Sunday, March 9, 2003
HERSHEY: Mark McKnight turned 18 on Friday and told his parents the only birthday present he wanted was a Beatles poster.
He gave himself a more meaningful gift on Saturday.
The Chartiers Valley senior defeated Shikellamy senior Mike Sees, 6-4, in overtime to win the 119-pound championship match at the PIAA Class AAA Wrestling Championships in Hershey.
Highlands senior Bill Spencer, Waynesburg junior Coleman Scott, Greensburg Salem sophomore Donnie Jones, Connellsville junior Jarrod King and North Allegheny senior Jake Herbert also won titles in front of 9,561 fans at the Giant Center.
Herbert (35-0) won his first PIAA title with a 3-1 victory over Oxford senior Josh Weitzel (42-2) in the 171-pound finals.
"This feels great," Herbert said. "I worked 18 years for this. And it's exactly how I imagined it would be."
McKnight (38-1) blew kisses to the crowd, did a backflip and hugged his coaches after capping a stirring comeback from last week's third-place finish at the WPIAL/PIAA Southwest Regional tournament to become the first Chartiers Valley wrestler in 40 years to win a state title.
"After I lost at regionals, I was in a daze," McKnight said. "I was devastated. I came up here and started a clean slate. I kept my mind on what I could accomplish here."
Despite losing a fourth state qualifier during the off-season realignment, the WPIAL had its best showing since bringing home six titles in 1996.
The Ecklof brothers of Northampton denied the WPIAL a chance to equal its best state finals since 1970, when it won an all-time high eight weight classes. Sophomore Joe Ecklof defeated Penn-Trafford's Tom Picarsic, 5-3, in overtime in the 135-pound finals and senior Jeff Ecklof beat McGuffey's Kirk Main, 3-2, in the 145-pound finals.
McKnight, who placed second as a sophomore and third as a junior, gave the WPIAL a clean sweep in the first three weight classes.
Sees (34-2) was wrestling with a broken right thumb, but he had cruised through the 119-pound bracket, including a 15-4 major decision over then-undefeated Sean Clair of Plum in the semifinals.
Each wrestler had one takedown and two escapes in regulation, before McKnight caught Sees in a headlock 25 seconds into overtime and gained control for the winning takedown.
"I caught him leaning pretty hard, so I figured I'd try a slide by," McKnight said. "I knew the rule that you have to have control of three things. I had the head and the arm and I hooked the leg and held on for dear life."
Herbert, a Northwestern recruit, scored a takedown in the opening 30 seconds and led 2-1 midway through the first period. The nation's top-ranked 171-pounder got caught with his leg in the air in the first period, but didn't allow a takedown. Herbert rode the Michigan-bound Weitzel for the entire second period and then escaped in the third period for a 3-1 lead.
Herbert, who had placed second, third and sixth in the previous three years, finally joined his dad as a state champion. Jim Herbert was the 155-pound champion in 1974.
Spencer capped an undefeated season by beating Easton sophomore Seth Ciasulli, 4-1, for the 103-pound title.
Spencer (36-0) took a 2-0 lead on a first-period takedown and went ahead, 4-1, on a takedown at the second-period buzzer.
"Getting the first takedown threw him out of his game and put me in my game," said Spencer, who was fourth in the state last year.
Spencer celebrated his first PIAA gold by doing a reserve back handspring across the center mat to a cheering crowd. He jumped over the sideboards - no mean feat for the 4-foot-10 senior - and bolted into the stands to hold his 16-month old son, Issaic.
Spencer's stature proved troublesome for the taller Ciasulli (42-2), who couldn't muster many leg attacks or leverage.
"It makes it a lot harder on them," Spencer said. "I'm already adapted to everybody being tall. They have to adapt to me being short."
Scott (40-1) towers above the 112-pound field. With about 100 friends and family looking on, including a group of Waynesburg students with "Coleman" painted on their bare chests, Scott won his second consecutive PIAA Class AAA title with a 16-0 technical fall victory over Wissahickon senior Brad Canterbury (37-7).
Scott, who won the 103-pound crown last year, led 5-0 after the first period and used a four-point near-fall to build a 12-0 lead in the second period. He went ahead 16-0 at 5:25 for wrestling's version of the mercy rule.
"I was ready to go and I had it in mind that I wasn't taking anything less than a win," Scott said.
One year after going 0-2 at states, Jones won the 130-pound weight class with a 7-3 victory over previously undefeated Clint Collins (29-1) of Upper Merion. Jones, who pulled away in the second period, joins his older brothers Vertus and Greg as PIAA champions.
King (43-3) won the 152-pound title without stepping on the mat, thanks in part to the wrestler who was expected to meet him in the finals. Shaler Area senior Taylor Letters was disqualified for unnecessary roughness in his 152-pound semifinal match with Red Lion junior Jason Hollar.
Leading 7-0 with 59 seconds to go in the match, Letters slammed Hollar to the mat. Hollar sustained a neck injury and forfeited his 152-pound match to King.
Beside the finalists, fourteen other WPIAL wrestlers failed to reach the finals, but placed in the top eight to win PIAA medals.
After the semifinal loss, Letters (41-4) pinned his next two opponents and placed third for his third state medal. Plum sophomore Sean Clair (fifth at 119) and Thomas Jefferson senior Michael Goslicky (sixth at 112) won their second PIAA medal.
Mickey Moran of Shaler, and Mike Corcetti and Scott McKillop of Kiski Area, placed third.
Ashtin Primus of Connellsville and Mark Throckmorton of Waynesburg placed fourth, while John Ptak of Albert Gallatin took fifth.
Brad Cipriani of Franklin Regional placed sixth,; Dan Burkholder of Trinity and Jared Mowl of Moon were seventh and Andrew Sherry of Central Catholic and Branden Rupert of Kiski Area were eighth.
