CANONSBURG - The list of Jared McGill’s wrestling accomplishments keeps on growing, with the latest achievement being a tournament championship at the prestigious Powerade Tournament on Saturday night at Canon-McMillan High School.
McGill won the 170-pound title with a 4-3 decision in the finals over Waynesburg’s Kyle Homet.
The Chestnut Ridge junior’s place on top of the podium closed out an outstanding 2017 portion of the season for McGill. Two weeks ago, he won the same weight class at the King of the Mountain Tournament.
“It’s just an amazing feeling to win Powerade,” McGill said. “To be winning this tournament with some of the top kids in the nation is pretty cool.”
McGill, a two-time state Class AA medalist, opened the scoring against Homet, a returning Class AAA state qualifier, with a reversal in the second period. Homet tied the bout with a pair of escapes, but McGill’s takedown in the third period made the difference.
McGill had three pins, a technical fall, and two decisions to win the event. He is the first Chestnut Ridge wrestler to claim a Powerade Tournament championship.
McGill’s teammate Justin McCoy placed second at 152, falling in the finals against Parkersburg South’s (WV) Josh Humphreys, 10-2. Chestnut Ridge ended up in seventh place in the team standings.
“Our team finished seventh, which is pretty impressive,” McGill said.
Sunday, December 31, 2017
Saturday, December 16, 2017
Lions on top at KoM
MILL HALL, Pa. - It’s good to be the king.
Chestnut Ridge was undoubtedly that at this year’s King of the Mountain Tournament, as the Lions crowned three champions and placed three others in the top eight of their weight classes to earn the 2017 team title in one of the top early season events.
Kaden Cassidy (120), Justin McCoy (152), and Jared McGill (170) won championships, while Dalton Seace (285) was fifth, Austin Crouse (195) took sixth, and Levi Hobson (182) finished eighth. The Lions tallied 168.5 points. New Jersey power Phillipsburg (157.5) and host school Central Mountain (141) were second and third, respectively.
“The team wrestled tough and picked up a lot of bonus points," said Chestnut Ridge coach Greg Lazor. "It was great to see our three state placewinners step up and win a tournament of this prestige. And I was also very pleased that some of our other wrestlers stepped up also and earned a place in an extremely tough tournament."
Of the three winners, McCoy was the most dominant. The defending 145-pound Class AA state champion rolled through his bracket, which culminated in four takedowns and a 9-1 major decision in the finals over Brian Meyer of Phillipsburg, NJ. That title bout was a battle between Division I recruits, as McCoy is going to Virginia while Meyer, a third-place state medalist in New Jersey, has committed to Lehigh.
The senior standout for Ridge was very happy with his performance.
"It's a great feeling to win (this tournament)," said McCoy. "I was a little disappointed last year when I lost in the finals (to Bellefonte's Brock Port) after a close match, and I didn't want that to happen again. So I'm grateful that God gave me the opportunity to be in the finals again and be able to come out on top."
"He wrestled awesome all weekend," added Lazor. "He moved continuously and controlled every match."
Cassidy became Chestnut Ridge's first champion at the event earlier in the finals, a 1-0 victory over Bishop McDevitt's Chase Shields. The sophomore placed third at 106 in Hershey last March, while Shields was also a state placewinner from a season ago.
"Kaden wrestled tough in the finals," said Lazor. "It was great to see him bounce back from a disappointing (St. Mary's) tournament last weekend."
Cassidy enjoyed the moment on Saturday night, but is looking ahead to bigger things down the road.
"It feels good right now, but I know there's room for improvement," he said. "My hand fighting is better this year. But I need to move my feet more."
At 170, McGill gave the Lions a perfect trifecta in the KoM finals, taking care of business in a 10-4 decision over Bethel Park's Jason Montgomery.
"I had a little struggle not getting to my shots in the semifinals (a 5-2 win), but overall, I felt pretty dominant for the whole tournament," said McGill, fourth in the state at the same weight last winter. "It's very early in the season, so there's a lot of work that needs to be done. I just need to keep working hard every day."
"Jared had a great tournament," said Lazor. "He looked offensive on his feet and wrestled tough from the top."
McGill and McCoy also offered praise to their teammates in claiming a team trophy.
"Everyone did their job by getting bonus points and fighting through the loser's bracket," said McGill, a junior who has already announced his intentions to attend West Point. "It's just an amazing feeling to come out on top as a team at such a tough tournament."
"It's great to have three individual champions, but I thought everyone did a great job with their effort and fight the whole weekend," added McCoy. "Many kids stepped up and got bonus points when we needed them."
Chestnut Ridge was undoubtedly that at this year’s King of the Mountain Tournament, as the Lions crowned three champions and placed three others in the top eight of their weight classes to earn the 2017 team title in one of the top early season events.
Kaden Cassidy (120), Justin McCoy (152), and Jared McGill (170) won championships, while Dalton Seace (285) was fifth, Austin Crouse (195) took sixth, and Levi Hobson (182) finished eighth. The Lions tallied 168.5 points. New Jersey power Phillipsburg (157.5) and host school Central Mountain (141) were second and third, respectively.
“The team wrestled tough and picked up a lot of bonus points," said Chestnut Ridge coach Greg Lazor. "It was great to see our three state placewinners step up and win a tournament of this prestige. And I was also very pleased that some of our other wrestlers stepped up also and earned a place in an extremely tough tournament."
Of the three winners, McCoy was the most dominant. The defending 145-pound Class AA state champion rolled through his bracket, which culminated in four takedowns and a 9-1 major decision in the finals over Brian Meyer of Phillipsburg, NJ. That title bout was a battle between Division I recruits, as McCoy is going to Virginia while Meyer, a third-place state medalist in New Jersey, has committed to Lehigh.
The senior standout for Ridge was very happy with his performance.
"It's a great feeling to win (this tournament)," said McCoy. "I was a little disappointed last year when I lost in the finals (to Bellefonte's Brock Port) after a close match, and I didn't want that to happen again. So I'm grateful that God gave me the opportunity to be in the finals again and be able to come out on top."
"He wrestled awesome all weekend," added Lazor. "He moved continuously and controlled every match."
Cassidy became Chestnut Ridge's first champion at the event earlier in the finals, a 1-0 victory over Bishop McDevitt's Chase Shields. The sophomore placed third at 106 in Hershey last March, while Shields was also a state placewinner from a season ago.
"Kaden wrestled tough in the finals," said Lazor. "It was great to see him bounce back from a disappointing (St. Mary's) tournament last weekend."
Cassidy enjoyed the moment on Saturday night, but is looking ahead to bigger things down the road.
"It feels good right now, but I know there's room for improvement," he said. "My hand fighting is better this year. But I need to move my feet more."
At 170, McGill gave the Lions a perfect trifecta in the KoM finals, taking care of business in a 10-4 decision over Bethel Park's Jason Montgomery.
"I had a little struggle not getting to my shots in the semifinals (a 5-2 win), but overall, I felt pretty dominant for the whole tournament," said McGill, fourth in the state at the same weight last winter. "It's very early in the season, so there's a lot of work that needs to be done. I just need to keep working hard every day."
"Jared had a great tournament," said Lazor. "He looked offensive on his feet and wrestled tough from the top."
McGill and McCoy also offered praise to their teammates in claiming a team trophy.
"Everyone did their job by getting bonus points and fighting through the loser's bracket," said McGill, a junior who has already announced his intentions to attend West Point. "It's just an amazing feeling to come out on top as a team at such a tough tournament."
"It's great to have three individual champions, but I thought everyone did a great job with their effort and fight the whole weekend," added McCoy. "Many kids stepped up and got bonus points when we needed them."
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