The Mt. Pleasant wrestling team racked up seven pins and capitalized on three forfeits to earn its 400th win Wednesday, a 63-10 Section 2-AA victory over visiting Charleroi. "It's kind of neat to be the coach (and reach 400 wins).
I've wrestled here and coached here, so you feel like you contributed," Mears said, noting that the victory also was his 99th as a coach. The Vikings' 400th win was a quick one, as Jeff Hart (112), Allen Park (130) and Shane Suranski (145) all won by forfeit. Park started the evening with six free points, and Brandon Vasinko (135) got Mt.
Pleasant six more, as he piled up an 8-0 lead over John Biagini before taking him to the mat midway through the second period. After no match at 140, Suranski took a forfeit to put the Vikings up, 18-0. Vinnie DeStefano (152) went on the attack early and kept the pressure on Anthony Prailey to pick up an 11-3, major decision.
Mt. Pleasant (3-0) answered in the next bout. Nick Wood (160) was heading toward a technical fall over Andrew Sampson before finally recording the real thing about five minutes into his bout.
Dave Grillo (171) charted a quick pin against Tim Hough, but Charleroi still trailed, 24-10. Grillo's bout would be the Cougars' last victory of the match. "(Kirtley) is not bad," Mears said.
"Nic just kept working until he got him turned." "Those guys are pretty strong," Mears said of his upper weights. "They're experienced, and I truly expect all three of them to be at the state tournament.
" Brett Yanok (103) provided Mt. Pleasant a 45-10 lead with his 9-2 decision over Greg Black. Hart's forfeit was next, and then, Colin Sheridan (119) and Zack Sheridan (125) wrapped up the win by scoring pins in less than a minute each.
Although Charleroi had lost its last match to Yough, a team which the Vikings handily defeated, Mears said his team didn't take the Cougars lightly. "Sometimes, the most dangerous matches are the ones you think are going to be easy," he said. "If you take a team for granted, you're going to lose one you shouldn't have.
" Jamie Rankin can be reached at or (724) 626-3534.
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