Alumni Check-up
There is an amazing history of success for Canon-McMillan wrestlers at the high school level. We’d like to highlight those alumnus that are still competing at the collegiate level.
Let’s check on Division I wrestlers first. Andrew Binni will start his freshman season with Navy after a grey shirt year with the Naval Academy Preparatory School. It looks as if he’ll be competing at 125 lbs. The Midshipmen are set to begin their season on November 1st against Pitt. Matt Furman is rolling into his sophomore season with the Cornell Big Red. They totaled his record at 5-1 last season. He’s listed on the roster at 184 lbs. They will start on November 2nd at the Clarion Open. Valarie Solorio is entering her sophomore season with Iowa. After her two state championship with the Big Macs, Val has a 23-9 record for the Hawkeyes with the bulk of her losses against teammates. She’s listed to participate at 110 lbs. this year. Their first action will be November 1st at the Luther Hill Open.
Division II has our longest list of alumni athletes this season. Jacob Houpt is entering his senior year with Seton Hill. He spent last season with the Griffins after transferring from Kent State. He is listed at the 125 lbs. weight class. Their season kicks off at the Mt Union Invitational on November 1st. Luke Shaffer is continuing with the Davis & Elkins Senators for his junior season. He is listed to compete at 149 lbs. The Senators will start off on November 1st at the Glenville State Invite. Madi Mansmann is entering her junior year with East Stroudsburg. Through her two seasons with the Warriors, she has a 4-11 record. She is rostered at the 110 lbs. class. They will begin their season hosting their own tournament on November 2nd. Joining Madi this season will be incoming freshman, Paige Ward. Paige doesn’t have a weight class listed on the roster yet, so we’ll have to keep on eye on where she shows up. Also a freshman this year, Sienna Van Belen is representing West Liberty. She is listed to wrestle at 117 lbs. The Hilltoppers season will take them to the Tiffin University Open on November 1st to open up action.
At the Division III level, the Big Macs only find a couple of guys on the mat. Brandon Dami and Joey Gardner are rostered for the Washington & Jefferson Presidents. Brandon is entering his junior season listed at 125 while Joey is a freshman listed at 157. Their season will begin at the Ned McGinley Invitational on November 1st.
The NAIA is the last place that we could find a former Big Mac still on the mat. Gracie Elliott is going into her sophomore season with Texas Wesleyan. Gracie was a national qualifier two seasons ago while taking 3rd at regionals before injury took away last season’s competition. She will start her season with the Rams at the Menlo Invite on November 1st.
Wrestling isn’t the only sport some of our Big Mac wrestlers have gotten to in their college time. Geno Calgaro is still ripping down tackles for Saint Francis in his sophomore season. Two big guys are blocking their way through college with Mason Williams in his redshirt freshman season at Shippensburg and Noah Livesay in his sophmore stint with California University of Pennsylvania.
We say good luck to all of these post-secondary athletes and we’ll try to catch-up with their endeavors as their seasons progress!