Waynesburg vs Canon McMillan Alumni Match
In an effort to support both the Waynesburg Wrestling Association and the CCNS youth program, alumni from both schools got together on Saturday October 14th at Waynesburg Central High School. It was a pre-season event unlike any other. A time for some once-upon-a-timers to relive life on the mat and remember how difficult wrestling one minute periods actually were. With that effort, these guys were able to PACK the gym! The “Dual Meet”, as it is, would see some blood times, injury times, overtimes, and just some heavy breathing times.
For Canon McMillan, wrestlers ranged from 1983 to 2018 graduates. Waynesburg was able to round up wrestlers ranging from 1980 to 2012. All of these guys include NCAA All Americans, NCAA wrestlers, PIAA place winners, and current coaches. There was even an “exhibition” style match with a couple 8 year old wrestlers.
While Waynesburg ended up winning the “dual” meet, by my count, 37-12, it was an honor to see all these men get together and help support their youth programs. Hopefully, this is something that can continue for more years and we can bring out more alumni to participate. See the individual results below.
Wrestling began with a fun matchup of two 8 year olds. It was a showdown of Owen Bosworth of WBG and Cora Studd of CM. Owen capitalized with an early takedown. He moved Kora to her back. While Kora fought hard, Owen was able to complete the fall at 42 seconds.
The first bout of the alumni featured Clint Podish, WBG class of 2007, and Joey Proie, CM class of 2002. Early in the first, Podish registered a takedown. Proie stands out for an escape. Podish finishes off the period with an ankle pick to end the first 4-1. Podish chooses bottom to start the second. He starts with an escape. Proie pushes in and is able to secure his own takedown. Before the period let out, Podish was able to hit a switch for a reversal. Second ends 7-4. They start neutral in the third. After trading takedowns and escapes, the match wrapped at 10-7.
Next up showcased Jeremy Ellis, WBG class of 2011, and Nate Santelli, CM class of 2002. Ellis fought off a shot from Santelli and spun behind to take the lead. He rode out the period to finish the first a 2-0. They went neutral for the second where Ellis again spun around and rode out the period. 4-0. Ellis would take top in the third. After a few turning attempts, the match would wrap up 4-0.
They moved to Mark Throckmorton, WBG class of 2004, and Aaron Jennings, Jefferson-Morgan class of 2004 wrestling for CM. This was stalemate of a match with both wrestlers trading some shot attempts and defenses. Each scored an escape during the periods they chose bottom. At one point, Throckmorton garnered some suspenseful gasps on throw attempt but, ultimately, he slipped off. They moved onto OVERTIME! About halfway into the overtime, Throckmorton exploded in on a single that he was able to finish on the edge of the mat to take a 3-1 victory.
Next saw Justin Smith, WBG class of 1998, against Kevin Brooks, CM class of 1993. Smith started strong with a takedown that was close to the edge and ultimately called out of bounds by the referee. Brooks came back with a shot of his own. Smith’s defense was strong though and tilted Brooks for a takedown and near fall. Ending the first at 4-0. An escape in the second pushed the lead to 5-0. A neutral start in the third saw Brooks slip off the top on a shot defense and ended the match at 7-0.
The next matchup was Tommy Henderson, WBG class of 2012, against Albert Miles, CM class of 2003. Miles put Henderson down into a front headlock early where he moved behind for the takedown. After a few tilt attempts, the period closed 2-0. After riding out Henderson throughout the second, Miles went down to start the third. Henderson tries to roll over the front on a side headlock. Miles slips it for a reversal and eventually lets him up. Towards the end, Miles fights off a chancery attempt and winds up with the first victory of the day for CM. 4-1.
JD Higgins, WBG class of 2006, matched up with Matt Luba, CM class of 2003. Luba flashed early with a takedown and Higgins escapes out. 2-1. The second period was on the feet with hand fighting and positioning. There were a couple shots pushed aside by both. Higgins took bottom for the third in which Luba rode the period out for the 2-1 victory.
Dustin Henderson, WBG class of 2006, took on Dustin Dunkovich, class of 2000. Through the first two periods, there was an escape by Henderson and loads of hand fighting. In the third, Dunkovich went to the bottom. Henderson locks a cradle and get a few swipes. Dunkovich rolls the cradle through and ends up on top. Henderson escapes from bottom and the match with a 4-2 win.
Up next were Joe Throckmorton, WBG class of 1980, and Ray Phillips, CM class of 1983. They circled through a scoreless first period. Throckmorton escaped in the second period. Phillips tried to return the favor in the third but Throckmorton rode with the college style near ankle lace. Throckmorton used a late period arm bar to turn Phillips and gathered a 3-0 win.
To the mat was Zach McGinnis, WBG class of 2011, and Mike Binni, CM class of 2018. This was an even first period with no score. Binni went on bottom in the second where McGinnis fought off an early flurry from Binny to stay on top. McGinnis put in the legs but Binni was able to slip out and get a reversal. McGinnis went down for the third. He popped up and went to work to catch up. A late takedown gave McGinnis the win 3-2.
Jeremy Snyder, WBG class of 2001, wrestled off with Dennis Cole, CM class of 2005. Cole fights off shots with front headlocks and go-behinds in the first and second period to take a 4-0 lead. The third was another neutral period that saw a few shot defenses but no points. Cole wins 4-0.
Matt Blair, WBG class of 1989, squared off with Bobby Owens, CM class of 1993. Blair defended a shot and spins for the takedown and finishes the first on top. 2-0. Blair goes bottom for the second. He escapes and they finish the second on their feet. Unfortunately, before the third period could start, Owens has an issue with is shoulder and defaults out of the match.
Following that, Luke Lohr, WBG class of 2010, sparred with Bryan Milligan, CM class of 2017. Lohr gets in deep on both a double and a high crotch in the period to end the first 4-1. A neutral start sees Lohr snap down Milligan to go up 6-1. Again a neutral start where Lohr ducks for a takedown and then defends a Milligan shot to score another. Lohr wins 10-2.
Next, Phil Stoneking, WBG class of 1992, met up with Nate Frantz, Chartiers-Houston class of 2005 for CM. A scoreless first led into a second period on their feet. There was a shot/reshot flurry where Frantz finishes on top and the period. 2-0. Stoneking chose bottom for the third. Frantz put the legs in to try to ride Stoneking out. Stoneking slides through the back when Frantz went too high and straight to Frantz back. Stoneking marks the first fall for the old guys at 2:44.
For the last match of the day, the stakes were raised. Nick Garber, WBG class of 2007, and Dalton Macri, CM class of 2014, would wrestle a two minute first period followed by one minute second and third periods. In the first period Garber and Macri would trade nice looking takedowns and matching escapes for a tied 3-3 affair. In the second, Macri chooses bottom. He scrambles a reversal and lands straight to Garber’s back. After the near fall, they go into the third 8-3. Garber goes to the bottom, but he wouldn’t mount the comeback as Macri rides the period. Macri wins 8-3.
A Farewell to the CMWAA
The clock has finally reached 0:00 in the third period of the wrestling season, and with the end comes an announcement: I’m taking off my metaphorical ankle bracelets for the last time as I write my final blog post for the Canon-McMillan Wrestling Alumni Association.
The clock has finally reached 0:00 in the third period of the wrestling season, and with the end comes an announcement: I’m taking off my metaphorical ankle bracelets for the last time as I write my final blog post for the Canon-McMillan Wrestling Alumni Association.
The journey began in July of 2016 when the CMWAA decided that a website would benefit the program. With the help of previously compiled statistics from Slack, Paul Amic, and other internet sources, I built the website. Around the same time, I decided to pursue a degree in Marketing, mostly focusing on the digital field. The summer of 2017 came, and I was, unfortunately, rejected from many internships that I worked hard to get. Luckily I received advice from a professor to “create my own internship.” Thinking back to my days as a wrestler, I brought back a fire within myself to push forward and find a way to win. I found my “win” on the CMWAA website by increasing my knowledge in the field of Digital Marketing while also helping out the wrestling program.
Those who have followed the site this season know that it was a historic season. The program celebrated 90 years, hired a new head coach, took 4th at the PIAA team tournament, and crowned an individual State Champ. Personally, it was one of my favorite seasons to watch as a fan of the sport. Throughout the season, the Alumni Association highlighted wrestlers of the past, present, and future with individual bios, video interviews, and performance updates.
Creating and curating the content of such a historic program has been an honor. Over the past few years as the Founder of the Alumni Wrestling Camp and Content Marketer of the CMWAA, I had the opportunity to meet many fantastic people. I also came to realize that those people carry many awesome stories that flow through the program and tie the different generations together. Though I heard my fair share of stories this year, I haven’t even cracked the surface.
Since June of 2017, we’ve published over 50 articles and 26 videos that have highlighted many of the community’s stories. Additionally, the fans participated in the 12 Days of Chris-Mas, Mat Madness, Fantasy Wrestling, Alumni Night, and our camp and golf events that showed off the program. With the support of the fans on the website and an incredible performance by Havelka’s squad, crowd attendance grew this season for all home matches.
When I was not in class, I was finding a way to improve the website and please the fans. It was my goal to engage the many different eras and circles within the CM wrestling community through the different mediums in the digital spectrum. This website has been recognized by the local community, but also by members of PA Power Wrestling and FloWrestling, two major wrestling news outlets. By working hard on the website I was able to earn my current job right out of college.
Making the journey from having no website to creating weekly content has been very memorable and fulfilling in my professional career and personal life. After three years of helping the program as much as I could, it’s time for me to move on. I’m proud of my work, and I’m glad that I could share all of the content that I did in CM’s historic season. My aspirations for this season was to inspire the youth, teach the current generation, and spark up old conversations, and I hope that I accomplished that.The website will continue to be available, but I will not be producing any additional content.
From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank the Canon-McMillan wrestling fans and the 8.3 thousand people who have visited the site since 2016. I want to personally thank the coaches, wrestlers, parents, fans, and my family who have taken this journey with me and the CM Wrestling Alumni Association for allowing me to create this website. If you bought the 90th anniversary gear or donated to the program, thank you. Whether you read the content daily or watched a video once, thank you. If you came to the matches or watched via our live stream, thank you. To those who took the time out of your busy days to message or talk to me about wrestling, thank you. I have appreciated every conversation that we have had together about wrestling.
My departing piece of advice for the fans is to embrace the history flowing throughout the local community because you don’t know when those stories will be gone and forgotten.
Sincerely,
Josiah Hritsko
PJW Jr. High State Tournament Recap
Coach Slack’s Jr. High squad wrestled in the PJW State Tournament this past weekend. After qualifying a record number of wrestlers for the tournament, The “Fighting Fourteen” made an impact at the tournament with two place winners. The following wrestlers traveled to Johnstown, PA to wrestle: William Styperk (82), Lucas Dantry (82), Conlan O’Donoghue (87), Jake Egizio (92), Daniel Buckley (92), Jacob Houpt (97), Costa Moore (102), Brandon Dami (107), Tyler Soule (117), Gabriel Stafford (124), Addison Miller (132), Danny Phillips (132), Matthew Furman (140), and Ty Rohaley (157).
Coach Slack’s Jr. High squad wrestled in the PJW State Tournament this past weekend. After qualifying a record number of wrestlers for the tournament, The “Fighting Fourteen” made an impact at the tournament with two place winners. The following wrestlers traveled to Johnstown, PA to wrestle: William Styperk (82), Lucas Dantry (82), Conlan O’Donoghue (87), Jake Egizio (92), Daniel Buckley (92), Jacob Houpt (97), Costa Moore (102), Brandon Dami (107), Tyler Soule (117), Gabriel Stafford (124), Addison Miller (132), Danny Phillips (132), Matthew Furman (140), and Ty Rohaley (157).
Below is the journey that each of the Jr. High’s placers took to earn a medal:
Costa Moore (102 lbs) - 5th Place
Round 1 - BYE
Round 2 - Costa Moore dec Chase Crawley (Muncy), (1-0)
Round 3 - Cole Homet (Wayesburg) fall Costa Moore, (4:21)
Consy Round 3 - Costa Moore fall Ryan Kneeland (Jamestown), (2:08)
Consy Round 4 - Costa Moore dec Nathan Monteparte (North Allegheny), (2-0)
Consy Round 5 - Costa Moore fall Alex Hanley (Northampton), (6:30)
Consy Round 6 - Costa Moore dec Dagen Condomitti (Northampton), (1-0)
Consy Round 7 - Braden Bower (Williamsport) dec Costa Moore, (3-0)
5th Place - Costa Moore dec Gabriel Golden (Latrobe), (2-1)
Brandon Dami (107 lbs) - 7th Place
Round 1 - BYE
Round 2 - Brandon Dami dec Aiden Gaugler (Selinsgrove), (4-3)
Round 3 - Brandon Dami dec Bodie Rouzer (Waynesboro Area), (5-1)
Quarterfinals - Rocco Welsh (Waynesburg) fall Brandon Dami, (2:25)
Consy Round 5 - Brandon Dami dec Andrew McMonagle (Central), (6-1)
Consy Round 6 - Kelin Laffey(Pine Richland) fall Brandon Dami, (:55)
7th Place - Brandon Dami fall Nolan Barr (Clearfield), (3:05)
Cover Photo Source: Facebook