McGuffey falls in WPIAL Semifinals, but rebounds to win consolation match
By Jonathan Guth
For the Observer-Reporter
McMURRAY — McGuffey wrestling followed the saying, “It’s not how you start, but how you finish,” in rebounding from a setback in the semifinals to defeat Quaker Valley in the consolation final on Saturday in the WPIAL Class 2A team wrestling championships at the AHN Arena on the campus of Peters Township High School.
The Highlanders lost to Derry, 46-21, but topped Quaker Valley, 44-21, to finish in third place.
McGuffey (16-5) will wrestle in the team state tournament on Tuesday at a regional site against the District 10 runner-up in the preliminary round. The winner will face the District 6 champion in the first round.
“The ultimate goal is to win the championship, but if you lose in the semifinals, the next best thing to do is to come back and finish third,” McGuffey coach Jared Roberts said. “We had a pretty good meeting after the Derry match and our guys came out ready to go. We were happy to get third.”
The Highlanders have a young team, which should bode well for the future, but could have also been a hindrance against the Trojans.
“I want to give credit to Derry because they have a solid team, but I think some of our guys were a little shell shocked in that match,” Roberts said. “This was the first big-time postseason experience that some of our guys have wrestled in, but I thought they did a great job of adjusting. We have put ourselves against some tough competition this season, and I think that has really helped us. We went to Virginia Duals to have our kids know what it feels like to wrestle in a big arena.”
McGuffey had eight individual victories over the Quakers, but none impressed Roberts more than freshman Gage Clayton, who won by fall in 2:43 at 160 pounds.
“To see how much better Gage has gotten from the start of the season till now is awesome,” Roberts said. “He has the biggest heart, and I was so happy to see him get a pin after losing in his match against Derry.”
Clayton was glad to get the opportunity to wrestle a second time after the match against the Trojans.
“My first match didn’t go so well, so I just came back out with the same intensity as I always do in my second match,” Clayton said. “It feels good to get to this point as a freshman. We also have a young team, so we should be good next year.”
McGuffey’s Lane Ealy (127), Emmett Wolfe (133), Victor Bonus (145) and Aaron Supler (189) won by fall against Quaker Valley.
The Highlanders’ Tucker Main won by technical fall at 121 and Lucas Barr edged Matthew Danna, 4-3, at 139. McGuffey’s Blake Jamison received a forfeit.
Ealy (114) won by fall and Barr (139) by technical fall against the Trojans. Supler earned a major decision at 215 and Reid Teagarden received a forfeit at 172.
“The kids really feed off each other in the dual meets,” Roberts said. “We won our first section title since 2017 this year, which the kids were really proud of.
“We just have to keep battling. It is really important to be wrestling this upcoming week because we haven’t always had that in the past. Once we wrap up the team portion of the season, we will be ready for the individual postseason tournaments, and we have quite a few guys on this team who are confident they can do well in those tournaments.”