Faith Christian Rolls to Fourth Straight PIAA AA Dual Title, Cruises Past Bishop McCort

Despite wins from Bo Bassett and Melvin Miller, Bishop McCort couldn’t match Faith Christian Academy’s depth as the Lions pulled away for a 46-18 victory in the PIAA Class AA Dual Meet State Championship.

Faith Christian Academy celebrates its fourth consecutive PIAA AA Dual State Championship, after topping Bishop McCort on Saturday. / Faith Christian Academy wrestlin

A year ago, No. 5 Faith Christian Academy and No. 10 Bishop McCort met to decide the Pennsylvania AA State Dual Champion. Faith Christian won that for their third consecutive crown, but there was a “wait till next year” vibe to the McCort contingent.

The Lions were losing some power to graduation and would be loading up with new talent. The Crushers would be returning a veteran lineup loaded with national stars, that had many pundits, including yours truly, debating them to be No. 1 to begin the year.

Our Faith in Faith Christian Proves Wise

It was decided to leave Faith Christian in that perch and put McCort behind them. Let them earn it was the thinking. Once the season arrived and what we saw at states was not what was expected from the Crushers, so what could have been a monumental battle for the state crown morphed into a stress-free cruise to a fourth dual title for the Lions, 46-18.

In an early December correspondence with McCort coach William Bassett, he remarked, “We’re banged up and losing some guys to early graduation.” What that exactly meant was unknown at the time and since these are kids, we didn’t push for more than what was volunteered.

Ironman revealed the new look Crushers, and the first glimpse revealed a lot of unfortunate absences. Faith Christian powered to the Ironman title and beat No. 11 Wyoming Seminary in an early season dual. They started at number one and remained there until a trip to California and the Doc Buchanan Tournament where they were outpaced by then No. 2 Buchanan.

It turns out, the Lions were doomed to fall down the ranks even without the Cali trip as No. 4 Delbarton handled them in a dual recently. That loss recalled some of the concerns with Faith Chrsitian’s lineup that were covered up by their tournament performances.

Bishop McCort had a recent win over Wyoming Seminary, so given that squad as a comparison, it was reasonable to assume the state dual final could see a surprise winner in the Crushers. Especially in light of Friday Night’s big win by Seminary over Delbarton.

The lineup placed on the mat on Saturday simply didn’t have what was needed to hang with the likes of the Lions. That’s not meant to be a slap. Faith Christian put forth what was close to their ideal lineup, while McCort countered with a slew of guys who were supposed to be getting some seasoning on the bench this year.

The final stages of the PIAA Dual Meet State Tournament were held in the 1st Summit Arena at Cambria County War Memorial in Johnstown on Friday and Saturday.

Early Back-and-Forth Sets the Tone

Over the first six matches of the AA final, three wins were gained by each team including two from McCort superstars and national number ones, Bo Bassett (152 pounds) and Melvin Miller up at 172 pounds. Owen McMullen received a forfeit at 139 pounds for the Crushers.

Bassett, Miller Shine for Crushers

Bassett rekindled his rivalry with No. 5 Joe Bachmann. They met in the Ironman finals and put on an entertaining show that saw 20 points scored in a 14-6 Bassett victory. This meeting lacked the flare of that one with no one scoring in the first period. Bassett came through a scramble in the second period for the only takedown he would register in the 3-1 win.

Bassett came close to gaining back points on a tilt in the second. Bachmann kept Bassett down for the entire third period in an act you never see, Bo Bassett contained.

Melvin Miller made his move up to 172 pounds to keep No. 4 Nick Singer off the board for Faith Christian. That move worked to perfection as Miller picked up a 3-2 win, with his points coming on a reversal and a technical violation from Singer, who kept tapping Miller’s face early in the first in a manner that drew the call.

After Miller’s win, the Crushers were still in the hole, 18-12. As part of shifting Miller to 172, there was the hope that No. 38 at 144 pounds Jackson Butler could handle No. 40 Shane Wagner at 160. If that had gone to plan, things would, at minimum, be in a draw at 15. Alas Wagner won it, 7-5.

Middleweight Surge Breaks It Open

Three Big Guns in a row contributed to the five-match streak that put an end to the dual. No. 2 Adam Waters (189 pounds), No. 8 Cael Weidemoyer (215), and No. 5 Mark Effendian (285) crushed the Crusher’s dreams with three bonus point wins that clinched the state championship.

Emory Gunby actually scored the first takedown versus Waters but that just snapped him to attention as Waters then powered his way to a 25-10 technical fall. Weidemoyer decked Marquez Gordon in 3:26. Effendian posted a tech of No. 33 Caleb Rodriguez, 19-4.

Effendian’s efforts led to a 34-12 advantage. With only three matches left to contest, it was celebration time for the Lions. Before they could really let loose, though, there was some business to attend to.

Riley Crandall (107 pounds) came out on fire for Faith Christian and put Ethan Cotchen away with a cradle, 1:22. No. 31 Cruz Little walked off with a free win at 114 pounds to push the Lions count to 46. Faith Christian countered with a forfeit to No. 21 Keegan Bassett at 121 to reach the 46-18 final.

Flynn Arnestad got the scoring going for the Lions at 127 pounds with a pin of Daelon Britt in 1:02 when he ran an arm bar. No. 4 Fred Bachmann added a 4-0 decision of Austin Carfley at 133. Lincoln Botero was the Lions’ other early achiever at 145 pounds when he hit Evan Leibfried with a headlock, flattening him in 4:51.

Lions Finish Strong

Faith Christian reached the final with a 39-17 win in the semis over No. 17 Bishop McDevitt and a 52-9 count with Derry Area. McCort took care of Chestnut Ridge, 47-21, in their semi, and Montgomery, 61-12, in the quarters.

There were no notable individual outcomes for rankings purposes in the Faith Christian/McDevitt dual. Full box scores can be found here (the link also has the AAA Bracket):

Franklin Regional Wins AAA Title

Things on the AAA side went according to plan, too. Nope, just kidding. That slate was filled with craziness. We don’t have the knowledge of these teams that we do for the AA squads since ours is a more national focus. We apologize for that but do want to acknowledge the exceptional performances shown in the AAA Bracket.

The champions were Franklin Regional with a 29-24 win over Norwin in the finals. In their semifinal, Franklin Regional took down Bethlehem Catholic, 37-31. Bethlehem Catholic spent a good portion of the season in our team rankings.

Nazareth came into the tournament ranked 29th in the nation and favored to claim the crown or at least make it to the finals opposite Bethlehem Catholic. That neither reached the final is kind of remarkable.

Nazareth’s title hopes ended early when they dropped their opening quarterfinal match with Council Rock South, 33-32. Norwin got by Council Rock South in the semis, 37-29.

Nazareth and Bethlehem Catholic did get to revisit their rivalry, but in a consolation semifinal instead of the grand stage. Nazareth got the win, 37-21, then kept rolling to third with a 52-7 win over Boyertown.

Faith Christian Academy 46, Bishop McCort 18

(match started at 127)

127-Flynn Arnestad (F) pinned Daelon Britt, 1:02

133-Fred Bachmann (F) dec Austin Carfley, 4-0

139-Owen McMullen (B) won by forfeit

145-Lincoln Botero (F) pinned Evan Leibfried, 4:51

152-Bo Bassett (B) dec Joe Bachmann, 3-1

160-Shane Wagner (F) dec Jackson Butler, 7-5

172-Melvin Miller (B) dec Nick Singer, 3-2

189-Adam Waters(F) tech-fall Emory Gunby, 25-10

215-Cael Weidemoyer (F) pinned Marquez Gordon, 3:26

285-Mark Effendian (F) tech-fall Caleb Rodriguez, 19-4

107-Riley Crandall (F) pinned Ethan Cotchen, 1:22

114-Cruz Little (F) won by forfeit

121-Keegan Bassett (B) won by forfeit