C-M’s Nijenhuis good as gold in Hershey
Marc Billett/For the Observer-Reporter
Gerrit Nijenhuis of Canon-McMillan strikes a pose in March after becoming the 170-pound state champion in the PIAA Class AAA Wrestling Championships in Hershey.
Marc Billett/For the Observer-Reporter
Ken Hayman of Canon-McMillan (top) works for control of Patrick Gould of East Stroudsburg South in the third-place bout of the PIAA Class AAA Wrestling Championships in Hershey Saturday. Gould won a 6-4 decision.
HERSHEY – Gerrit Nijenhuis took control of the gold medal match just five seconds in and came out six minutes later as a state champion.
Nijenhuis pulled the upset of the finals in the PIAA Class AAA Wrestling Championships Saturday night at the Giant Center when he routed Susquehanna Township’s Edmund Ruth, a two-time state champion, 8-3, in the 170-pound final.
Nijenhuis, a junior, became the 43rd state champion from the Canonsburg/Canon-McMillan area and 22nd champion for C-M.
When the final buzzer sounded, Nijenhuis turned to the Big Macs section of fans and struck a pose. After getting his hand raised, Nijenhuis did a running leap into the arms of head coach Jeff Havelka.
“I don’t think it’s sunk in yet,” said Nijenhuis, who also has two third-place finishes in this tournament. “I’m at a loss for words. It’s awesome. It’s better than I ever imagined.”
Ruth came into the match with a 37-0 record this season and a 137-11 career mark. But Nijenhuis was not impressed. He dove in seconds after the whistle blew and took Ruth down. Nijenhuis ran the half and pushed Ruth around the mat.
“I wanted to go out there and say I’m going to control him. I’m going to control the pace,” said Nijenhuis. “That’s exactly what I did and that’s why I won.”
The dagger came at the end of the second period, when Nijenhuis caught Ruth with a four-point move off a scramble.
“That was pretty big,” Nijenhuis said. “I wasn’t even thinking about it. It was just instinct.”
Nijenhuis moved his record to 44-3 and career mark to 134-16. He became the third C-M state champion in as many seasons. Nijenhuis was named the tournament’s Outstanding Wrestler.
“I’m just happy for Gerrit and happy for everyone who was part of it,” said Havelka. “It’s just awesome.”
Nijenhuis led a good showing by area wrestlers in this three-day, double-elimination tournament.
Hayman, who became known to some as the Comeback Kid in this tournament, lost a 4-1 decision to Colton Camacho of Frsnklin Regional in the 126-pound semifinals.
It was the fourth time the two wrestled in their careers and Camacho won all four. Camacho came in as the WPIAL champion and top seed. Camacho got a takedown in the first period and a reversal in the second period. Hayman escaped in the third period.
Hayman, headed to Pitt-Johnstown in the fall to wrestle, tilted J.J. Wilson of Cedar Cliff with 18 seconds remaining in ultimate tiebreaker to get into the bout for third place. It was Hayman’s 100th career victory.
Hayman made it to the third-place bout, where he lost a 6-4 decision to Patrick Gould of East Stroudsburg South.
“The last match didn’t go the way I wanted it to,” said Hayman. “But overall, I placed better than a lot of people thought it would. Standing up there getting this medal was the greatest part of the tournament for me.”
Matthews worked his way through the consolation rounds to battle Tyler Mousaw of Unionville for fifth place at 182. Matthews won a 4-1 decision.
Jezioro also grinded through the consolation rounds and went up against Mike Kistler of Northampton for seventh place at 152. Kistler came away with a 7-1 decision.
This is the first trip to states for Matthews and Jezioro, both seniors.
After a loss to Carter Starocci of Erie Prep in the quarterfinals, Joll made it to the bout for third place. Joll finished fifth at 170 last year and added a third place with a pin of Joey Milano of Spring Ford in 50 seconds.
Homet, a freshman, reached the 7th-place bout following an 8-2 loss to Cam Enriquez of Stroudsburg in the consolation quarterfinals. Homet won a 5-3 decision over Killian Delaney of West Chester Henderson to earn the medal.