Highlanders earn 1st TriCADA wrestling team title, Barr wins 100th-career match in 139-pound final
By Jonathan Guth
For the Observer-Reporter
newsroom@observer-reporter.com
ROGERSVILLE — McGuffey extended the championship streak for Class 2A teams in the TriCADA wrestling tournament to three after crowning one champion and 10 placewinners on Saturday at West Greene Junior/Senior High School.
Burgettstown had won the past two team titles after Class 3A schools were victorious in the first 16 versions of the TriCADA tournament.
The Highlanders earned 220.5 points to edge Trinity, who had 219 points. Peters Township was third with 191.5.
“Yesterday helped us out a lot because we got a lot of bonus points,” McGuffey coach Jared Roberts said. “Our kids get them in the early rounds and that helps you stay up top in the team standings. Our kids really tore it up in that last round.”
McGuffey junior Lucas Barr won individual gold at 139 pounds after a 19-3 technical fall over the Hillers’ Devin Junko in 4:17. Barr not only won his first TriCADA championship but also recorded his 100th-career victory. He improved his career record to 100-22, and is 21-0 this season.
“That was awesome (Barr’s 100th-career victory),” Roberts said. “He pinned and tech falled everyone throughout the whole tournament. It was awesome being able to get his 100th win in the finals at TriCADA. “It was nice for us to get the team title because if you look at that last of past team champions, there are not a lot of Double A schools, so that gives us a lot of pride.”
Barr is a two-time state qualifier. He was one victory shy of reaching the podium last season.
“I practiced a lot on my technique, and I was able to score off a lot of his shots in the finals,” Barr said. “I am working towards getting back to states, and I think it’s going to be a good state tournament this year. We also hope to make it to states as a team.”
The Highlanders’ Tucker Main (121), Lane Ealy (127) and Emmett Wolfe (133) earned the bronze, and teammate Reid Teagarden (172) was fourth.
McGuffey was a perfect five-for-five in fifth-place bouts, as Blake Jamison (107), Clayton Ealy (114), Victor Bonus (145), Garrett Newman (152) and Aaron Supler (189) were victorious.
Ringgold’s Jake Conroy won the Justin Stephenson Most Outstanding Wrestler award after pinning his way to the finals and earning a technical fall for the championship at 215. Conroy won TriCADA gold as a freshman at 189 in 2022.
Stephenson passed away Aug. 27 after battling cancer for 4½ years. He was the junior high principal and former athletic director for the Central Greene School District, and coached football and wrestling for the school district and community along with being a great athlete.
“It was really nice to come in here to come in here, and not only walk away with a second TriCADA championship, but the outstanding wrestler award,” Conroy said. “The cards didn’t fall my way in some of the matches the last two years, but I was able to improve on some things and come back strong this weekend.”
Conroy deflected praise for his efforts to his teammates, as Leif Syrko (107) and Evan Tolliver (121) won individual titles.
“It was great to see two of my teammates win titles, and we had six placewinners,” Conroy said. “Any time I get interviewed, I always say at least once, ‘Keep an eye on Ringgold.'”
The Hillers’ Dom Canali (127) and TJ Allison (145) won individual championships.
Canon-McMillan’s Collier Hartman scored two takedowns, including one in match clincher in the third period, and hung on for a 6-5 decision over Drake McClure for his second straight TriCADA title.
Hartman defeated state qualifiers McClure and Beth-Center’s Mason Wright on the way to the championship at 133. Wolfe made three wrestlers at 133 that qualified for Hershey last season.
“Drake is a really dangerous wrestler,” Hartman said. “I was not afraid to shoot, but I was just cautious in picking my shots wisely. I know his defense is really good, and he’s very scrambly and good on the mat.
“I have never wrestled Drake in a competition, but the top four placewinners at 133 train at Qwest, so we all know each other very well.”
Fort Cherry’s Braedon Welsh won four bouts by fall and one by technical fall to earn the title at 189. He earned the TriCADA championship last season at 172.
“I was focusing on getting to my shots this weekend,” Welsh said. “I turned guys a little bit, but I wanted to cut my opponents and work on shooting and my set-ups.”
Peters Township sophomore Nicholas McGarrity is two-for-two in winning titles at TriCADA and looks forward to the three-peat next season. McGarrity, who pinned all four of his opponents for the championship at 114, looks forward to the rest of the season.
He hopes to qualify for the state tournament for a second time.
“I thought I wrestled well this weekend,” McGarrity said. “I was pretty dominant on top. It is great that I am doing well now, but I need to be at my best when the postseason begins.”
Bentworth’s Owen Ivcic won his second straight championship with the title at 160. Ivcic is one victory shy of 100-career victories.
“I just kept pushing the pace, and everyone breaks when you keep the pace up,” Ovcic said. “It was a good feeling to earn a decisive win in the finals against a guy from a Triple A school.”
Teammate Alex Rusilko won the championship at 285.
Peters Township’s Darius McMillon earned the championship at 152 after a 5-4 victory in the finals over Frazier’s Jonah Erdely. The senior won his second TriCADA title.
West Greene’s Colin Whyte, the top seed at 285, lost in the first round to Trinity’s Edrick Williams, but won his next seven bouts by fall to place third.