It’s finally November, and that can only mean one thing: wrestling season is here! This is a special season for Canon-McMillan wrestling; the program will look to the future with new Head Coach Havelka while also honoring the past by remembering 90 years worth of history.

One of the best ways to pull all of this tradition together is through Alumni Night, which will take place on Friday, December 22 against Kiski. Former head coach, Chris Mary, and head of the CM Wrestling Alumni Association, Brian Hritsko, started Alumni Night a few years ago to honor decorated CM wrestling alumni.

The Alumni Association is trying to make this event bigger and better than ever this year, and that starts with understanding the past. To discover the past, I’d like to introduce a poster that I created to give meaning to this upcoming season. . .

The Wrestlers

Choosing the wrestlers on this poster was no easy feat, as Canonsburg and Canon-McMillan have had their fair share of phenomenal wrestlers. I chose wrestlers from many different years to show some of the dominant individuals across all eras. The wrestlers on this poster account for nearly a quarter of all of CM’s WPIAL titles and almost 50% of all of the program’s State titles. In addition, eleven of these grapplers are in the 100 Win Club -- Manuel Pihakis just falls short at 99 wins. There are also 13 total NCAA medals between the six collegiate medalists. Another fun fact is that Sylvester Terkay competed in the WWE in the late 2000’s. To me, and a lot of the Canonsburg wrestling community, these wrestling legends are the face of the program; for that reason, I included them at the forefront of the poster.
 

The Coaches

Of the sixteen coaches from the program, eight of them are on this poster. These coaches have won 722 matches over 64 seasons, accounting for 68% of CM’s total wins. Coaches Mary and Puchany are tied with having coached the most seasons, 14. Of course, I also had to include the founder and first head coach of the Canonsburg Gunners, Coach O’Connell. Interestingly enough, no coach has had a higher win percentage than Coach O’Connell’s 92.86%, although some have come close to it. Even though I included Phil Ahwesh with the wrestlers, he also went on to became a head coach in ‘46. Few of CM’s head coaches actually went through program; in fact, many are from neighboring towns, including Chartiers Houston. Without these coaches many of these wrestlers would not be able to compete at the high level that they have, and they deserve to be recognized. As the coaches are the backbone of the program, I included them looming in the background.
 

The Names

The legendary wrestlers are the face, the coaches are the backbone, but the names on the bottom of the poster are the heart of the program. These 148 last names are either Section, WPIAL, or State champs. The reason I included last names is because many of them have carried on for generations through Canonsburg. Grandfathers, uncles, dads, sons, brothers, and cousins have all competed for the program under the same last names. Personally, my grandfather wrestled in the 50’s, my dad and uncle wrestled in the late 70’s and 80’s, I wrestled in the early 10’s, and my brother is wrestling currently. The names are grouped on the poster because they are all united by a common bond that is CM Wrestling, and they show that CM is also strong as a team.
 

The Accomplishments

The accolades from 1927-2017 on this poster are unparalleled throughout the section, WPIAL, PA, and U.S. Canonsburg and Canon-McMillan have a combined 1060 wins, 242 losses, and 15 ties, giving the program an 80.5% win percentage. As wrestling is an individual and team sport, I included the team and individual accomplishments, both of which are impressive. The program makes successes out of individuals, but it also succeeds as a team.

The 90 year history of the Big Macs and Gunners is truly phenomenal because of the legends, coaches, family names, and holistic accomplishments. This poster is a way to look back on the history and pay homage to the greats that have passed through the wrestling room; furthermore, it is a way to allow current wrestlers and fans to discover the rich tradition of Canon-McMillan’s past. The Alumni Association will be selling these posters at home matches for the duration of the season, with proceeds going back into the program.

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