C-M finishes off Waynesburg, takes 4th
Photos: JoeTuscano/Observer-Reporter
Nate Jones of Waynesburg, top, tries to turn Josiah Gardner of Canon-McMillan during their 152-pound bout in the PIAA Class 3A Team Tournament in Hershey Saturday. Jones won by decision.
Trainers check Nate Jones of Waynesburg during his 152-pound bout in the PIAA Class 3A Team Tournament in Hershey Saturday. Jones won by decision.
HERSHEY – From that chilly Wednesday night in mid-December, when Canon-McMillan had a disappointing loss to rival Waynesburg in their home gymnasium, until Saturday inside the Giant Center, when they came away with a PIAA medal in the state team tournament, the goal has always been to improve.
And with that improvement came victories, no more close losses. The Big Macs had goals and expectations. And with that came the demand for hard work and dedication.
The payoff was a fourth-place medal in this year’s PIAA Class 3A Team Tournament after a 36-31 loss to Central Dauphin. The trophy will fit nicely next to the WPIAL Team Tournament trophy.
Bethlehem Catholic defeated Nazareth, 35-23, to win the Class 3A title. Faith Christian Academy won the Class 2A title, 54-12 over Fort LeBoeuf.
Canon-McMillan defeated Waynesburg, 33-32, to make it to the third-place match.
“I had no doubts in my mind,” said Mathew Furman, a senior 172-pounder and the heart and soul of this team, on whether the team would medal in this event. “I had no doubts in my team. I had no doubts in their ability to get the job done. I had no doubts in our ability to wrestle. I had no doubts in us.”
Furman’s final bout in the team portion of this season came at 172 pounds, a pin of Central Dauphin in the battle for third place. This was the third meeting between these tradition-laden programs and second win in a row for the Big Macs over the Raiders.
“When I saw the 30-27 loss (in the first meeting), I thought if we worked hard and stayed humble and kept a low profile, we could overcome that margin. We were missing some guys; they were missing some guys. We worked hard and I’m sure they did too. We won the WPIAL beating them, so of course I had confidence coming into this match. Whether it was Chambersburg or Waynesburg didn’t matter. We beat them both.
“The biggest thing was we had to rebound from a loss to a tough Nazareth team (in the semifinals). We had to make sure we were mentally and physically ready to go (Saturday) morning. They were ready to go. They responded, they were fired up and really confident.”
Canon-McMillan came into the tournament as the District 7 (WPIAL) champion and opened the tournament with a 41-24 victory over Chambersburg. A 49-18 victory in the quarterfinals led to a 30-28 loss to Nazareth in the semifinals. The win over Waynesburg put the Big Macs in the medal round and the bout against Central Dauphin.
Waynesburg, meanwhile, saw their hopes for a medal evaporate with the loss to Canon-McMillan. The school with the Class 2A enrollment finished third last year in this event after winning it in 2021.
Waynesburg opened with a 32-27 victory in the first round over Shikellamy and followed it up with a 55-8 loss to powerhouse Bethlehem Catholic. A 43-15 victory over Delaware Valley followed in the first-round of consolations. A 48-15 win over Chambersburg brought the Raiders a rematch against Canon-McMillan.
“It’s going to be close every time,” Waynesburg head coach Kyle Szewczyk said about the matchup against Canon-McMillan. “We moved our lineup around a little, bumped away from (Brandon) Dami. Why not? So we bumped our 121 to 127 and 127 to 133 just for a different look.”
This match was the final one in the team portion of the season for two of Waynesburg’s historically best wresters. Two-time PIAA champion Mac Church won by forfeit at 145 and PIAA champion Rocco Welsh won by 27-12 technical fall over Geno Calgaro at 215 pounds.
“It’s sad, unfortunate,” said Szewczyk. “But everything comes to an end. All endings stink or they wouldn’t be called endings. We’ll get back to the drawing board and get ready for individuals.”
And what was the most satisfying moment this season?
“I don’t think it’s happened yet,” Szewczyk said.