Wrestling Tournament Ends Tonight

Big Mac wrestlers continue to shine in competition as Canon-McMillan High School plays host to the 44^th-Annual POWERade Christmas Wrestling Tournament yesterday and today.

The tournament, considered the toughest in Pennsylvania and the fourth-best tournament in the United States by WrestlingReport, includes athletes from 44 schools and seven states.

Four Canon-McMillan wrestlers -- junior Colt Shorts (103), sophomore Conner Schram (112), senior Nick Catalano (145) and junior Cody Klempay (285) -- were all seeded going into the first round of competition.  

Canon-McMillan wrestling coach, Chris Mary, was both pleased and proud of the performances he'd seen from his athletes through semifinal action. 

Shorts won in both of his first two matches with pins against Erik Whitfield of McGuffey, and Matt Tempalski of Hopewell. In quarterfinal action, he defeated Anthony Tutolo of Walsh Jesuit in Ohio, pinning him.  

Shorts continued to perform at peak level, beating Sean Russell of Collins Hill, Ga., in semifinal action. Shorts will face off against Jeremy Schwartz of Central Dauphin tonight in the finals. 

Schram was also successful in both of his first two matches, pinning Robert Kulish of Shamoken, and beating Chase Small of Latrobe by an 11-3 decision. In the quarterfinals, Schram defeated Drew Ferguson-Mitchell of Collins Hill with a 7-2 decision.  

In semifinal action, Schram continued his streak when he defeated opponent Cory Stainbrook of Walsh Jesuit. Tonight he will attempt to extend the winning streak when he takes on J.R. Wert in the finals. 

Canon-McMillan Big Macs continued to produce with Catalano qualifying for the quarterfinals, beating Nate Alterio of Bellefonte by an 11-3 decision and pinning Brian Estep of Hampton.  

Unfortunately, Catalano was defeated in his quarterfinal matchup against David Demor of South Side Beaver in a 1-0 decision. 

Klempay proved victorious in all of his matches through semifinal action, beating Marquis Porterfield of Christiansburg, Va., to qualify for the finals, where he will face Josh Duplin of Westmont Hilltop. 

Previously in the tournament, Klempay defeated Daryl Hicks from Riley, W. Va. in the quaterfinals after pinning both Brian Brust of Bethel Park and Garrett Poorman of Bellefonte in the preliminary rounds. 

Au unexpected contender for the Big Macs was freshman Solomon Chishko (130). Chishko came into the tournament unseeded, and advanced to the quarterfinals after pinning Mike Walsh of Westmont Hilltop and defeating Spencer Rickman of Collins Hill with a technical fall.  

In quarterfinal action, Chishko faced off against fourth seeded Brandon Choate of Blue Mountain, defeating him with a 9-1 decision. Chishko will advance to the finals where he will take on Johnni DiJulius of Walsh Jesuit. 

Going into the finals, Canon-McMillan is currently second in the team standings. The finals get under way tonight at 7:30.