Tolliver tired, triumphant and terrific
CANONSBURG – After the match, one could find Ringgold’s Evan Tolliver stuck between the benches in the auxiliary gym at Canon-McMillan High School. Tolliver, a 133-pound junior, was worn out.
But happy.
That’s because he had just put the finishing touches on a quarterfinal win, his second of the night, in the PIAA Class 3A Southwest Regional on Friday and is one win away from qualifying for the PIAA Championships that will be held at the Giant Center in Hershey.
Tolliver pinned A.J. Snatchko of West Allegheny for the second time in as many weeks, this time in 5:15 after taking a 9-4 lead.
“I wrestled him last week in the first round of the tournament,” said Tolliver. “I was losing 3-1 and caught him just like I did tonight.”
The first move he used was a second-period spladle. That seemed to stun Snatchko, who lost his hold on Tolliver. The second move was a funky one that put Snatchko on his back.
“I knew I’d have to grind this out. I kept my head in it.”
Tolliver opened the tournament with a 16-0 technical fall over Hayes Marickus of Erie High School. In the semifinals, Tolliver gets top-seeded Braiden Weaver of Altoona. Weaver will bring a 34-5 record into the match against Tolliver, who is 40-6 after the pin of Snatchko.
“We practiced that move all week,” said Ringgold head coach Luke Smith. “He did everything we asked and it worked so kudos to him.”
But Tolliver wasn’t the only local wrestler to surprise. Parker Jennings of Trinity, who is the son of Aaron Jennings, also picked up two wins to advance to the semifinals of the 107-pound weight class.
Jennings knocked off Nolan Rice of Westinghouse, then took a 4-2 decision in overtime from Connor Sidney of Hollidaysburg to earn a spot in the semifinals.
“I wanted to do better than I did,” said Jennings. “I had a real (poor effort). Last year I was a regional qualifier and this year, I’m going to be a state qualifier.”
Jennings gets Lee Dreshman of Canon-McMillan in the semifinals.
Jennings lost a 2-0 lead but battled back. He gave up a reversal in the final seconds to tie the bout 2-2 and send it to overtime.
“We didn’t need that late reversal to go into overtime,” said Trinity head coach Ron Tarquinio. “He did what he needed to do to advance and he’ll be moving on.”
Canon-McMillan leads the team scoring with 60.5 points. Franklin Regional is second with 55.
Locally, A.J. McGarrity of Peters Township was scratched before the tournament started because of injury.
Roan Tustin, a 215-pound senior from Waynesburg, scratched.
Scratches allowed Belle Vernon’s Elijah Brown, a defending state champion, and Trinity’s Dom Canali, a 127-pound senior, to advance to the quarterfinals.