O-R Athlete of the Week: Andrew Binni, Canon-McMillan
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Name: Andrew Binni
School: Canon-McMillan
Sport: Wrestling
Class: Senior
Binni’s week: To say Binni dominated the 127-pound weight class to win his first WPIAL/Southwest Regional Class 3A championship would be an understatement.
Binni, who will continue his academic and wrestling careers next season at the Naval Academy, scored 19 points in a major decision over Latrobe’s Jake Braun in the finals. He scored 18 points before recording a fall in the first round, had 26 in a technical-fall triumph in the quarterfinals and scored “just eight” points prior to pinning Baldwin’s Owen Klodowski in the semifinals.
“I knew as the No. 1 seed I needed to come out and score as many points as possible,” Binni said. “My goal was to win the Outstanding Wrestler award of the tournament, but Butler’s Santino Slaboda got it for beating a top-ranked guy in Norwin’s Landon Sidun, which I totally understand.”
Binni, who upped his season record to 32-6 and his career mark to 130-32, was proud of his accomplishment, as he was wrestling in the Canon-McMillan gymnasium for the last time.
“I’m so grateful for Canon-McMillan wrestling, and I hope the community feels I represented the school well,” Binni said. “Last year, I was more of a hunter, but this year, I have become the hunted.”
Last chance for gold: Binni was the state runner-up last season to Latrobe’s Vincent Kilkeary, who won his third title. Binni hopes to be one step higher on the podium this year, but isn’t looking past his first match.
“I’m not even looking at the brackets,” Binni said. “I am going to keep up the pace the entire match and not let my opponents rest no matter what the score is. I am excited that some of my teammates will be going because not all of them will be wrestling in college, so this will be their last time on the mat.”
New rules: In collegiate wrestling, a takedown is now worth three points, which Binni believes is perfect for his style.
“I’m excited for the rule change for takedowns in college,” Binni said. “I competed in the Clarion Open earlier in the season to see how it was, and I believe it is not only good for me and my style, but for the sport as a whole. You want to push the pace and break my opponent mentally and physically. I also enjoy freestyle wrestling and love getting as many takedowns as I can.”
Just a wrestler: Binni comes from a family of wrestlers, so competing in the sport is something he has done all his life. He doesn’t play any other sports, and when he isn’t competing, practicing or doing school work, he is probably engaged in something that incorporates wrestling.
“I want to be an Olympic champion some day, so wrestling is kind of my hobby,” Binni said. “I will hang out with family and friends, maybe watch a movie, but I don’t really have any hobbies besides wrestling. I just love the sport.”