Big Macs Send Six on to PIAA State Tournament

On the surface, the takedown was just like any other that Canon-McMillan’s Cody Klempay has ever landed.

After all, it was a simple case of Klempay doing what he does best—unceremoniously dumping people on their posteriors.

But when Klempay took down Plum’s Anthony DiLonardo midway through the third round of their heavyweight finals match of the WPIAL Class AAA individual tournament on Saturday night, 64 years of Big Macs wrestling history hit the mat alongside DiLonardo’s 285-pound frame.

Because of that takedown, Klempay not only kept his undefeated junior season alive, but he also got the go-ahead points he needed to wrap up his first WPIAL individual championship.

And only then does the significance of the move come into play.

When combined with the other titles that Canon-McMillan wrestlers had amassed earlier in the evening, Klempay’s takedown represented the school’s fifth individual WPIAL championship in this year’s tournament—the most since seven Big Macs set the school record for individual WPIAL titles in a season in 1947.

Colton Shorts (103 pounds), Connor Schram (112), Solomon Chishko (130) and Nick Catalano (145) also won WPIAL championships on Saturday, and will represent Canon-McMillan in this week’s PIAA state tournament. So too, will junior Dario Dobbin, who battled back through the consolation rounds to finish third in the 135-pound bracket.

“I’m just very proud, because all of the kids stepped up,” Canon-McMillan coach Chris Mary said. “I couldn’t be more proud for my kids or this program.”

The Big Macs began their historical run early, as Shorts (46-1) opened the championship round with a 3-0 decision over North Allegheny’s Dom Forys (33-5). He was immediately followed on the mat by Schram (44-2), who worked his takedowns to the tune of a 9-4 decision over Franklin Regional’s Tyler Smith (37-9).

And just like that, the Big Macs were on a roll.

Chishko (42-4) kept Canon-McMillan’s momentum going in a big way when he held on to take a 3-2 decision over Norwin’s previously undefeated John Pezze (33-1). And then Catalano (44-1) continued his stellar senior season by picking up a 3-1 decision over Central Catholic’s Eric Nutter (34-6).

“It feels good. But I’m still not done,” Catalano said. “I still have one more week to go. And hopefully I’m on top of the podium next week too.”

The Big Macs weren’t done either, and that was when Klempay came into play.
In the days leading up to Saturday’s finals, Klempay had found himself in the Big Macs practice room staring at the display of engraved nameplates of past Canon McMillan WPIAL champions that the team keeps on one of the room’s walls.

“I was just looking at all of the years and the names,” Klempay said. “I wanted to be a part of that—we all did.”

So Klempay did what he could to make that happen.

After winning his each of his previous tournament matches by pinfall, Klempay (43-0) ran up against a fellow undefeated in DiLonardo in the championship round.

And, after two periods of scoreless action, something had to give.

Beginning the round in the bottom position, it took Klempay all of three seconds to find an escape from underneath DiLonardo (34-1) and score the match’s first points.

“It was really fast, just like every other escape I’ve had this year,” Klempay said. “I knew I was going to escape. He was breathing really heavy, so I knew he was gassed.”

Spinning away from his competition, Klempay took the next minute to lock up and set up DiLonardo for the takedown—which came with just over a minute left in the period. The 3-0 lead that Klempay had amassed with those two moves was enough to earn him the championship, though he added in yet another takedown in the waning moments of the match to eliminate any remaining drama in the 5-1
decision.

“It feels awesome, especially being undefeated going into the state tournament,” Klempay said. “That has been my goal since last year—to have an undefeated year.”

He then added, “But it’s back to work on Monday.”

While pieces of history and championship medals certainly have their value, the Big Macs still have larger goals on their minds—specifically state titles. And so, on Monday, the Canon-McMillan wrestlers will begin a short week of preparations for the PIAA Class AAA state individual tournament, which starts on Thursday at the Giant Center in Hershey, Pa.

“Our kids really respond to what we teach day in and day out,” Mary said. “We want to take thismomentum with us to the state tournament.”