Waynesburg’s Howard makes winning family affair
Trey Howard of Waynesburg, left, tries to escape the hold of Dom Davido of Plum during their 145-pound quarterfinal round bout in the WPIAL Class AAA Championships Friday at Canon-McMillan. Howard’s father, Jim, yells instructions from the corner. Trey Howard won, 2-1.
Logan Macri of Canon-McMillan turns Dylan Winters of Shaler for backpoints in their 120-pound quarterfinal round bout in the WPIAL Class AAA Championships Friday at Canon-McMillan. Macri pinned him in 3:07.
CANONSBURG – When Trey Howard needs some advice during a wrestling match, he can look to his corner and know he can trust the coaches there to do a good job.
The man sitting in the corner and yelling instructions is his father, Jim Howard, who was part of the Cary Kolat-led Jefferson-Morgan team in the late 1980s and early ’90s. Howard is an assistant to head coach Joe Throckmorton and part-time workout partner for his son in practice.
It can be a tricky situation at times but the Howards seem to handle it well. Trey Howard, at his father’s urging, used a late burst to get a takedown and 2-1 win over Dom Davido of Plum in the quarterfinals of the WPIAL Class AAA Championships Friday at Canon-McMillan.
The win propelled Howard into the semifinals today at noon. Consolation finals are at 5:30 and the finals follow shortly after.
The top four wrestlers in each weight class advance to the state tournament, which begins Thursday at the Giant Center in Hershey.
After the first day, Kiski still had 12 wrestlers alive for a medal. North Allegheny and Canon-McMillan each had nine.
“This win gives me some momentum going into the semifinals,” said Trey Howard. “I just went out there and wrestled my match. I needed to finish better. I don’t look to other people’s score. I just go out and wrestle. That was probably the hardest takedown I had to get.”
Trey Howard’s takedown came with just nine seconds remaining to secure the victory and send him against top-seeded Jarod Verkleeren of Hempfield today. Howard needs to find one more win to earn a berth in Hershey and believes the hard work he’s done with his father and others will pay off.
“He has a lot of influence on me,” said Trey. “He’s there every day, pushing me. He’s helping me get where I need to be.”
His father said coaching his son is not easy.
“It’s extremely difficult,” Jim Howard said. “When you go through it and you have your son wrestling, you want to be in it but you just can’t. Sometimes, it’s tougher than when I went through it. It’s difficult but rewarding, too. To fight that hard and get a win in this tournament is really rewarding.”
Jim Howard not only was a strong wrestler for the Rockets but also a multisport athlete. He played baseball and football before heading to West Virginia University, where he was a two-time NCAA qualifier.
“(Trey) kicks my butt in practice,” said Jim, who stands 6-2 and weighs 265. “There is a wide array of workout partners who are bigger than him and require him to use his technique.”
Gerrit Nijenhuis, a 152-pound freshman from Canon-McMillan, stayed on a collision course with two-time state champion Cam Coy of Penn Trafford with a 6-3 decision over Nick Delp of Kiski. Nijenhuis gets Brock Godzin of Belle Vernon in the semifinals. Coy battles Luke Stout of Mt. Lebanon.
“I’d give myself an F,” said Nijenhuis. “I didn’t get my offense going. He just wrestled tough on bottom and I felt I didn’t wrestle my best. I’ll get it out of my head, look forward. You can’t dwell on it.”
Blaze Kansco not only knocked off the fourth-seed Scott Joll of Belle Vernon, 6-4, in the quarterfinals but also chalked up career win No. 100. No. 99 came in a 5-0 decision over Billy Myers of Fox Chapel in the first round. Kansco, now 31-11 for the season and 100-53 overall.
“I’ve been counting that baby down from the beginning of the season,” said Kansco. “That was one of my goals this year. I knew I could reach. I came up short on some of my goals this year but all that matters is this tournament.”
Two of Kansco’s teammates – Matt Oblock at 126 and Tim Hritsko at 138 – lost heart-breaking decisions. Oblock was hit with a stalling point in overtime to drop a 2-1 decision to Nick Coy of Penn Trafford. Hritsko gave up a takedown with 13 seconds remaining to lose, 8-7, to Dom Means of Pittsburgh Central Catholic. Oblock and Hritsko can still finish as high as third.
Peters Township’s Dan Fiorentino won his 100th career bout with a 2-1 decision over Chris Zona of Norwin. Fiorentino wrestles Hritsko in his next bout today.