In a year that saw Charles Lindbergh fly across the Atlantic Ocean, Ford Motor Company produce its last Model T, and the Yankees sweep the Pirates in the World Series (typical), 1927 also brought the start of a dynasty when R.J. O’Connell journeyed from Penn State University to Canonsburg, PA to teach science. While Penn State was not the power house in wrestling that it is today, O’Connell brought his knowledge from the university’s program to Canonsburg High School when he started an intramural program.
The program started success early for Canonsburg from its first matches in 1933 into the 1959 merger between Canonsburg, Cecil, and North Strabane areas to form Canon-McMillan High School. The CM wrestling program has had over 2,000 wrestlers and 16 head coaches come into the mat room. As this year marks 90 years since R.J. O’Connell first stepped foot in Canonsburg, it’s time to take a look back at some of the history and stats of the whole program.
Wins & Losses
1,060 wins, 242 losses, 15 ties. The record of Canonsburg and Canon-McMillan HS helps the program stand tall as the team with the most dual meet wins in Pennsylvania. At more than 100 matches behind, Waynesburg and Easton come in at second and third most wins. Coaches O’Connell and Mason lead the “Gunners” on an 87 win streak in their first eight official seasons. With his own 45 match win-streak, Coach Chris Mary holds the record for most CM dual meet wins with 214, with notable victories over Erie McDowell and Central Dauphin in the 2012 and 2013 PIAA State Finals. While the wins are great, the program has also suffered many heartbreaking losses to teams that have become certain rivals like Waynesburg, Trinity, North Allegheny, and Latrobe, among others.
Coach Chris Mary gets psyched after a big WPIAL win
Coaches Cardillo and Haynes at the state tournament
Team Titles
8 is the number of times the “Big Macs” have gone a full season without a single team loss. The program boasts other team credits such as 39 Section titles, 20 WPIAL titles, and 8 State titles. Canon Mac has won the last 16 Section titles, dating back to Mary’s second season as a coach in 2002. If he accomplishes nothing else, new Head Coach Jeff Havelka must continue to dominate the Section, as he has big shoes to fill. As for WPIAL? CM won 4 straight WPIAL titles from 2010-2013. However, what most fans don’t know is that the “Gunners” won 6 straight WPIAL titles from 1936-1941, starting by capturing the first ever WPIAL Team Championship. At the state level, CM won 8 straight State titles from 2010-2013, including three team-individual titles.
Canonsburg "Gunners" wrestling team under Coach Phil Ahwesh (1947)
Individual Titles
Jason Dami after winning PIAA quarterfinal (1994)
There is nothing that has made CM Wrestling the program it has been more so than the individuals that have wrestled in it. From 1927-2017, over 220 wrestlers -- including myself -- have brought home Section titles. At the WPIAL level, there have been 150 titles won by “Gunners” and “Big Macs,” with twenty-four of those coming from 4X Champs Andy Puchany (a future head coach), Don Haney, Manuel Pihakis, Mark Angle, Colin Johnston, and Solomon Chishko. While there have been no 4X State Champs from the school, George Custer and Manuel Pihakis have each brought home 3 titles of the program’s 43 total. CM has qualified over 170 wrestlers and claimed 134 state medals.
Accolades
Other than big high school stats, the “Big Macs” have sent 20 wrestlers, 4 coaches, and 3 teams into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame. 39 wrestlers have also made the prestigious achievement of being a part of the “100 Win Club.” At the collegiate level, the school has been a part in helping twelve individuals win 22 NCAA medals, including 5 NCAA Champions. In the 2017-2018 season, be sure to look out for Dalton Macri (12), Connor Schram (10), and Solomon Chishko (4), as they are all ranked in FloWrestling’s Top 20 and looking for NCAA titles. In other areas, the CM Alumni Wrestling Camp has molded the current generation of CM wrestlers for 3 years, while the Mac Open Golf Scramble brought together past generations of wrestlers and fans in its first year.
Canon-McMillan Wrestling has built up a tradition of continued excellence carried on from the “Gunners” to the “Big Macs.” These statistics show that CM started strong and has been a team to reckon with for nine decades, and that will continue into the future with the support of fans, families, and previous generations of wrestlers. As this upcoming season starts up, the Alumni Association will be taking a closer look back at the history of the program with analysis, history lessons, and interviews, so be sure to come back often for new articles. Check out the Infographic below, and look forward to an eventful season!
*All outside information is referenced from http://www.cmwrestlingalumni.com/ or “A History of Canonsburg Canon-McMillan High School Wrestling” by Paul Amic.