Eight Big Macs Advance to Quarterfinals

By the time sophomore Alex Campbell took to the mat on Thursday night, he was a changed man.

Not only had his strength returned but, as an added bonus, the contents of his stomach were staying just where they were supposed to as well.

And oh, the difference that made.

Fully recovered from a recent and violent bout with the flu, Campbell dominated in the opening round of the WPIAL Class AAA individual tournament on Thursday night, picking up a 7-1 decision over North Allegheny’s Jake Smith in the 215-pound bracket.

Campbell (36-10) was one of nine Canon-McMillan wrestlers to enter the tournament, and one of eight Big Macs who earned wins in the first round—all of
which came only five days after Campbell was forced to pull out of a Section 4 tournament quarterfinals due to illness.

“I wrestled the way I wanted to wrestle,” Campbell said. “I won the match, and that’s all that matters.”

Last weekend, that was not a statement that Campbell could have made, as his infirmity sapped him of energy, and at times, even his will to compete. As such, Campbell forfeited his quarterfinal match against Waynesburg’s Kyle Gray — dropping down into the consolation rounds, where he was able to hang on long enough to earn a trip to the WPIAL tournament.

“I felt really weak,” Campbell said. “I didn’t really want to wrestle, it was that bad. I just wanted to get to this week.”

Rested and recovered, Campbell once again showed the late-round resiliency that has been his trademark this season. After a scoreless first period against Smith (26-12), Campbell scored a takedown in the second period and followed that up with a near fall to take a 5-1 advantage into the final round.

And it was in the third period that Campbell definitively proved his return to health—picking Smith up and slamming him to the mat for the match capping 7-1 final.

“Last week I didn’t even feel like I could slam a three-pounder,” said Campbell, who advances to take on No. 1 seed Kyle McWreath (29-0) of Trinity. And though the undefeated Hiller poses a large challenge for Campbell, his renewed vigor at least gives him hope.

“I have McWreath in the next round, so we’ll see what happens,” Campbell said. “But if I beat him, I think I have a shot at the title.”

Campbell continued, “Last time [in a loss to McWreath] I kind of rushed into things, and took a couple of dumb shots that turned on me. I have to try to wrestle smarter.”

Campbell’s return to form was just a part of what became a near-perfect night for the Big Macs. Colton Shorts (103 pounds), Connor Schram (112), Solomon Chishko (130), Dario Dobbin (135), Nick Catalano (145) and Cody Klempay (285) all picked up wins by pinfall for Canon-McMillan.

And Sammy Minor (125) advanced thanks to a late takedown that led to an 8-7 decision over Central Catholic’s Chris Nuss.

Klempay ‘s match was the last of the night for the Big Macs, and perhaps also the most physical. Matching up against Woodland Hills’ James Price (8-6), Klempay kept his undefeated season alive after absorbing an elbow to the face that left his lip bloodied and blows that left him with small lumps on his forehead.

But despite that, Klempay persevered, grinding out an early 5-1 first-period advantage before pinning Price in the waning seconds of the match—running his record to 40-0 on the season in the process.

“I didn’t lose my cool out there too bad,” Klempay said. He later added, “It’s fun wrestling for a perfect season.”

The eight remaining Big Macs will continue their quests for WPIAL titles tonight, as the quarterfinals and first-round consolation matches kick off at Canon-McMillan High School at 6 p.m.

The top three wrestlers in each weight class will earn spots in the upcoming PIAA state individual tournament—a longtime goal for the Big Macs.

“It was a big round today,” Canon-McMillan coach Chris Mary said of Thursday’s opening round. “Tomorrow we’re going to have some good matchups. We just keep preaching to the kids to take it one match at a time.”