Trib HSSN wrestler of the week: Canon McMillan’s Gerrit Nijenhuis

By: Greg Macafee
Monday, March 9, 2020 | 7:38 PM

On the way to becoming the WPIALs all-time wins leader this weekend in Hershey and capturing his second straight state title, Canon-McMillan’s Gerrit Nijenhuis was dominant.

He went 4-0 in the 182-pound bracket, winning two matches by decision, one by major decision and one by pin. His final win of the weekend was No. 181 in his career, leaving him atop the list of all-time WPIAL winners.

Nijenhuis won his first-round match in 1 minute, 43 seconds as he pinned Hazelton’s Jake Marnell. He followed it up with a 7-1 decision over Spring-Ford’s Joey Milano, then earned a 13-2 major decision over Penn Manor’s Nick Baker.

The finals were a rematch of the WPIAL championship, which ended with Nijenhuis beating Peters Township’s Donovan McMillon by an 8-2 decision. The PIAA championship match was no different, as Nijenhuis capped off his perfect senior season by defeating McMillon by a 6-0 decision on two takedowns and a reversal to finish with a record of 47-0.

Honorable mention

• Wyatt Henson, Waynesburg: From the No. 2 seeding in the PIAA Class AAA 138-pound bracket, Henson worked his way to the state finals with two decisions and a major. Then, in the final match of his junior season, Henson topped North Hills senior Sam Hillegas for the second time in as many weeks with a 4-3 decision.

• Luke Stout, Mt. Lebanon: To cap off his perfect season, Stout went undefeated at the PIAA tournament to capture the first state title of his career. He earned two pins, one tech fall and defeated Bethel Park’s Luke Montgomery in the final by a 12-1 major decision.

• Vincent Kilkeary, Greater Latrobe: The 106-pound freshman capped off his first varsity season with a state title. He navigated the bracket with two pins and two decisions. In his championship match, he earned a takedown in the overtime period and finished it off with a pin in 6:31 over Cathedral Prep’s Jake Vandee.

• Kurtis Phipps, Norwin: The 126-pound senior finished as a state runner-up the previous two seasons. On Saturday, he finally claimed Hershey gold as he capped off his senior season with a PIAA title. He earned a technical fall, a major decision and two decisions. He won the championship match over Waynesburg’s Rocco Welsh, 7-6.

Greg Macafee is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Greg by email at gmacafee@triblive.com or via Twitter .

Tags: Canon-McMillan, Latrobe, Mt. lebanon, Norwin, Waynesburg