Wrestling

Oxford survives Unionville; McMillan and Tryon hope persistence pays off

by
Nate Heckenberger
January 19, 2022

EAST MARLBOROUGH >> Oxford’s Austin McMillan and Unionville’s Topher Tryon are hoping this is the year they finally get to show out, come postseason.

Wednesday, their fans finally got a chance to see something they hadn’t seen in over a year.

McMillan (138 pounds) and Tryon (152) displayed why they, and those around them, are optimistic about extending their seasons, for a change, while the Hornets held on just enough to bump the host, Unionville, 36-33 in a Ches-Mont American Division dual meet that came down to the final bout.

“I definitely feel I have something to prove,” McMillan said. “After my first two years, it definitely pushed me. There’s been some adversity but I’ve been in the room year round, doing anything I could to be in a better position for the season.”

Oxford’s Austin McMillan nears a fall against Unionville’s Leo Stoltzfus at 138 pounds. (Nate Heckenberger – For MediaNews Group)

As a freshman, McMillan went 16-8 at 120 and 126, but couldn’t find a spot in the postseason lineup. Last year, when Oxford wasn’t allowed to compete in the regular season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, McMillan was selected for the postseason, but went 1-2.

“I worked very hard to put myself in position to be one of the best in the area,” McMillan said.

Oxford’s Cannon Hershey pins Unionville’s Chase Minter with a leg cradle at 126 pounds. (Nate Heckenberger – For MediaNews Group)

His 28-13 career matches in two-plus seasons looks similar to Tryon, who is 28-6 in two-plus seasons.

As a freshman, Tryon won his first six matches but suffered a season-ending injury in mid-December. Last winter, much like Oxford, Unionville wasn’t allowed to compete until February 9, and despite going 4-0, Tryon’s resume wasn’t substantial enough to get selected to the sectional tournament.

“I want to prove that I’m still as good as I was in middle school,” said Tryon, who qualified to the junior high state tournament, twice. “I haven’t had that chance, but I’m really happy to be back in the room, practicing like normal.”

Unionville’s Topher Tryon scores near-fall points against Oxford’s Xavier Alarcon before pinning him at 152 pounds. (Nate Heckenberger – For MediaNews Group)

Tryon is 18-3 as a junior, and provided one of four pins for the Longhorns, against Oxford.

“He’s hungry” Unionville coach Todd Szewczyk said of Tryon. “He knows how many matches he’s missed, no fault of his own. He’s getting extra practices and his conditioning is superb, and I think he’s really going to accomplish some things.”

Unionville (1-2 division, 7-7 overall) jumped out to a 12-0 lead with pins from Ryan O’Leary (172) and Marcus Ford (189).

Unionville’s Ryan O’Leary takes down Oxford’s Nathan Vance before pinning him at 172 pounds. (Nate Heckenberger – For MediaNews Group)

Oxford (1-1, 6-4) won seven of the next eight, giving up a forfeit at 106. Jeremy McKinney (215), Dillon Williams (285), Cannon Hershey (126), Reiland Canaday (132) and McMillan sandwiched pins around a pair of gritty decisions by Jordan (113) and Jared Schaible (120).

Jordan Schaible managed a match-tying reverse with 10 seconds left and then hit a headlock to defeat Cole Haines, 6-2, in sudden victory.

Jared Schaible followed with a back-and-forth bout against Mason Coursey, in which Schaible pulled away for a 17-10 win.

Oxford’s Jordan Schlaible works for an escape against Unionville’s Cole Haines in a 6-2 sudden victory win at 113 pounds. (Nate Heckenberger – For MediaNews Group)

“The Schaible brothers wrestle with a lot of heart,” Oxford coach Tony Fabri said. “They’ve won some matches where they were down. They’re physically and mentally tough kids and I can count on them to at least lay it all out there and do what they need to do for the team.”

The losses by Haines, a promising freshman, and Coursey, a solid sophomore, may have swung the match in Oxford’s favor, but by bumping up a weight, each, the duo invested in their postseason future.

“We don’t want forfeits, we want tough matchups,” Szewczyk said. “Cole and Mason were excited to move up and I’m proud of how they fought.”

Unionville’s Jackson Roberts. (Nate Heckenberger – For MediaNews Group)

Down 36-18, with three to go, Jackson Roberts (145) and Tryon pinned to make it a six-point deficit, but Oxford’s Chris Bender survived a near-pin by Andrew Julier in the second period and the Hornets prevailed.

“Some kids showed up and showed some grit and had some hard-fought wins,” Fabri said. “A couple other guys need to do some soul searching. We’re giving up too many falls.”