By Joe Tuscano of the Washington Observer-Reporter
HERSHEY – Canon-McMillan’s wrestling team is like the energizer bunny.
The Big Macs just keep going and going and going.
Canon-McMillan rolled out the carpet, then swept away Gettysburg, 48-15, Thursday night in the PIAA Class AAA Team Tournament at the Giant Center in Hershey.
The win advances the Big Macs into today’s 2 p.m. quarterfinal round against powerhouse Bethlehem Catholic.
“We thought we could get them down low,” said Canon-McMillan head coach Jeff Havelka. “We thought they were tougher up top. Once you get up here, they are all pretty important.”
Bethlehem Catholic has won three of the last four Class AAA titles.
“We’re excited to wrestle them,” said Havelka. “These are two teams with a lot of history. We’ll go home, look at them some more and get ready to go.”
Canon-McMillan bolted to a 19-0 lead and never looked back. Brandon Dami (113 pounds) got things started with an early win.
“It feels great to be up here, getting the first match out of the way and know we’re going (Friday),” he said. “I was hoping it was going to be easy. It was nerve-wracking but we did what we needed to do and blew threw them.”
Gettysburg came into the tournament as the District 3 champion, a feat accomplished with a victory over Dallastown last week.
Canon-McMilan made it into the tournament as the third-place team in District 7 (the WPIAL). The Big Macs had the advantage of wrestling this week. They disposed of City League champion Carrick Monday evening in Pittsburgh.
Canon-McMillan’s victory headed off a potentially ugly scene today.
Had Gettysburg won, the team planned to insert eight females into the starting lineup against Bethlehem Catholic.
Why?
Because the Catholic diocese forbids a male wrestler to wrestle a female.
Bethlehem Catholic would have been forced to forfeit those eight weight classes, assuring a loss to one of the tournament’s favored teams.
Gettysburg has a strong women’s wrestling team, and one of them, Montana DeLawder has more than 100 career victories. The eight women are on the Gettysburg roster this season, keeping them eligible for varsity matches.
HERSHEY – Canon-McMillan’s wrestling team is like the energizer bunny.
The Big Macs just keep going and going and going.
Canon-McMillan rolled out the carpet, then swept away Gettysburg, 48-15, Thursday night in the PIAA Class AAA Team Tournament at the Giant Center in Hershey.
The win advances the Big Macs into today’s 2 p.m. quarterfinal round against powerhouse Bethlehem Catholic.
“We thought we could get them down low,” said Canon-McMillan head coach Jeff Havelka. “We thought they were tougher up top. Once you get up here, they are all pretty important.”
Bethlehem Catholic has won three of the last four Class AAA titles.
“We’re excited to wrestle them,” said Havelka. “These are two teams with a lot of history. We’ll go home, look at them some more and get ready to go.”
Canon-McMillan bolted to a 19-0 lead and never looked back. Brandon Dami (113 pounds) got things started with an early win.
“It feels great to be up here, getting the first match out of the way and know we’re going (Friday),” he said. “I was hoping it was going to be easy. It was nerve-wracking but we did what we needed to do and blew threw them.”
Gettysburg came into the tournament as the District 3 champion, a feat accomplished with a victory over Dallastown last week.
Canon-McMilan made it into the tournament as the third-place team in District 7 (the WPIAL). The Big Macs had the advantage of wrestling this week. They disposed of City League champion Carrick Monday evening in Pittsburgh.
Canon-McMillan’s victory headed off a potentially ugly scene today.
Had Gettysburg won, the team planned to insert eight females into the starting lineup against Bethlehem Catholic.
Why?
Because the Catholic diocese forbids a male wrestler to wrestle a female.
Bethlehem Catholic would have been forced to forfeit those eight weight classes, assuring a loss to one of the tournament’s favored teams.
Gettysburg has a strong women’s wrestling team, and one of them, Montana DeLawder has more than 100 career victories. The eight women are on the Gettysburg roster this season, keeping them eligible for varsity matches.
