Mat Madness 2018: And Your Winner. . .
After two weeks of voting, Mat Madness 2018 is completed. 64 of the best wrestlers in Canonsburg and Canon-McMillan wrestling have been narrowed down to just 1 champion. With a record 246 votes throughout the tournament, the champion of Mat Madness 2018 is. . . Mark Angle!
And your winner. . .
Mark Angle
After two weeks of voting, Mat Madness 2018 is completed. 64 of the best wrestlers in Canonsburg and Canon-McMillan wrestling have been narrowed down to just 1 champion. With a record 246 votes throughout the tournament, the champion of Mat Madness 2018 is. . . Mark Angle!
Angle was a wrestler at CMHS in the 1990’s before he attended Clarion University. The #1 seed of the Gold Age Division (80’s & 90’s) made his way through the tournament by defeating Jim Harriot, Brad Mockler, and Ron Rothka. A win against Bruce Cridge in his division finals sent him to the final four against Colin Johnston. The final victory came in the championship bout by defeating Joe Solomon of the Gunners Division. Mark Angle was the ultimate victor amongst 64 other competitors across four divisions. In his personal career, 4 Section titles, 4 WPIAL titles, 1 State title, and 3 NCAA placings place Angle as one of the greatest Pennsylvania wrestlers of all time.
Click here to download the completed bracket. The CMWAA would like to thank all 303 voters who participated in the six rounds of the tournament. There were some tough voting decisions that had to be made, but the fans engaged in a positive conversation to make their favorite choices. We certainly had a great time, and we hope the fans did too.
Congratulations to the fan’s champion and “Best CM Wrestler of All Time,” Mark Angle!
Mat Madness 2018: Championship
The field has been narrowed down from 64 wrestlers to 2 of the big guns. 265 votes across 5 rounds has brought us to this matchup: Joe Solomon versus Mark Angle.
The field has been narrowed down from 64 wrestlers to 2 of the big guns. 265 votes across 5 rounds has brought us to this matchup: Joe Solomon versus Mark Angle. Download the updated bracket here.
Joe Solomon, the #1 seed from the Gunners Division, stampeded his side of the bracket with the most amount of votes. The Gunner wrestled for Canonsburg High School in the late 1940’s through the early 1950’s. During that time, he amassed 3 WPIAL titles and 1 PIAA title at 145 lbs. He might have earned some Section titles, too, if the tournament was around back in his day. What Solomon holds over Angle is a NCAA Division I title when he wrestled at Pitt.
One of the other four #1 seed’s, Mark Angle, also advanced to the championship match. He has received the most votes in the tournament thus far, and doesn’t look to stop his domination. Angle was a 4X Section champ, 4X WPIAL champ, and 1X State champ during his high school tenure in the 90’s. Additionally, he was a 3X NCAA All-American at Clarion, earning two 4th place finishes and a bronze medal.
It’s only fitting that the last match of the tournament is the most difficult to decide. Crown the Mat Madness Champion:
Mat Madness 2018: Final Four
Four rounds of voting have finally decided the Division Champions. Joe Solomon (Gunners), George O’Korn (Blue), Mark Angle (Gold), and Colin Johnston (Modern) have been crowned individual division champs of their respective eras. Now comes the tough part: cross-era matchups.
Four rounds of voting have finally decided the Division Champions. Joe Solomon (Gunners), George O’Korn (Blue), Mark Angle (Gold), and Colin Johnston (Modern) have been crowned individual division champs of their respective eras. Now comes the tough part: cross-era matchups. Download the updated PDF bracket here.
On the left side of the bracket, #1 Joe Solomon is up against #1 George O’Korn. Solomon is a 3X WPIAL champ and State champion at 145 lbs, in addition to being an NCAA Champion at Pitt. O’Korn has 3 Section titles, 1 WPIAL title, and 2 PIAA titles at 165 and 167 lbs. To be fair, the Section tournament was not around in Solomon’s day, but this is going to be a close match.
#1 Mark Angle takes on #4 Colin Johnston on the opposite side of the bracket, and this matchup is a doozy. Both wrestlers have 4 Section titles, 4 WPIAL titles, and 1 State title in the lightweight classes. The two are also members of the 100 win club, Johnston with 163 wins and Angle with 148 wins. Johnston continued his career at WVU and Angle at Clarion, becoming a 3X All-American. Good luck, voters.
It’s up to you who advances to the Mat Madness Championships:
Mat Madness 2018: Division Finals
Mat Madness continues to stun fans with more upsets. It was apparently clear-cut for the Blue Age to host the #1 and #2 wrestlers in the finals, but the other three divisions were not so straightforward. #3 Manuel Pihakis edged out NCAA All-American Elias George to advance to the Gunners Division Finals. On the opposite side of the bracket, #6 Bruce Cridge advanced with a second upset against NCAA Champion; however, he now faces the wrestler with the most votes in the tournament thus far, Mark Angle. And in the final division, #4 Johnston pulled out a close victory over the only #1 seed not to advance, Solomon Chishko.
Mat Madness continues to stun fans with more upsets. It was apparently clear-cut for the Blue Age to host the #1 and #2 wrestlers in the finals, but the other three divisions were not so straightforward. #3 Manuel Pihakis edged out NCAA All-American Elias George to advance to the Gunners Division Finals. On the opposite side of the bracket, #6 Bruce Cridge advanced with a second upset against NCAA Champion, Sylvester Terkay; however, he now faces the wrestler with the most votes in the tournament thus far, Mark Angle. And in the final division, #4 Johnston pulled out a close victory over the only #1 seed not to advance, Solomon Chishko.
Make sure to download your updated version of the bracket by clicking here. The Division Finals are now set:
- Gunners Age - #1 Joe Solomon vs. #3 Manuel Pihakis
- Blue Age - #1 George O’Korn vs. #2 Angelo Marino
- Gold Age - #1 Mark Angle vs. #6 Bruce Cridge
- Modern Age - #4 Colin Johnston vs. #2 Connor Schram
Submit your ballot below for Round 4, and please share with your friends:
Mat Madness 2018: Division Semifinals
Upset city! All four #1 and #2 seeds are moving on, but that doesn’t mean that they’re safe. #4 seeds Bill Hulings (Gunners) and Jim Biringer (Blue) found that out against their respective #5 seeded opponents Vic DeFelice and Emil Deliere. Bruce Cridge has plowed through the competition an upset win over JUCO Champion Rob Benjamin, but he faces a resilient NCAA Champ Sylvester Terkay next. The only division to come out unscathed with all 4 of the top seeds still remaining is the Modern Age, though Wiercioch battled in a close contest against Kyle Deliere.
Upset city! All four #1 and #2 seeds are moving on, but that doesn’t mean that they’re safe. #4 seeds Bill Hulings (Gunners) and Jim Biringer (Blue) found that out against their respective #5 seeded opponents Vic DeFelice and Emil Deliere. Bruce Cridge plowed through the competition with an upset win over JUCO Champion Rob Benjamin, but he faces a resilient NCAA Champ Sylvester Terkay next. The only division to come out unscathed with all 4 of the top seeds still remaining is the Modern Age, though Wiercioch battled in a close contest against Kyle Deliere.
We’re moving onto Round 3, the Division Semifinals. State champs face off with Pihakis vs. George (Gunners), Peterson vs. Marino (Blue), Chishko vs. Johnston (Modern), and Wiercioch vs. Schram (Modern), while NCAA All-Americans clash with Solomon vs. DeFelice (Gunners). Download the updated Division Semifinals bracket here.
Vote below, and be sure to share with your friends as these rounds start to heat up:
Mat Madness 2018: Round 2
Thanks to all of those who participated in Round 1 of Mat Madness 2018. Last round there were some tight matches and three upsets: #9 Darrel Patterson over #8 Tony Compeggie (Gunners), #9 Nick Catalano over #8 Cody Klempay (Modern), and #11 Kyle Deliere over #6 Brendan Furman (Modern).
Mat Madness 2018 Round 2 Updated Bracket
Thanks to all of those who participated in Round 1 of Mat Madness 2018. Last round there were some tight matches and three upsets: #9 Darrel Patterson over #8 Tony Compeggie (Gunners), #9 Nick Catalano over #8 Cody Klempay (Modern), and #11 Kyle Deliere over #6 Brendan Furman (Modern). Download the updated Round 2 bracket here.
We kick off our second round with some fresh matchups and some teammates facing off against each other. Who will come out on top? You decide!
As a reminder, you can vote for all or some of the matchups. Instructions: 1) Click on your picks, 2) Click “Next” to see the next Division or “Back” to see the previous, and 3) Click “Submit” to make sure your responses are counted. Round 2 voting closes on February 27 at 5:00PM. Vote on Round 2 Below:
Mat Madness 2018 - Who is CM's Best Wrestler of All Time?
Welcome to Mat Madness 2018! It’s been asked on Facebook, at matches, and behind closed doors, “Who is the BEST wrestler to come out of Canon Mac?” Well, it’s time to decide in March Madness bracket style.
Mat Madness 2018 - Click on photo to enlarge.
Welcome to Mat Madness 2018! It’s been asked on Facebook, at matches, and behind closed doors, “Who is the BEST wrestler to come out of Canon Mac?” Well, it’s time to decide in March Madness bracket style.
We’ve set up a 64-man bracket with the top 16 wrestlers from 4 different eras: Gunners (30’s-50’s), Blue (60’s-70’s), Gold (80’s-90’s), and Modern (00’s-10’s). The wrestlers were chosen and seeded based upon an algorithm of their amount of High School Section, WPIAL, State titles and Collegiate NCAA placings. We have excluded any wrestlers currently in High School because they have not finished their career yet.
The tournament will take place over 6 rounds and complete within two weeks. What’s the criteria on voting? It’s up to you: who would win in a match, who has more accomplishments, who has had the better career, etc.
Schedule:
Round 1: February 22
Round 2: Feburary 26
Division Semifinals: February 28
Division Finals: March 2
Final Four: March 5
Championship: March 7
Vote in all of the divisions or just your favorites. Want to learn more about the wrestlers? There’s not better way than on our website. Click here to view Individual History. Get started below: