramos at heavyweight gave C-M a 32-27 lead with one bout left.
“We didn’t wrestle well in the first match (against Seneca Valley) and we challenged them to do better against Canon-McMillan,” said Kiski head coach Chris Heater. “We wrestled a lot more like ourselves in the second match. I thought we wrestled well in the second match but it still wasn’t enough. We lost a couple close matches. It’s always an interesting match when we wrestle Canon-McMillan.”
Against Hempfield, the Big Macs used three pins in the heavier weights to put the match away.
Matt Furman started the run when he stuck Julian Chillinsky in 4:47 at 170 pounds. That gave the Big Macs a 27-18 lead.
Tyler Rohaley followed with a pin of Daniel Beck in 4:22 at 182 to make it 33-18.
And Gerrit Nijenhuis showed off some of his state championship form by muscling Justin Cramer to the mat and sticking him in 3:31 at 195.
Hempfield held a 10-9 lead after four bouts and 18-15 edge at the midway point. But two forfeits robbed the Spartans of any chance to win the dual meet.
“I don’t know. I think we’re better than that,” said Hempfield head coach Tom Dolde Jr. “Canon-McMillan beat us at 126 and 152. If we win there, then I think it’s a different match.”