Next stop for Nijenhuis: Oklahoma
Gerrit Nijenhuis is on the move again.
The two-time Outstanding Wrestler on the Observer-Reporter Wrestling Team has transferred from Purdue to Oklahoma University.
The Canon-McMillan graduate and two-time PIAA Class 3A champion made the announcement Thursday.
When asked why he chose to transfer to OU, Nijenhuis told Heavyweight Nation: “My deciding factor was I felt like Oklahoma had the best environment to help me accomplish my goals of becoming a national champion.”
During his time at Purdue, Nijenhuis was ranked 18th in the nation at the 165-pound weight class by trackwrestling. He was Purdue’s first freshman to qualify for the NCAA Championships since Christian Brunner in 2017. Nijenhuis finished 2-2 at the NCAA Championships, pinning Hofstra’s Ricky Stamm and a 7-4 decision over Navy’s No. 14 seed Tanner Skidgel.
As a senior at Canon-McMillan, Nijenhuis’ 6-0 victory over Donovan McMillon of Peters Township in the state finals made PIAA history. It was the first time since the PIAA tournament began in 1938 that two wrestlers from Washington County competed against one another in a state final.
The match also was significant in that it made Nijenhuis the winningest wrestler in WPIAL history. Nijenhuis has a 181-16 career record, one victory more than the previous mark of 180. The state record is 199 wins by Zach Kemmerer of Upper Perkiomen.
Nijenhuis won the final 11 bouts of his junior season at C-M, finishing his career on a 58-bout winning streak. He won titles at King of the Mountain, Powerade and the Tri-County Athletic Directors’ Association tournaments.
Nijenhuis announced his transfer to Oklahoma on Instagram by striking a pose in an Oklahoma singlet. Below the photo, he wrote “super excited for this chapter of my life!” #boomersooner.
Playoff preview
As of Friday, 28 local teams – 14 in baseball and 14 in softball – had clinched berths in the WPIAL playoffs.
The top four teams, including ties, from each section earned a berth in the WPIAL’s postseason.
In softball, Trinity in Class 5A, Chartiers-Houston in Class 2A and West Greene in Class 1A each won section titles.
Canon-McMillan and Peters Township made it coming out of Class 6A, Section 1; Belle Vernon made it from Class 4A, Section 2; and Waynesburg tied for second place in Class 3A, Section 3.
Burgettstown and Fort Cherry qualified from Class 2A, Section 1.
Two wins over California this season got Bentworth in from Class 2A, Section 3. Charleroi and Carmichaels from Section 3 will join the Bearcats.
Mapletown and Jefferson-Morgan tied for third in Class A Section 2 with 5-5 records and split their two-game series. Both advanced.
In baseball, Peters Township has won at least a share of the Class 5A, Section 4 title and can win it outright with a victory over Trinity today. Carmichaels is the Class 2A Section 1 champion and West Greene is the Class A Section 2 winner.
South Fayette is locked into third place in Class 5A Section 3, Avella finished tied for fourth but wins the tiebreaker in Class 1A Section 1, and Jefferson-Morgan is fourth out of Class 1A Section 2.
Burgettstown, Fort Cherry and Chartiers-Houston finished 2, 3 and 4 in Class 2A Section 4 and California, Bentworth and Beth-Center finished 2, 3 and 4 in Class 2A Section 1.
The only spot that could radically change locally is in Class 3A Section 4. Charleroi, now in fifth place, can move into a tie for third at 5-5 with McGuffey and Waynesburg with a win Monday over Yough. A loss eliminates Charleroi.