Jan 18, 2024 By Eleanor Bailey 4 min read

Cordan McDonnell puts Blake Ward on his back. McDonnell’s pin at 160 sealed Bethel Park’s 33-28 victory against Canon-McMillan.

Collier Hartman puts Colton Fisher on his back during 121-pound action. Hartman scored a 15-5 decision as Canon-McMillan closed the gap against Bethel Park, 18-16.

Hunter Goelz works to put Jack Hunter on his back during 172-pound action. Bethel Park opened the match with a fall by Goelz and concluded with a pin by Cordan McDonnell to beat Canon-McMillan, 33-28.

Ryan Walsh (right) goes head to head with Brayden Collins (left) during 189-pound action. During Bethel Park’s 33-28 win against Canon-McMillan, Walsh scored a 7-0 win. The decision afforded the Black Hawks a 9-0 lead to start the match.

For the first time in school history, Bethel Park defeated Canon-McMillan in wrestling and it took a third-period fall by Cordan McDonnell in the final match to secure the landmark victory, 33-28.

After the Big Macs erased a nine-point deficit and took a 25-18 advantage into the final four bouts, the Black Hawks won three matches, including McDonnell’s to claim the win. CM clung to a 28-27 lead heading into the 160-pound bout.

“That’s a hard situation to be in. Not just for Cordan but for their guy, too,” said BP mat boss Tyler Nauman. “They are thinking about it and nobody wants to end the match that way.

“If you win, then everything takes care of itself,” he continued

Nauman acknowledged the pin came as a surprise because the match was scoreless after the first period. McDonnell earned an escape point in the second period before taking Blake Ward to the mat.

“We weren’t expecting a fall,” Nauman said. “Cordan stayed focused and he remained calm.”

The Black Hawks maintained composure and remained united throughout the dual even though they didn’t get the match-ups they wanted because the Big Macs won the flip.

“They were able to dictate the matches,” Nauman said. “Canon-McMillan has a rich tradition and they know how not to give up the big points.

“We really pulled together though,” Nauman continued. “It truly was a team effort.”

Hunter Goelz started the match with a pin at 172 and Ryan Walsh followed with a 7-0 decision at 189, affording the Black Hawks a 9-0 advantage.

Despite surrendering a pin at 215 to Geno Calagro, BP expanded its margin to 18-6 with decisions at 285 by Mike Gibson and Jaden Palombine at 107.

With consecutive wins from 114 through 133, the Big Macs overtook Bethel Park, 25-18. Tanner Mizenko started the run, winning by default because Pierce Reinhart was unable to continue due to an injury and Ryder Joseph completed the string with a decision over Aiden Bench. In between Collier Hartman registered a major decision against freshman Colton Fisher at 121 and Andrew Binni recorded a fall at 127.

Mason Kernan snapped the streak. The Bethel Park senior recorded a fall at 139. Ethan Higgins followed with a hard-fought, 4-2, decision against Josiah Gardner at 145.

Mikhail Krenzelak won at 152 putting the Big Macs ahead by one point and putting the onus for victory on McDonnell, who responded with the decisive pin..

With the win, Bethel Park remained undefeated in Section VI with a 4-0 record. The Black Hawks improved to 8-1 overall.

The loss was Canon-Mac’s second in the division and dropped them fourth place in the section standings, behind Baldwin and Peters Township, both of whom are tied for second place with 3-1 records.

The Black Hawks close out section action traveling to Baldwin on Jan. 24. A win would clinch the section banner outright for Bethel Park, which is ranked No. 3 in Class AAA behind undefeated Trinity and Connellsville.

“We know what we have to do,” said Nauman. “We are focused on winning against Baldwin.”

Other action

Peters Township dispatched Mt. Lebanon, 41-27, in other Section VI wrestling action.

Nicholas. McGarrity (107), Isaac Meyers (121), John Radnor (133) and Caleb Bebout (215) picked up wins while Darius McMillon (160) and Parker Nave (189) recorded tech falls. A.J. McGarrity earned a major decision at 145 and Chris Cibrone won at 152.

The Blue Devils won five bouts, three by forfeits. Edward Ercegovic scored a fall at 172 and Ben Lloyd edged Zack Stromock, 2-1, at heavyweight.