O-R Athlete of the Week: Donovan McMillon, Peters Township
Name: Donovan McMillon
School: Peters Township
Sport: Wrestling
Class: Sophomore
McMillon’s week: McMillon entered the 152-pound weight class as the second seed and won the weight class at last weekend’s Chartiers-Houston Wrestling Tournament.
McMillon opened the tournament with a pin in 1:10 of Burgettstown’s Jacob Loudin, a junior. He followed that with a pin of Noah Hunnell of Elizabeth Forward, a sophomore, in 4:36. McMillon moved to the finals with a pin of Conneaut Area’s Brendan Laird, a junior, in 5:08.
McMillon put the finishing touches on his first C-H title when he decisioned Grant Walnoha, a senior from Upper St. Clair, 5-1.
“This was more of a revenge tournament,” said McMillon. “I came in second last year. This year, I put all my heart into getting first.”
McMillon’s victory was the first of three title for the Indians. Jeff Markert and Brandon Matthews also won as Peters Township finished a close second to Armstrong in the team title race.
“He came in last year and right off the bat worked hard,” said Peters Township head coach Derrick Evanovich. “He’s very talented. He’s really funky. He’s pretty dangerous from anywhere. He’s real good at scoring, even in positions where you think he’s in trouble. He switches right around on you. So he’s a real fun wrestler to coach in matches.”
A weighty issue: Last season, McMillon compiled a 30-8 record as a freshman last year. He was a Section 2-AAA runner-up and finished eighth in the WPIAL Championship … at 132 pounds.
McMillon hit a growth spurt, putting on 20 more pounds to his 6-2 frame.
“These (opponents) are all new faces,” said McMillon. “Well, all except one: Eli Brinsky (of South Fayette). I just put the weight on naturally. And in football, I did a lot of weight training. I definitely thought it would be a lot different carrying more weight but I became a lot stronger. The more weight I put on, the more muscle I put on. I feel super strong now.”
McMillon has long arms and legs, which makes him difficult to attack for opponents.
“He shot up there a little bit,” said Evanovich. “I ran into him over the summer and saw him. So I knew he was going to shoot up a weight or two.”