C-M falls in semis; Waynesburg feels like 1,000
Joe Tuscano/Observer-Reporter
Mac Church, front, is caught underneath Kollin Rath of Bethlehem Catholic during their 145-pound bout in the PIAA Class 3A Team Tournament.
Joe Tuscano/Observer-Reporter
Brandon Dami, right, of Canon-McMillan is just five victories shy of hitting 100 for his wrestling career.
Collier Hartman, bottom, of Canon-McMillan tries a roll-through to get free of Dom Rizzotto of Nazareth during their 114-pound bout in the PIAA Class 3A Team Tournament in Hershey Friday. Hartman won by decision in overtime.
HERSHEY – It was a beautiful run.
But Canon-McMillan High School’s wrestling team ran into a team in Nazareth that was a little bit stronger, a little bit more experienced and a little bit more stable.
The result was a 38-20 loss Friday night that dropped the Big Macs into the consolation round and with the chance to still finish in third place at the PIAA Class 3A Team Tournament.
“I thought every kid battled and did as good as they can do,” said Canon-McMillan head coach Brian Krenzelak.
“The kids definitely would like to medal. I do know that. We wrestled them both already. Everyone is well aware what everyone else has.”
Canon-McMillan wrestles the winner of the bout between Waynesburg and Chambersburg.
Canon-McMillan dominated down low, winning the first four bouts but Nazareth hurt the Big Macs through the middle of the lineup and up top.
Canon-McMillan reached the semifinals of the tournament with a 49-18 win over Spring-Ford in the quarterfinals.
Tanner Mizenko (107), Ryder Joseph (133), Matthew Furman (172), Gabe Stafford (189), Geno Calgaro (215) and Noah Livesay (Hvy) each had a pin for the Big Macs.
1,000th for Waynesburg
Here is a trivia question:
What do Dr. James Conklin, Doug Haines, Colby Morris, A.C. Headlee, Rocco Welsh and Mac Church have in common?
Give up?
They were part of a larger group that helped Waynesburg High School produce 1,000 wins.
The 1,000th win in program history came Friday in the consolation round of the PIAA Class 3A Team Tournament at the Giant Center.
The Raiders became the third program in the state to reach that milestone. Canon-McMillan/Canonsburg (1,158) and Easton (1,002) are the other two.
Win No. 1,000 came against Delaware Valley, 43-15.
“We came into the season with 985,” said Waynesburg Kyle Szewczyk. “So whenever we hit 15 wins, that would be it,’
“It’s history and it’s tradition. It’s 85 years or so of people wrestling, dedicated to the sport. Now their grandfathers and great-grandfathers, uncles, all the way down the line. Tradition never graduates.”
Once the dual meet was over, the team gathered for a photo that commemorated the achievement.
“It’s really good to do it at the state tournament,” said Szewczyk. “To have a great program for, oh, 100 years takes a lot of people.”
Bethlehem Catholic wins big
This dual meet would have been predictable as Bethlehem Catholic is ranked the top team in the state in most rankings. It was what happened in the last bout that made this 55-8 loss in the semifinals even harder to take.
Kollin Rath, a third-place finisher in last year’s PIAA Championships, used a sit-and-spin move in the final five seconds to secure a 4-3 decision over Waynesburg’s Mac Church, a returning state champion, in the 145-pound match.
“The kid saved his only shot for last,” said Szewczyk. “It came with a hip over and he threw the boot in. He kind of pulled out a Hail Mary.”
Church defeated Rath in the semifinals of last year’s PIAA Class 3A Individual Championship.
“It was kind of a fluky situation,” Szewczyk said. “It happens, unfortunately.”
Church’s record fell to 22-2.