SCOTT TWP. � Ellwood City�s Mike Sinclair was very prepared for the MAC Wrestling Championships, held at Montour Friday and Saturday, but he still wasn�t ready for what happened.
He pinned Ambridge�s Calvin Sittig with 1:09 left in the second period to capture the gold medal in the 220-pound weight class � the same class in which he finished fifth a year ago.
It was Sinclair�s second big weekend in a row. A week before, he had finished fourth in the 33-team Southmoreland Tournament.
�There were more wrestlers at Southmoreland, but this feels good to win,� Sinclair said. �I was the first seed coming in, but I knew I was going to be in for a tough battle.
Sinclair gives Grinnen a challenge, and that showed as well. Grinnen provided the most exciting match of the final round as he pushed Cole Macek of Montour to the limit in the 195-pound weight class. Macek was going for his fourth MAC Championship, one of the very few to achieve the feat, and Grinnen barely lost by a 3-2 score.
In addition to their championship medals, Grinnen and Sinclair got more individual hardware. Grinnen received the award for the fastest pin � 12 seconds in his first match � and Sinclair received the award for the most pins in the shortest time as he recorded pins in all four matches.
Despite its relative youth as a high school team, Ellwood City fared very well as a team. The Wolverines finished fourth as a team as freshman Tyler Alberts also finished second.
126: Jordan Lamanski - bye.
132: Bryan McCarthy pinned Kevin Ball (Montour), 2:57.
106: Alberts pinned Austin Alberts (Freedom), 1:56.
113: Power pinned by Jesse Chen (Mars), 1:59.
120: MacMurdo pinned by Joe Sheedy (Montour), 4:42.
132: B.McCarthy pinned by Dean Ward (Freedom), 3:22.
145: D.Kerr defeated Aaron Tripp (South Side), 7-1.
152: D.McCarthy lost to Jake Bombardier (Montour), 2-1.
160: Pounds tf. Ben Ayers (Ambridge), 15-0, 3:23.
182: Mayle pinned by Dave Lyons (Montour), 3:11.
195: Grinnen pinned Will Peterson (Laurel), 0:12.
220: Sinclair pinned Evan Sweesey (Freedom), 1:10.
285: Foreman pinned Dylan Redzanic (Moon), 0:33.
120: MacMurdo defeated Jacob Ramsey (Central Valley), 5-0.
126: Lamanski lost to Matt Pavlick (Freedom), 15-2.
138: C.Kerr pinned Tristan McGrosky (South Side), 4:07.
152: D.McCarthy pinned Cain Hopkins (Ambridge), 2:11.
160: Pounds pinned by Dave Rubis (West Allegheny), 3:24.
182: Mayle pinned by James Kimbrough (Hopewell), 1:35.
195: Grinnen defeated Alex Grosso (Mars), 8-2.
220: Sinclair pinned Lamar Taft (Blackhawk), 5:26.
285: Foreman lost to Luke Seifert (West Allegheny), 0:33.
113: Power pinned by Josh Yost (South Side), 4:49.
120: MacMurdo lost to Justin Mayberry (Laurel), 2-1.
132: B.McCarthy pinned Matt Beatty (Blackhawk), 3:20.
138: C.Kerr defeated Justin Petrinliona (Mars), 10-8.
152: D.McCarthy lost to Dan Wiesen (South Side), 9-0.
170: Baldelli defeated Reese McHaffie (South Side), 5-4.
132: B.McCarthy pinned by Kyle Davis (Hopewell), 0:49.
138: C.Kerr lost to Levi Bonzo (Freedom), 8-0.
160: Pounds pinned by Kyler Burris (South Side), 3:15.
170: Baldelli pinned by Collin Funkhouser (Montour), 3:58.
285: Foreman pinned RJ Halifill (Central Valley), 0:30.
120: MacMurdo defeated Mike Chambers (Ambridge), 4-0.
152: D.McCarthy lost to Steven Flanary (Hopewell), 4-2.
182: Mayle pinned Tyus Airhart (Ambridge), 3:26.
132: B.McCarthy pinned by Matt Makarczyk (Moon), 2:40.
138: C.Kerr pinned by JP Wegley (Montour), 2:59.
160: Pounds lost to Ryan Barnes (Mars), 7-1.
170: Baldelli pinned Javon Tarver (Ambridge), 3:46.
285: Foreman defeated Trey Turnblacer (Mars), 3-2.
106: Mason Schaefer (West Allegheny) d. Alberts, 7-0.
145: D.Kerr pinned by Kyle Scott (West Allegheny), 3:05.
195: Grinnen lost to Cole Masek (Montour), 3-2.
220: Sinclair (EC) pinned Calvin Sittig (Ambridge), 2:51.
285: Peake (H) d. Seifert (WA), 10-1.