Team Tournament thoughts
1. Canon-McMillan's chances of winning a Class AAA team title went out the window in a victory against Fox Chapels in the quarterfinals. That's when Colin Ryan suffered a shoulder injury that could put him out for the rest of the season. Just as bad, C-M did not have a way of replacing him with an experienced wrestler. It's just not that deep of a team. Not having an injured Michael Hull (back) and losing Ryan kept the Big Macs from a trip to Hershey.
2. Not that it's all that bad, considering the PIAA still has the ridiculous format of handing out a trophy this weekend the the Triple-A and Double-A winners in Hershey, then doing the same thing four weeks from now at the individual tournament.
3. As per a phone conversation I had this week about the paper's coverage of the team tournament, I want to remind you that we don't have favorite teams or wrestlers, or coaches, or schools. Well, OK, the schools with the best hospitality rooms have won my heart. But that's the only consideration I make. I write about the key moments in a dual meet and what caused it to end up the way it did. Someone wins a big match, he probably finds his way into my story. Same if he loses. I get a paycheck no matter who wins or loses.
We send photographers out to the dual meets that have the most interest and are relatively close. Our photogs are not specifically for sports, but for the newspaper. So if the court house catches fire or some other major news event happens during a match, we want them close enough to get back in time. Not having a photographer at Burrell does not mean we hate the teams there. It's a 90-minute drive through the middle of Pgh.
3. If you want to know what a strong team looks like, examine the roster of Bethel Park. Good wrestlers at each weight class, except a couple lighter weights, all the weights filled, and pinners sprinkled all through the lineup. That wins team titles.
4. Zach Benzio has officially left the Connellsville wrestling team and will not return. Heard two explanations: 1. he was somehow picked on by one of the other wrestlers, and 2. he was a discipline problem. Not sure if either is true but the 189-pound weight class is more wide open.
2. Not that it's all that bad, considering the PIAA still has the ridiculous format of handing out a trophy this weekend the the Triple-A and Double-A winners in Hershey, then doing the same thing four weeks from now at the individual tournament.
3. As per a phone conversation I had this week about the paper's coverage of the team tournament, I want to remind you that we don't have favorite teams or wrestlers, or coaches, or schools. Well, OK, the schools with the best hospitality rooms have won my heart. But that's the only consideration I make. I write about the key moments in a dual meet and what caused it to end up the way it did. Someone wins a big match, he probably finds his way into my story. Same if he loses. I get a paycheck no matter who wins or loses.
We send photographers out to the dual meets that have the most interest and are relatively close. Our photogs are not specifically for sports, but for the newspaper. So if the court house catches fire or some other major news event happens during a match, we want them close enough to get back in time. Not having a photographer at Burrell does not mean we hate the teams there. It's a 90-minute drive through the middle of Pgh.
3. If you want to know what a strong team looks like, examine the roster of Bethel Park. Good wrestlers at each weight class, except a couple lighter weights, all the weights filled, and pinners sprinkled all through the lineup. That wins team titles.
4. Zach Benzio has officially left the Connellsville wrestling team and will not return. Heard two explanations: 1. he was somehow picked on by one of the other wrestlers, and 2. he was a discipline problem. Not sure if either is true but the 189-pound weight class is more wide open.
posted by Joe Tuscano at
10:29 AM
7 Comments:
I love the team state title format, it should have been around forever. just because you have a great dual meet team does not mean that you have a great tournament team and vis vera. just look at SSA last year they were 4th at the dual meet state tournament and at the individual tournament they easily took 1st by 37 points. The people in charge of this on a local and state level have this one right. It's unfortunate that our local voice is joe tuscano and he is always negative about our great sport.
Anyone that knows Zack, coach and wrestler alike, knows that he is the hardest worker on the team year in and out. As for why he left the team, he had been injured at Powerade and had been rehabing the injury for a while along with wrestling duals to help out the team. One night after practice he gets another team mate to go through a slow and controled drill with him to see how the rehab has been coming along. This is where the incident occured, the 215 pounder finds out that Zack is drilling and decides he should take things into his own hands and basically comes out on the mat to attack and reinjures Zack. The assist coach tells the 215 pounder to stop and he refuses, the coach has to come out on the mat and stop it, the 215 pounder then curses out the coach, but Zack has been reinjured and two and a half weeks of rehab are down the drain. The injury and the refusal of the head coach to take any disciplinary action, and further insults by the head coach led Zack to leave the team. Currently Zack is still rehabing his injury.
You make Zack sound like a sissy.
I bet he is thankful to you.
I don't hear zack whining, why are you?
benzio has a history of faking injuries. i've seen him lose matches and as soon as there over he grabs something and blames his loss on being hurt. section finals last year vs. valore he loses in the last seconds and grabs his back lays there for half an hour and gets taken to the hospital, defaults out of the post season. three weeks later he wins ( i think) jr. nationals. I saw him pull this crap his freshman year at 171, knowing that he was all world coming out of jr. high, held back a year in 7th grade ( he's now 19) and has never even come close to making states, he has under performed in high school. Now that he has a another injury, he has an excuse if he doesn't make states.
TRUST ME I'M IN THE KNOW.
Every wrestler should get a full physical prior to season. Oh that's right they do. Well the doctor seemed to miss this guys MANGINA!
Wow zack benzio is hurt again! He will be just fine for post season, that is until he loses of course. face it zack you have not gotten any better throughout high school, It seems you have gotten worse.
Benzio should make states this year. He won't be wrestling but watching from the stands.
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