Furman keeps his composure, wins 4th section title
If there was any doubt heavyweights Brendan Furman of Canon-McMillan and Roman Macek of Montour were a little on edge Saturday, it was erased eight seconds into their title bout at the WPIAL Section 4-AAA Championships at Trinity High School.
The two traded ferocious blows to the back of the other’s head in the opening moments of the bout and immediately drew warnings from the match officials.
In the end, it was Furman keeping his composure and picking up four penalty points along the way that led to the Big Macs senior winning his fourth section title – all at heavyweight – at Hiller Hall.
“I can say I’ve never had a match start that aggresively,” said Furman, sporting a bloody lip. “I’ve had them start explosively, but not that aggressively.”
Furman and Macek, two of the top-rated heavyweights in the WPIAL, settled down following the early warning – at least until the third period, when Macek, who already had two points deducted for stalling and trailed 3-1, hit Furman with a roundhouse right to the side of the head, handing the Canon-McMillan standout two more points for unsportsmanlike conduct with 37 seconds remaining.
Again the officials had to separate the two before cooler heads prevailed.
Even a late takedown by Macek couldn’t change the outcome.
Furman’s aggressive style had kept Macek backing up the entire bout and left the Montour heavyweight frustrated.
“The amount of work I put in, moving him around, is the reason I got those five points,” said Furman. “I got those stalling calls which would have been takedowns if he had been forced to wrestle.”
Now, it’s on to the WPIAL Championships, which double as the Southwest Regional and PIAA qualifier, next Friday and Saturday at Canon-McMillan. The top five placewinners from the section tournament advanced.
Furman, despite being a four-time section champion, has yet to win a medal at the WPIAL tournament though he was highly seeded in each of his past two trips. The Cornell recruit hopes to change that this time.
“To say the least, I’ve stumbled a little bit in the WPIALs but this year’s different,” said Furman. “I’ve committed to college. It’s just for fun now. Wrestling for fun is a lot different than wrestling with pressure to win. In years before, I was too worried that I had to win to get to the next level, to win the WPIAL to get to states. Now, I’m just having fun wrestling, which I’ve found is a way better way to do it.”
Even if he has to get punched in the head a couple of times to do so.
Furman was one of 11 Big Macs to advance, including four who did so as champions.
Kenny Hayman and Gerrit Nijenhuis each won their first section titles at 113 and 152 pounds, respectively, while Logan Macri (120) and Matt Oblock (126) were repeat winners.
“It feels really good,” said Hayman, a sophomore. “This is the first tournament I’ve won, so it gives me something to build on going into next week.”
Waynesburg nearly matched Canon-McMillan, picking up four section championships and advancing nine to the WPIAL tournament.
Winning titles for the Raiders were Caleb Morris at 132 pounds, Trey Howard at 145, Kyle Homet at 170 and Colin McCracken at 195.
Howard beat West Allegheny’s Ty McGeary, 7-1, in the final, avenging a first-period pin during the team tournament earlier this year.
“He caught me and pinned me,” Howard, a sophomore, admitted. “I just wanted this one. I wanted that back. I wanted revenge.”
Trinity failed to win a title but did advance seven to the WPIAL tournament.
The Hillers had one wrestler, D.J. Long, in the finals, but he was beaten by Morris via technical fall at 132 pounds.
Belle Vernon might not have the overall numbers heading to the WPIAL tournament that it’s had in recent years but the Leopards showed they still have quality wrestlers.
Jacob Dunlop (113), Brock Godzin (152) and Zach Hartman (160) won Section 2-AAA championships at Connellsville High School, where Belle Vernon had six wrestlers in the finals.
Peters Township’s Bryce Wilkes won a title at 106 pounds, pinning Shawn Thomas of Connellsville in 1:09 in the championship bout.
The Indians advanced seven to the WPIAL tournament while Belle Vernon will send eight.
Ringgold failed to win a championship but will have five wrestlers at the WPIAL tournament.