Jan 27, 2015 By Eleanor Bailey 4 min read

Canon-McMillan captured its 14th straight section title, 36th overall, and entered the WPIAL Class AAA team tournament as the No. 6 seed. The Big Macs take on Hempfield at 6 p.m. Jan. 25 at North Allegheny. The winner likely will face the host Tigers at 7:30 p.m. in the quarterfinals.

The Big Macs claimed the Section 4-AAA title with a thrilling victory against Waynesburg, 31-22.

“Winning the section title is really exciting,” said Jason Cardillo, who is in his second season as C-M head coach. “If you told me three or four years ago that winning a section title would be exciting, I would have said no. But this is exciting for me.”

Bryan Milligan and Jared Hladycz provided some of the drama for the Big Macs.

A sophomore, Milligan scored a major decision, 14-4, at 160 to preserve the win for Canon-Mac. Hladycz posted a 5-2 win at 220.

At 106, Logan Macri won in triple overtime.

James Zeremenko and Brendan Furman had the lone pins for Canon-Mac at 195 and 285.

Dimitri Pihiou, Cameron Fontenot and Micah Kusturiss won by decisions at 113, 126 and 145.

In the semifinals, Canon-Mac defeated Hopewell, 69-3.

Macri, Tim Hritsko, Fontenot, Matt Oblock, Ellis Popiolkowski, Kusturiss, Blaze Kansco, Jessie Lesko and Furman registered pins.

Belle Vernon and Franklin Regional are the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in the Class AAA tournament. The Leopards beat the Panthers, 35-28, back in December. However, three-time PIAA runner-up Michael Kemerer did not wrestle in that match for the Panthers.

Belle Vernon enters the tournament undefeated at 17-0 overall. Franklin Regional is the defending district and PIAA team champion.

North Allegheny (11-2) and Latrobe (6-1) are the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds in the Class AAA tournament.

The Class AAA semifinals and finals will be held at Penn Hills. The championship match is set for 3:30 p.m. The semifinals start at 1 p.m.

Bethel Park, Mt. Lebanon and Peters Township joined Canon-McMillan in the Class AAA tournament but all three wrestled a preliminary match Jan. 26 in an attempt to qualify for the first round of action.

Bethel Park qualified for the team tournament with a 47-25 win against Thomas Jefferson. Falls by Jeremy Huse, Chris Pauley, Paul Dunn, Noah Seeberger and Adam and Jason Montgomery highlighted the Hawks’ triumph. Dunn sealed the victory with his pin in the final match at 160.

In their play-in match, the Hawks defeated Shaler, 48-19. With the triumph, BP travels to Latrobe Jan. 28 to face the Wildcats at 6 p.m. The winner battles the Kiski-Fox Chapel winner at 7:30 p.m.

Against the Titans, Teddy Gates, Hunter Kernan and Nino Bonaccorsi recorded pins for the Hawks. Dunn and Huwe won by decisions. BP won four matches by forfeit.

After falling to eventual champion Belle Vernon, 59-12, Mt. Lebanon defeated Peters Township, 45-27, to finish third in the Section 2-AAA tournament and earn its berth in the team playoffs.

Against the Indians, Kellan Stout started the match with a fall at 182. Brian Perri (120), Sean Perri (145) and Turner Gray (152) also recorded pins for the Blue Devils. Bakhtiyar Zaynullaev, Shamil Zaynullaev and Sam White won by decisions at 195, 220 and 145. Ryan Dustrevich and Aidan Pecoraro won with forfeits.

For Peters Township, Davin Lavine (106), Daniel Florentino (113), Phil Mary (126) and AJ Buckiso (132) won by fall. Sal Merante earned a decision at 160.

In Lebo’s loss to Belle Vernon, Parker Reed picked up a pin at 113 while Stout and Bakhtiyar Zaynullaev won with decisions at 182 and 195.

In their team tournament openers, the Blue Devils lost to Greensburg Salem, 56-19, while Peters Township traveled to Hopewell and beat the Vikings, 33-29. In the preliminary match, Don Florentino (113) and Alex Belack (195) registered falls for the Indians. Sal Merante posted a 1-0 decision at 160 to clinch the victory and vault the Indians into the first round of the playoffs. Peters will travel to North Allegheny to take on the Tigers at 6 p.m. Jan. 28. The winner advances to the quarterfinals set for 7:30 p.m.