Canon-McMillan wins PIAA competitive spirit title
JOHNSTOWN – For the first time in school history the Canon-McMillan competitive spirit team is a state champion.
The Big Macs won the PIAA Class 3A small squad division title Saturday afternoon at the War Memorial in Johnstown.
They edged Penn-Trafford by one-tenth of a point in the finals. Canon-McMillan had 92.2 points to Penn-Trafford’s 92.1.
The small squad division features teams with 15 or fewer members.
Following their victory the team received a police escort through Canonsburg back to Canon-McMillan high school where they held a celebration.
The Big Macs performed a flawless routine in the finals, which was crucial. Penn-Trafford got a one-point deduction on its routine, which turned out to be the difference.
Cumberland Valley placed third with 90 points. Springfield was fourth with 89.7 points and Central York was fifth with 88.3 points.
The other two WPIAL schools to make the finals in the Class 3A small squad division were Thomas Jefferson, which placed sixth with 87.4 points and South Fayette (81.8) was 10th out of the 13 teams that made the finals.
Canon-McMillan was one of two teams from the WPIAL to win a state title. Baldwin took home the Class 3A large squad championship besting a WPIAL contingent of Norwin, Hempfield and North Allegheny.
Canon-McMillan topped 41 other schools that entered the Class 3A small squad division. A second-place finish in the preliminary round on Friday to lock into Saturday’s finals.
The win capped an impressive season for the Big Macs. They also won their first WPIAL title in December at Hempfield.
Canon-McMillan scored a 90.3 at WPIALs to beat runner up South Fayette in the small squad division and were the second best team in Class 3A overall behind Hempfield, who won the Class 3A large squad division title.