Wrestling Tournament Begins Saturday

Dario Dobbin understands what’s at stake. And he knows what he has to do, too.

That’s why the Canon-McMillan junior has been putting in extra time on the stationary bike, and in the weight room in addition to his team’s already grueling wrestling practices. Because Dobbin doesn’t want to fall short of his dreams anymore.

The individual WPIAL AAA Section 4 wrestling tournament begins tomorrow at Mt. Lebanon High School, and with it, so too do Dobbin’s hopes of finally making it to Hershey and the PIAA state tournament.

It’s a dream that many of the Canon-McMillan wrestlers share—from the season-long standouts to the backups who have paid their dues all season in case an opportunity came along.

And if nothing else, the individual postseason should be rife with opportunity for the Big Macs.

“We’re coming into this with a lot of momentum from the team having all that success,” Canon-McMillan coach Chris Mary said of his Big Macs, who advanced to the semifinal round of the state team tournament recently. “These kids are familiar with Hershey and the Giant Center. It’s everyone’s goal to get back there.”

Mary continued, “We have five or six kids that we think we can qualify to the state tournament, and Dario is one of those kids. We look for him to make a trip to Hershey.”

Yet, through his first two high school seasons, it was that trip to Hershey that always eluded Dobbin.

Last year hurt the most though, as Dobbin lost in the WPIAL quarterfinals to McGuffey’s Alex Dunaway 4-2 in overtime. And that’s why Dobbin has been putting in the extra work this year—riding that bike, pushing those weights and gaining more confidence in himself along the way.

“My mentality. I think that’s the biggest difference,” Dobbin said of how he has developed, “knowing you can win and not just thinking that you can win.”

The payoff may finally come on Saturday, as Dobbin (33-9) opens the Section 4 tournament against a preliminary round winner in the 135-pound bracket.

“He’s been knocking on the door to get to the state tournament for years,” Mary said of Dobbin. “He’s been ranked in the top-four all year long. We’re looking for him to knock somebody off to get to the state tournament.”

Mary continued, “He’s just got to open up a little more. He’s got all of the tools, but he has to be mentally focused these next couple of weeks.”

Yet, Dobbin is not the only Big Macs wrestler looking to make a name for himself in the individual tournament process. The path to the Hershey may also prove to be a coming out party for Canon-McMillan sophomore Alex Campbell in the 215-pound bracket.

Campbell (32-9) finished second in the section tournament last season, his first on the varsity team, and this time around he’ll be matched against Montour’s Austin Ganley (3-2) in the first round. Mary, for one, likes Campbell’s chances.

“We look for a good postseason from [Campbell]. His work ethic and will to win on the mat is unmatched—it’s amazing. His conditioning is tremendous, and he gets better as the match goes on.”

Conditioning will be the key for Campbell on Saturday. If Campbell advances beyond Ganley, his road to a section title will get significantly tougher in a hurry. Waynesburg Central’s Kyle Gray (30-8) and Trinity’s undefeated Kyle McWreath (25-0) also hold spots in the bracket, and Campbell has lost to each in the past—or in the case of McWreath, four times.

Still, with the top five wrestlers in each weight class advancing to the WPIAL tournament, Campbell won’t necessarily have to beat McWreath to move on.

“WPIALs will be tougher, but if a couple of matches go my way, I think I can make states,” Campbell said.

The same could be said for several other Canon-McMillan stalwarts such as Colton Shorts (39-1), Connor Schram (37-2) and Cody Klempay (36-0), who are expected to advance beyond the Section 4 tournament. But that kind of luck may not be limited to just the big name Big Macs either.

Senior Nick Catalano (37-1) and freshman Solomon Chishko (35-4) could easily make runs in the 145- pound and 130-pound brackets respectively. And sophomore Sammy Minor (24-15) could pull off a few surprises in the 125-pound weight class.

“Sammy is young and he’s at a loaded weight class,” Mary said. “But, he has the opportunity to knock off some big name guys with his style of wrestling.”
The Big Macs may be without several other regular contributors, as Will Pihiou, Mark Dami, Cody Renzelli and Ian Binnoto may miss the tournament due to injury.

But, that also opens the door for reserves such as Evan Spencer (4-4) at 140 pounds, Andrew McCall (2-1) at 152 pounds, and Steve LaFrance at 171 pounds—who could find a way to seize upon the opportunity. “It’s their chance,” Campbell said. “They come every day just like us.”

Preliminary matches for the Section 4 tournament begin at 9:30 a.m. at Mt. Lebanon High School, and will be followed by quarterfinal and semifinal matches, as well as some consolation matches. The championship finals and more consolation matches will then kick off at 6 p.m.

“Our team should do pretty well,” Dobbin said. “I think if we wrestle hard we should do well and get to
state.”