Canon-McMillan claims Class AAA title

Canon-McMillan senior Mike Hull's wrestling career ended on a high note.

Before the season began, Hull, who signed a letter-of-intent to play football at Penn State, told Canon-McMillan coach Chris Mary he would wrestle only in team competition to help win a WPIAL title.

Hull kept his promise and sealed the Big Macs' first team title since 1993 with a 3-2 victory over Kiski Area's Steve Calderone in the 285-pound match.

That helped Canon-McMillan rally for a 32-27 victory Tuesday in the Class AAA title match at Fox Chapel High School. It was Canon-McMillan's sixth team title.

"I wasn't the hero at all," Hull said. "That credit goes to my teammates who put me in the position to win. I had the easy part."

Hull got an escape and a takedown in the second period to build a 3-0 lead. He allowed two escapes and then fought off Calderone's attack.

"I did what I had to do," Hull said. "The Kiski kid was bigger than me and didn't do much, except push me around. I didn't want to do anything stupid."

Hull weighed in at 215 pounds and Calderone at 272.

Hull separated his shoulder Jan. 30 in a high school all-star game in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and he didn't know if he could wrestle until immediately before the match. His father, Tom, gave him permission if the team needed him. Hull said he will not wrestle in the PIAA tournament Friday and Saturday in Hershey.

Early in the match, Canon-McMillan looked like it wouldn't need Hull. The Big Macs won their first four bouts and six of the first seven to build a 25-3 lead.

Conner Shorts (103 pounds) delivered a 2-1 overtime victory over Cole Landowski. William Pihiou (125) rallied from a 3-2 deficit after two periods to pin Jim Bistline in the third period, giving Canon-McMillan an 18-0 lead.

"Mike is a humble kid," Canon-McMillan coach Chris Mary said. "I told the team before the match, 'Lets not try to put it all on his shoulders.' He's got one good one (shoulder) and one bad one. He stepped up big."

Mary said other wrestlers made important contributions.

"Conner and William really came up big," Mary said. "We also made a couple other moves that helped out."

Mary moved Sam Lombardo from 145 to 140 and Nick Catalano from 140 to 135, and both wrestlers scored decisions.

"It was a great team effort," Mary said. "It was just our day. Kiski is a darn good team, and I knew we'd have our hands full."

After Lombardo's victory, Kiski Area strung together five consecutive victories to grab a 27-25 lead.

Mike McCutcheon (160 pounds) delivered a major decision; Bill Emerick (189) won by technical fall; Zack Shannon (152) won, 9-3; and Justin Harold (145) and Matt McCutcheon (171) picked up pins to give the Cavaliers hope.

At that point, Canon-McMillan got a 10-0 major decision by Cody Klempay at 215 before Hull sealed the win.

"I knew it was going to be a battle," Kiski Area coach Chuck Tursky said. "The lightweights were toss-ups. I thought we wrestled well, and so did they. We just gave up too many bonus points."

The match was postponed twice because of weather.

"The couple days off didn't help us," Tursky said. "Maybe if we started at a different weight class, Hull doesn't wrestle."

The match began at 103 pounds.

Canon-McMillan earned its second trip to Hershey for the state tournament, which begins Friday. Kiski Area must defeat City League champion Perry today at Carrick to earn its trip.

During the final period of Hull's match, a minor scuffle broke out in the stands between fans, who were quickly subdued by Fox Chapel officials.