Sports
Five Big Macs Victorious in Quarterfinal Play
PIAA Class AAA individual wrestling tournament finals are tonight.
A day after asking his team to be more aggressive, Canon-McMillan wrestling coach Chris Mary got just that.
It was a perfect day for Mary’s Big Macs at the PIAA Class AAA individual tournament on Friday — because every Canon-McMillan wrestler who took to the mat at the Giant Center in Hershey, Pa. came away with a victory.
Big Macs Colton Shorts (103 pounds), Connor Schram (112), Solomon Chishko (130), Nick Catalano (145) and Cody Klempay (285) all stayed in championship contention with quarterfinal wins, and Dario Dobbin (135) fought his way through yet another consolation bracket match to keep his prospects of placing alive.
Mary couldn’t have asked for much more.
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“It was a great effort from all of the kids,” Mary said by telephone. “Everybody stepped up big.”
That included Shorts (48-1), who pulled off a pin of Big Spring’s Greg Warner (34-10) at 1:16 to punch his ticket to the semifinal round.
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“Colt had a big fall. He had a nice single leg to a cradle.” Mary said. “When Colt gets somebody on his back, he’s a pinner.”
Dobbin (41-12) also pulled off a pin on Friday, putting away Northern’s Zachary Ross (32-8) at 0:59 to move into the consolation bracket’s fourth round.
Otherwise, most of the big Macs won by decision: as Chishko (44-4) put away Quakertown’s Scott Wolfinger 5-1, Catalano (46-1) outlasted Cathedral Prep’s Tyler Parsons 5-3, and Klempay (45-0) took one step closer to completing his unbeaten season, as he defeated Abington Heights’ Morgan Craig 5-1.
Schram (46-2) also won his match by decision, albeit by major decision, 13-4 over Dieruff’s DeMarquis Holley (34-6).
“The kids are really, really wrestling well,” Mary said. “We’re really proud of them.”
As the majority of his wrestlers moved into the semifinal round, today at 8 a.m., so too has Mary’s message changed. Rather than “score, score, score” Mary now trumpets a different line.
“Seize the moment,” Mary said. “Everyone has a job to do tomorrow. They have to step up.”
The championship finals await the Big Macs at 8 p.m. tonight.