Jan 28, 2026 By Jerin Steele 4 min read

CANONSBURG – Aidan Finnegan finished off a 6-1 decision against Gus Stedeford to increase Canon-McMillan’s early lead to 19-6.

That’s when the cheers of fans were replaced by the loud, piercing sound of a fire alarm.

And it brought the match to a screeching halt.

Finally, after 15 minutes, it went silent, but maybe it was a sign.

Sound the alarms, because Canon-McMillan wrestling is back.

Canon-McMillan took all but one match after the delay and earned a spot in the WPIAL Class 3A team tournament semifinals with a 50-12 win over North Allegheny.

“We were just trying to keep each other focused,” Bryce Collins said about the fire alarm delay. “I heard it was an accident, so it happens.”

The Big Macs are back in the WPIAL semifinals for the first time since they won in 2023. They’ll face No. 2 Norwin in the semis.

North Allegheny beat Canon-McMillan 35-27 at the Kiski Area Duals in December, but the rematch was all Big Macs.

“I love this team,” Big Macs coach Jurdon Maier said. “I thought we came out a little bit flat against Belle Vernon and we let them know that’s not the effort that was going to get them through tonight and they rebounded. (North Allegheny) is a tough team. I thought it’d be close, but we put it on them tonight.”

North Allegheny’s Griffen Reid received a forfeit at 152 after the delay, but then the Big Macs went back to racking up points.

After a scoreless first period at 160, Mason Calgaro got an escape and a take down to take a 4-0 lead. North Allegheny’s Gabriel Hernandez had an escape to cut the deficit to 4-1. Calgaro fended off challenges in the third period and secured a 5-2 decision and three more points for the Big Macs.

A couple of well-timed shots by Big Macs senior John Hunter got him a pair of take downs that led to an 8-5 decision over Brody Barnhart.

Calgaro and Hunter both turned losses from the first meeting with North Allegheny into wins.

Bryce Collins, who injured his ankle last week in a match against Trinity, wrestled at 189 against Sam Vargo. Collins was sporting a wrap on his right ankle, but powered through and earned a 6-0 decision, which increased the lead to 28-12.

“It feels good,” Bryce said about his ankle. “I went to (physical therapy) and put some tape and a brace on it, so it was fine. I talked to my parents, coaches and physical therapists and felt comfortable.”

Bryce’s older brother Brayden Collins put a hammerlock on the match with a third period pin over Hank Miller at 215.

Dakota Carmona pinned Charles Miller in the second period at heavyweight and Isaac Hrelec received a forfeit at 107.

Lee Dreshman finished off the night with a major decision.

The match started at 121 pounds and Giono Gardner scored a quick five points for Canon-McMillan with a 22-4 second period technical fall against North Allegheny’s Nick Prosser.

Evan Schomburg scored a first period pin at 127 over Andrew Soule to get North Allegheny first win.

Canon-McMillan’s Jon Emma received a forfeit at 133.

Collier Hartman dominated his match with Myles Hoover and earned a second period tech fall, 17-2. That gave the Big Macs a 16-6 lead.

Canon-McMillan defeated Belle Vernon 44-25 in the first round and North Allegheny defeated Latrobe 51-16.

Belle Vernon advanced to the first round by beating Mars 35-29 in a preliminary round match.

Brayden Broadwater (114), Eric Granato (145) and Skylar Gush (172) won by fall. Elijah Brown (215) won by a first period technical fall.