Apr 13, 2013 3 min read

Years from now, when they talk about the Golden Era of Canon-McMillan wrestling, fans will point to this season.

It was magical.

A three-year run that produced five PIAA team titles made Canonsburg the center of the state when it came to dominance in wrestling. The Big Macs swept through all comers and added two more team trophies to the showcase, winning the PIAA Team Tournament in February and the team title at the PIAA Individual Championships in March.

Just to make it a more memorable year, three Big Macs won their weight class in that individual tournament, the first time in six decades the school produced three state gold medalists in one season.

“I think this team will definitely go down as one of the best groups and best teams in Canon-McMillan history,” said head coach Chris Mary. “A lot of kids developed and got better. We knew we had a couple of good kids, and we knew what our goals were.”

For their accomplishment, Canon-McMillan’s wrestling team is this year’s Observer-Reporter Sports Headliner winner.

The team will be honored at the 59th annual Tri-County Athletic Directors’ Coach of the Year Banquet Sunday, April 28 at 5 p.m. at the DoubleTree by Hilton (formerly Holiday Inn), Meadow Lands.

Tickets for the banquet are $35 each and can be purchased by calling Burgettstown High School athletic director Jon Vallina at 724-947-8109. Proceeds benefit Tri-County Special Olympics.

The Big Macs became the first team in WPIAL history to win four consecutive Class AAA Team Tournament Titles when they disposed of Franklin Regional, 31-26, in a dual meet that was not decided until Dalton Macri pinned Don Turner in one minute in the final bout of the match.

Even more dramatic was the Big Macs’ run to the state team title.

Heading into the tournament as a slight underdog to Central Dauphin, the two teams clashed in the Class AAA finals at the Giant Center in Hershey.

In what will be remembered as one of the greatest victories in the program’s history, Canon-McMillan won a thrilling 34-31 decision when Brendan Price won a 4-3 decision over Zach Elvin at 106 pounds.

These same two teams met in last year’s semifinals and the Big Macs won, 28-25, before beating Erie McDowell for the team title. That team was favored over Central Dauphin. This year’s team was not, mainly because of injuries to three starters: Solomon Chishko, Malachi Krenzelak and William Pihiou.

“This year was more satisfying because we weren’t supposed to win,” Mary said, referring to the injuries and losses to graduation. “Our backs were against the wall a number of times, and we had adversity to deal with. This year, we won on heart. Last year, we won on talent. I’ll take heart over talent any day.”

At the individual championships in Hershey, Connor Schram won the 126-pound title in Class AAA, Solomon Chishko was victorious at 145 pounds and Cody Wiercioch won the 170-pound gold medal.

The last time the Big Macs had three state champions in a season was in 1950, when Manuel Pihakis won at 95 pounds, Joe Solomon won at 145 and Don Haney was the 154-pound champion.

“This team was the most disciplined and determined team I ever coached,” said Mary. “It truly was an amazing journey we have been on and we will cherish these memories forever. This team had a will to win that was immeasurable, and the chemistry we built was a key to our success. We made them believe, even with adversity, that we could win the state title.”