Technically, Chartiers-Houston’s Mele gains an edge
Jonathan Guth
By Jonathan Guth
jguth@heraldstandard.com
ROGERSVILLE — Chartiers-Houston sophomore Angelo Mele has worked on his technique and it paid off in a big way Friday night in the quarterfinals of the TriCADA wrestling tournament at West Greene High School.
Mele rallied from a 2-0 deficit in the third period to earn an 8-4 decision over Washington senior Caleb Patton in the 152-pound weight class.
“It definitely feels good to advance to the semifinals,” Mele said. “I never wrestled him before, but he teched my teammate last year and I heard he was good, so I just had to give it heart. I have worked on my technique to get better. I have the strength, but you need to have that technique to succeed in wrestling.”
Mele, the No. 7 seed, advanced to this morning’s semifinals against Burgettstown’s Logan Noyes.
Mele can finish no lower than sixth place in the tournament. He didn’t place last year at TriCADA.
“I am off to a strong start, and I am doing way better than I did last year,” Mele said. “It has been a long time coming for Chartiers-Houston wrestling, but I feel like we are back. People keep sleeping on us, but we are going to show everyone how good we are.”
Patton qualified for the state tournament in Class 2A last year, but Mele used a double leg to take a 3-2 lead in the third. Patton had to take an injury timeout, and when he was ready to wrestle, Mele allowed him to go neutral, which tied the bout at 3-3. Mele finished a takedown and earned two near-fall points before allowing a late escape.
“We decided to let him go because I have a lot of confidence on my feet and I knew I could take him down,” Mele said. “I just had to dig deep and go after it.”
Bentworth junior Drake McClure notched his 100th career victory with a fall in the round-of-16 at 139. McClure won his quarterfinals bout, 4-0, to qualify for the semifinals and earn win No. 101.
McGuffey senior Victor Bonus won his first two bouts by fall to win the 100th match of his career. Bonus will wrestle Frazier’s Jonah Erdely, the top seed at 152, in the semifinals.
Canon-McMillan leads the team standings with 106 points. The Big Macs have eight wrestlers in the semifinals and 10 in the consolations.
Trinity is second with 123.5 with 10 semifinalists and seven in contention for a medal in the consolations.
McGuffey is third 99 points. The Highlanders have six in the final four and six in the wrestlebacks.
The action begins this morning at 9:45 a.m. with a round of consolations before the semifinals start. The finals and medal bouts are scheduled for 1 p.m.