Double dose of frustration for Canon-McMillan at WPIAL wrestling
By Joe Tuscano
Contributing writer
McMURRAY – It was difficult to decide what was the most dispiriting loss for Canon-McMillan’s wrestling team, the one to Norwin that came within a whisker of being a tremendous win, or the on
-
- Canon-McMillan’s Bryce Collins locks up with Norwin’s Riley Shaffer in the 189-pound bout of the WPIAL Class 3A team semifinals.
-
- Norwin’s Brooks Blasko struggles to hold off Collier Hartman as Hartman works to a win by technical fall in the 139-pound bout WPIAL Class 3A team tournament semifinals.
-
- Collier Hartman of Canon-McMillan topples Norwin’s Brooks Blasko in the 139-pound bout of the WPIAL Class 3A semifinals.
Franklin Regional repeated as champion, moving its record to 17-0 with a thrilling 31-27 victory over Norwin (11-3), which was looking for its first team title championship,
Franklin Regional moves on to wrestle the District 12 runner-up Tuesday.
Canon-McMillan ends the season with a 10-4 record.
And a crazy semifinal match against Norwin, which ended in a 31-31 tie. But Norwin won the tiebreaker (7-6 in bout wins), giving the Knights the winning point.
Norwin held a 31-19 lead, heading into the final three bouts. Brayden Collins got a pin at 215 and Dakota Carmona won by forfeit to make it 31-31.
The Big Macs looked sluggish against Connellsville, falling behind 19-0 and 31-5 before mounting a rally.
“We expected a few bouts to be closer but they went Connellsville’s way,” said Canon-McMillan head coach Jurdon Maier. “I definitely think this was a successful year. Look at the program two years ago, we didn’t make the playoffs. Last year, we were a first-round exit. This year, we ended up tied in a match that could have put us in the WPIAL finals. I’m happy with the team and the effort they put in. It was definitely a good year for us.”
Interestingly, Canon-McMillan blasted Connellsvillle, 39-16 in the first dual meet of the season.
“I told them after the semifinals, ‘Guys, we’ve got another match, and we don’t want to be on vacation next week because it will be the worst vacation you’ve ever had,'” said Connellsville coach Bill Swink. “It makes a difference when you get those bonus points because everyone counts.”
Luke Lilley got a big win over Mason Calgaro after Calgaro won the previous match to start the season
“Luke (Lilley) had two nice wins today,” Swink said. “He beat Max Firestine from Franklin Regional and Mason Calgaro from Canon-McMillan.”