Rohaley’s OT win sparks Canon-McMillan to section title
CANONSBURG – Tanner Rohaley’s ankle was hurting after this match but he didn’t mind.
Not when he just wrestled the biggest bout of his career.
Not when he got the biggest win of his career.
Rohaley, a junior 145-pounder, won a hard-fought, back-and-forth match, 6-4, in overtime against Trey Howard to give Canon-McMillan a crucial victory that helped produce a 42-25 win over Waynesburg in the WPIAL Section 4-AAA Team Tournament finals Wednesday in the C-M gymnasium.
It was the 41st section title, and 18th straight, for the Big Macs, who disposed of rival Trinity, 60-15, in the section semifinals earlier in the day.
The Hillers earned third place with a 48-36 victory over South Fayette. All four teams will compete in next week’s WPIAL Class AAA Team Tournament.
By winning the section, the Big Macs have a good chance of receiving one of the top four seeds in the team tournament. Brackets for the event will be released today.
Rohaley suffered the high ankle sprain in a Dec. 21 quad meet that included Kiski, Hempfield and Seneca Valley. He missed about two weeks.
“I knew I just had to go out there and do my job,” said Rohaley. “I wrestled my hardest, did my thing and took it to him. He’s a very tough wrestler. I had a battle on the mat. In the end, I got the takedown in overtime and beat him. I expected a good match.”
Rohaley’s win and Evan Miller’s pin of Noah Tustin at 182 pounds turned Waynesburg’s upset bid into a Canon-McMillan victory.
“Both of those wins were really big for us,” said C-M head coach Jeff Havelka. “Trey Howard and Tanner are very solid kids. It was big for us to come out on top in overtime and the pin at 82 was crucial. We looked at the weights up and down and tried to figure what they were going to do. In these bouts, every match is big. Every kid stepping up is big.”
Waynesburg (13-1) burst out to a 25-12 lead after a Caleb Stephenson pin at 170 pounds. That’s when the Big Macs began their comeback.
Miller pinned Tustin 22 seconds into the third period. Had he and Rohaley not won and the bouts played out the way they did, Waynesburg would have won the dual meet.
Canon-McMillan (6-2) won the last six bouts, including Alec Hendal’s 3-2 decision over Ryan Howard at 220 pounds and Gio Ramos’ 1-0 decision over the Raiders’ Spencer Lesinski at heavyweight.
“Forty-five and 82 were the key bouts,” said Waynesburg head coach Joe Throckmorton. “I told our kids if they wrestled their match, they could win. We lost some close matches. … We’ll bounce back. They’re hard workers and young. We keep getting better.”
Nate Stephenson (138) and Caleb Morris (160) also had pins for the Raiders.
Canon-McMillan rolled over Trinity in the opener, thanks to pins by Jacob Houpt (106), Jimmy Baxter (120), Jacob Gardner (126), Ken Hayman (132), Rohaley (145), Tyler Rohaley (170), Gerrit Nijenhuis (182) and Hendal.