Final Day Recap from PIAA Team Wrestling Playoffs in Hershey

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, February 9, 2013 | 11:16 PM

Normal
0

false
false
false

EN-US
X-NONE
X-NONE

MicrosoftInternetExplorer4

/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:”Table Normal”;
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:””;
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:”Calibri”,”sans-serif”;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:”Times New Roman”;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:”Times New Roman”;
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}

Canon-McMillan (19-0) won its second consecutive PIAA Class AAA team wrestling championship with a 34-31 thriller in the championship final over District 3 champion Central Dauphin Saturday afternoon at the GIANT Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

The Big Macs forged a 14-4 lead on the strength of a fall by Dalton-Macri (120 pounds), a technical fall by Stanford-bound Conner Schramm (126), and a decision win by Alec Hutchin (132). However, the Rams’ strong middleweights, led by undefeated 160-pounder Garrett Peppelman, would win the next five bouts to give Central Dauphin a 26-14 cushion. Pitt recruit Cody Weircioch stopped the bleeding for Canon-McMillan with a technical fall at 182 pounds, but the Rams’ Terrance Parsons countered with his own technical fall at 195 pounds to make the lead twelve points once again at 31-19.

But it was the Big Macs’ biggest wrestlers who would ultimately take control, and setting the stage for their smallest teammate, as Alex Campbell (220) and Anthony Broglia (285) both recorded falls to tie the score at 31-31. With the state title on the line, Canon-McMillan’s Brendon Price made first and second period takedowns stand up for a 4-3 win over Central Dauphin’s Zach Elvin. Price avenged an 8-5 loss to Elvin at Hershey last year in the semifinals. The Big Macs are the first team from the WPIAL to win a second team title in the 15 year history of the tournament. Burrell and Connellsville have each won one team championship apiece.

Franklin Regional, meanwhile, won two nail-biters of its own on Saturday, to earn the Class AAA bronze medal. In keeping with the theme of the day, both matches came down to the final bout. In the morning consolation semifinal, the Panthers defeated District 10 champion-McDowell, 29-25. After the Trojans vaulted to a 12-0 lead with falls at 106 and 113 pounds, Franklin Regional won the next six bouts to build a 20-12 advantage. Conner Medlang (120), Mike Kemerer (126), Tyler Smith (132), and Josh Maruca (138) all won by decision for the Panthers, followed by major decision victories from Josh Shields (145) and Brandon Yant (152). McDowell, however, came roaring back with four straight wins of its own to jump back on top, 25-20, with just two bouts remaining. Brett Zanotto’s fall at 220 pounds gave Franklin Regional a one point lead and, with the match on the line, heavyweight Luke Fleck’s 3-1 decision in overtime clinched the victory for the Panthers.

In the consolation final for third place against four-time District 11 champion Easton, Franklin Regional (23-4) again trailed early, this time after two bouts, 9-0. But the Panthers, who feature the strongest group of light middleweights in the state, got wins in five straight bouts from Kemerer (major decision at 126), Smith (decision at 132), Shields (decision at 138), Maruca (major decision at 145), and Yant (decision at 152) to take a 17-9 lead. Easton dominated the next four weight classes from 160 through 195, including a fall and a technical fall, to give the Red Rovers a 26-17 lead. Zanotto’s decision win at 220 pounds cut the Easton edge to six points. Fleck then recorded a fall to knot the match at 26-26. In the final bout of the match at 106 pounds, the Panthers would have been hard pressed to find a more unlikely hero. Andrew Marshall entered the match with a 13-15 season record and having lost all four of his previous matches at Hershey earlier in the weekend. But the Franklin Regional sophomore came up big, cruising to a 7-1 win over Easton’s Casin Corallo to give the Panthers a 29-26 victory.

BIG MAC NOTES: Canon-McMillan now has a 46-match winning streak. With the win, the Big Macs halted a 26-match winning streak for Central Dauphin. The Rams had not lost a dual meet since Canon-McMillan ended their state-record 95-match win streak in last year’s semifinals. Canon-McMillan also met Central Dauphin two years ago, with the Rams winning a semifinal match on the way to their fourth state title at the time. Keep in mind that Canon-McMillan accomplished all of this success this year without one of their star wrestlers, junior middleweight Solomon Chishko, out all season with an injury suffered at the pre-season Super 32 Tournament in North Carolina. Chisko, who has made an early commitment to Virginia Tech, is a nationally ranked grappler. Price, Macri, Schram, Wiercioch, Campbell, and Broglia all went 4-0 for the Big Macs during the tournament.

PANTHER NOTES: Franklin Regional made the most of its first appearance in the state team playoffs, winning four of five matches at the GIANT Center on its way to the third place finish. With only two senior starters, Medlang and Fleck, chances for a return trip to Chocolate Town next season are very realistic. The Panthers avenged an earlier loss this season to McDowell with the win in the consolation semifinal.  The Trojans had beaten Franklin Regional easily on January 25^th, 37-19. Fleck and Medlang did not wrestle in the first match against McDowell. Smith, Shields, and Fleck each won all five of their bouts during the tournament. Kemerer went 4-0 after missing the first day of action with influenza.

WPIAL Boxscores

Canon-McMillan 34 Central Dauphin 31 (AAA Championship Final – Gold Medal Match)

106 Brendon Price (Canon-McMillan) Dec Zach Elvin (Central Dauphin) 4-3

Franklin Regional 29 Easton 26 (AAA Consolation Final – Bronze Medal Match)

106 Andrew Marshall (Franklin Regional) Dec Casin Corallo (Easton) 7-1

Franklin Regional 29 McDowell 25 (AAA Consolation Semifinal)

Tags: Canon-McMillan, Franklin Regional