Wrestler of the Week: Dimitri Pihiou

All good things must come to an end, so the CMWAA is concluding our WotW series with one final installment. We’ve highlighted more than half of the starting wrestlers on the HS team, and now we’re moving into our ninth line-up spot at 152 lbs. Congrats to our final Wrestler of the Week, Dimitri Pihiou!

Source: Instagram

While the wrestler does not have any shoe collecting habits like some of his other teammates, Dimitri does tie his wrestling shoes a certain way before each match for luck. Another part of his warm-up ritual is listening to his favorite type of music. For those unfamiliar with his taste, he listens to Migos. As for his taste in food? Greek is the obvious answer, but Dimitri considers Ichiban Hibachi Steakhouse his favorite restaurant. With his culturedness in Asian food also comes a hankering to play his favorite sport, Ping Pong, which is a national sport in certain Asian countries.

Fans may be familiar with his older brothers Christos and Will, both of whom also passed through the wrestling program. This is the third Pihiou’s final year of wrestling.  With 12+ years of total experience under his belt, this is Dimitri's fourth year starting for the Big Macs. Of those many years, the Big Mac still considers his favorite memory as going to the team PIAA State tournament and wrestling with his teammates. He is hoping to make a few more great memories this year with his team by winning a WPIAL title and placing at the State level. The Senior has helped his team this year by winning dual matches; furthermore, Dimitri placed 3rd at the TRICADA tournament earlier this month.

Dimitri plans on pursuing a Business degree at a four-year university after he graduates in June.

Cover Photo Source: Instagram

Wrestler of the Week: Giomar Ramos

CM wrestling fans have been treated to bios of the 106, 113, 120, 126, 138, 145, and 160 lb. weight classes in our Wrestler of the Week series. But, where are the heavier weights? Well, this week we move up to the biggest weight class that there is with this week’s Wrestler of the Week, Giomar Ramos.

As a new edition to the Big Mac squad, Gio has enjoyed wrestling in the high school lineup this year. The sophomore doesn’t daydream in favorite class, history, but you may catch him thinking about pancakes throughout the rest of his day. The Big Mac doesn’t know what he wants to do post-high school, but he knows that he wants to go to college and be involved in athletics. Gio has the athletics part down now, as he also plays football in the fall and competes in track & field in the spring. The heavyweight wrestler considers shoe collecting his favorite hobby, just like some of his other teammates. Watching football is Gio’s other favorite hobby, and his favorite team to cheer on is Michigan State -- not a bad team to cheer for, considering their upset wins over Michigan and Penn State this past season.

Speaking of cheering, Gio’s favorite wrestling memory comes from middle school when all of his teammates cheered him onward to victory at a tournament in his second year of wrestling. Gio has earned his share of encouragement from his teammates this year as he won by fall against opponents during the Montour and Kiski matches. The grappler earned a 4th place finish at the JV Powerade tournament in December. His victories seem to fall into place with his season goals of being more of an offensive wrestler and taking more shots. Gio will wrestle next with his team in the Section Team tournament this Wednesday.

Wrestler of the Week: Michael Binni

The Big Macs celebrated Senior Night last Wednesday with their last home dual meet of the year. The seniors helped push the team to a 62-12 victory against Central Catholic, so we would like to spotlight one of these 12th graders. Boasting a 20-9 record this season is this week’s Wrestler of the Week, Michael Binni.

Source: Instagram

Michael has been wrestling for eleven years, and his favorite memory was beating Kiski in the WPIAL semi-finals in his sophomore year. A hard-fought battle gave the team a win against the same team on Alumni Night, when Michael earned 6 points for his team with a pin. The Big Macs will likely wrestle the Cavaliers again in the WPIAL tournament on February 3. Michael would love to bring down Kiski once more, as one of his goals for his last season is to win the WPIAL Team Championship, which CM last won in 2013.

If you had asked Michael at the beginning of the season if his team would have pulled off the biggest upset of the year, he might have said “Get Out,” coincidentally the same name of one of his favorite movies. In addition to movies, the grappler likes to watch the television show Seinfeld, where he may have gained some of his humor. Michael is a big fan of the NFL, too; however, he will be cheering for the Philadelphia Eagles over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the playoff season. While he enjoys watching the NFL, the Big Mac loves playing the video game NHL ‘18. And of all of the pastimes that he could enjoy, Michael’s favorite is spending time with his brothers.

This family-oriented wrestler earned a 4th place finish at the North Canton Tournament and a 3rd place finish at the TRICADA tournament this season. He is currently ranked #5 in the WPIAL at 113 lbs. Coming up just short with a 3-2 record in the blood round at Escape the Rock this weekend, the senior has big goals of becoming a Section Champion in his final season. Post high school, Michael will be studying Marketing and Communications at Waynesburg University or Penn State University.

Cover Photo Source: Instagram

Wrestler of the Week: Tanner Rohaley

This past weekend the Big Macs wrestled in the Tri-County Wrestling Tournament (TRICADA). With ten boys in the lineup, the Big Macs took second place behind Waynesburg and came away with three champions: Jimmy Baxter (106), Tanner Rohaley (145), and Gerrit Nijenhuis (160). The CMWAA is crowning Tanner Rohaley as the Wrestler of the Week for his phenomenal tournament.

Tanner has been wrestling for ten years, and his favorite memory stems from this past weekend when he won his first ever high school gold medal. Wrestling is Tanner’s passion, but he enjoys deer hunting and bass fishing in the off-season, too. While these outdoor sports require silence, this “country boy” is a fan of jamming out to his favorite country music star Blake Shelton. The farm boy is able to enjoy great food from his family’s farm, yet Tanner cannot resist a good pepperoni pizza and Pepsi or a meal at Fusion Japanese Steakhouse.

Rohaley struggled to make the lineup last year, but he has had a solid year thus far with pins against Montour and Chartiers Valley. He also had a match-sealing decision against Waynesburg’s Colby Morris, the same kid who Tanner pinned in the TRICADA finals. His career record is 15-6. And Tanner isn’t finished with his run this season; in fact, he intends to place top four in the WPIAL and qualify for the PIAA State Tournament in March. As he told Observer Reporter’s Joe Tuscano, Tanner believes that “You have to go out there and do your own thing,” and that’s just what he’ll be doing for the rest of the season.

Photo Source: Instagram

Cover Photo Source: Observer Reporter

Wrestler of the Week: Tim Hritsko

The Wrestler of the Week series has been on holiday hiatus, but we’re back with another edition. This past weekend the Big Macs took 8th place at the Powerade Tournament, and three wrestlers placed, including Logan Macri (1st), Gerrit Nijenhuis (3rd), and this week’s WotW, Tim Hritsko (6th). When Tim battled back through the consolation bracket by beating two state champs from MD and VA, Tim stood smiling on the podium with his first Powerade medal.

He also smiles when he thinks about steak while he is cutting weight to 138 lbs. In the off-season, you can usually find Tim at his favorite restaurant, Moe’s Southwest Grill, with his bros. And when he’s not eating, Tim is probably looking for a new pair of shoes for his collection. On the mats he wears his favorite pair of wrestling shoes, Nike OG Inflicts; on the streets he wears his favorite Off-White Air Prestos. His stylish shoes seem to match his wrestling style that is full of finesse.

Tim has been wrestling with CM since CCNS and is committed to the team as a captain for the 2017-2018 season. This year, the Big Mac took 4th at the Cumberland Valley Classic and 3rd at the North Canton Tournament. The rest of the season is in full view for Tim, and he has lofty goals of winning a Section title and making the PIAA State tournament. He also believes that the team can win a WPIAL team title this year. He has had a taste of Hershey over the last two years at Team States, one trip of which came from beating Kiski in the WPIAL semi-finals two years ago -- Tim’s favorite wrestling memory. Currently, the grappler is undecided on his plans post-high-school. Fans can catch Tim on Wednesday in a home match against Waynesburg or this weekend seeking his 100th career win at the TRICADA tournament.

Wrestler of the Week: Gerrit Nijenhuis

For his work in winning the Cumberland Valley Kickoff Classic this past weekend, Gerrit Nijenhuis is being recognized as the Wrestler of the Week. Gerrit cruised his way to the 160 lb. finals with 3 straight pins; he earned a spot on top of the podium with a 14-1 major decision in the championship match.

Photo Source: Youth 1

This is not Gerrit’s first tournament win; among his others, the sophomore says that winning the Jr. High State Tournament is his favorite victory and wrestling memory. In addition to wrestling, he also plays football for the Big Macs. One of the upsides to football compared to wrestling is that Gerrit doesn’t have to cut weight for the former. In fact, he actually gets to indulge in his favorite restaurant, McGrogen’s, and favorite drink, McDonald’s Caramel Frappe, when it’s not November through March. Other than competitive sports, the grappler enjoys riding horses at his grandparents and rooting for the Steelers and Detroit Red Wings (uh-oh Pens fans!).

Much like Louden Swain in his favorite movie, Vision Quest, Gerrit is on a journey of his own to become a PIAA State Champion. After a 3rd place finish at 152 lbs. last season, he has his eyes set on the gold. With a 50-7 high school career record, we are sure to see great things from him in the future. Local fans can see great things from him as early as this Wednesday, when Gerrit and the rest of the team take on Montour in the Big Mac’s first home match of the season.

Cover Photo Source: Facebook

Wrestler of the Week: Jimmy Baxter

Source: Simple Booklet

Continuing down the chain of command from the senior class to junior class, we now arrive at the sophomore wrestling class of 2020. The CMWAA would like to send a big congrats to December 4th’s Wrestler of the Week, Jimmy Baxter.

This is the perfect season to highlight Jimmy because he loves getting into the Christmas spirit by watching his favorite movie, Elf. Other than the holidays, this time of year also brings around hunting season, which is one of Jimmy’s favorite hobbies along with fishing and wrestling. In school, the young grappler favors math as his favorite subject; however, you may find him in class daydreaming about pizza instead of equations when he is cutting weight.

With ten years of wrestling experience, Jimmy is entering his first season on the High School team following his recent finish at the Junior High level. One of the Big Mac’s favorite memories from his JH days was winning the Southwest Regional tournament under Coach Slack. Last year he earned himself a trip to the PJW State Championships at 102lbs.; and, after trading in his JH status for a HS one, Jimmy has his eyes set on the PIAA State Tournament. Catch Jimmy making his High School debut this weekend at the Cumberland Valley Classic!

Wrestler of the Week: Kenny Hayman

Source: Trib Live

This week we shift our focus from the Senior class into the Junior class at CMHS with our newest Wrestler of the Week, Kenny Hayman.

Kenny enjoys practicing and watching his favorite sport of wrestling, but he likes to spend his time off the mat playing wiffle ball with his buddies. And when he’s not outside hitting home runs, he is probably inside watching The Other Guys movie or the Game of Thrones tv series. Last season Kenny wrestled 113 lbs., but he might have put on a few pounds while eating his favorite steak at Texas Roadhouse over the summer.

Kenny is a veteran of the sport, having wrestled for the past eleven years of his life from CCNS all the way to the HS level. Before his matches you may find him doing “stance-motion” drills or jamming out to Kendrick Lamar to prepare himself for battle. Kenny’s favorite wrestling memory thus far was wrestling at the Team PIAA State Tournament. Being the team-oriented person that he is, Kenny is looking forward to making the team tournament again; yet, he has lofty goals for himself of making his own trip to Hershey in March. Good luck this season, Kenny!

Cover Photo Source: Trib Live

Wrestler of the Week: Logan Macri

Source: PA Power Wrestling

The 2017-2018 High School wrestling season has officially begun, and the best way to start it off is with our new “Wrestler of the Week” series. Each week throughout the course of the season, the CM Wrestling Alumni Association will highlight one of the Big Mac's wrestlers.

Congrats to our first Wrestler of the Week, Logan Macri! This recognition comes after the announcement of the recent news of his college commitment. For more than twelve years, Logan has been polishing his wrestling technique. Fans may be familiar with his older brother, Dalton, who went through the program and is currently wrestling at UNC. Like many fans, Logan also enjoys watching his brother wrestle; one of his favorite memories in the sport was watching his brother wrestle in Madison Square Garden at the 2016 NCAA tournament.

When he is not on the mat, Logan enjoys eating at his favorite restaurant, Outback Steakhouse -- or daydreaming about the steak when he is cutting weight. In the off-season he is a bit of an outdoorsman, taking part in wake-surfing and downhill mountain-biking. Logan also likes to cheer on all of the Pittsburgh sports teams with his friends.

Logan enters his last season at Canon Mac with a career record of 113-28 and as the #34 ranked senior in Pennsylvania by PA Power Wrestling. While he made the Powerade finals and placed 5th at the PIAA state tournament in 2016-2017, Logan has ambitious goals of winning both the Powerade and PIAA state tournaments this season. Logan will be continuing his wrestling career in college at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga.

Cover photo source: PA Power Wrestling