Outstanding effort at Tool City

Coaches jumped to their feet. The crowd bubbled with noise. The 145 match went to the wire... passed the wire according to some in the stands.

Parker Miller of Titusville was facing undefeated Rudy Gentile in the Tool City finals. Miller had surprised the gifted Greenville Trojan by putting him on his back and racking up some points.

In the final frame, with seconds to go, Gentile appeared to make his move.

As the crowd cheered the referee threw up his hand awarding Gentile the three points that would've tied the match at the buzzer. But there was no buzzer. Each tool city match had two referees, one officiating the  the match, the other lending another pair of eyes and in charge of watching the clock.
The referee watching the clock stepped in as coaches made their case for their wrestler and said that time had run out before Gentile got the reversal.

No tie. Miller won 8-5.
 
​"The time was definitely up and Parker kind of relaxed," said Titusville coach Mo Burns, "(The referees) made the right call.

The win was a factor in Miller being named the Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament. "He (Gentile) is definitely a quality wrestler hence t's why Parker got the OW," Burns said.

Titusville's heavyweight Bryce Watkins also had a good case for the honor. The 285 wrestler put a very solid Drew Dygert of CASH on his back enroute to a 10-5 win in the finals. He also had two pins and a decision as he made his way through the bracket on Saturday. 

​"I don't know if a lot of people know this, but Bryce has worked 365 days a year for the sport of wrestling and we're starting to see that pay off," Burns said.  "It is nice for us coaches looking back to where we said 'if you put the work and effort in, it will pay off,' and it is defiantly paying off for Bryce right now."

The Rockets sent four into the finals at Meadville's storied tournament. They came away with three titles.

Sawyer Wolfkiel had a 4-0 decision over Warren's Tanner Stuart at 121. "Sawyer does just what Sawyer does," Burns said . He pointed to Wolfkiel's great mat and situational awareness as contributing factors in his three wins on the day, which included a technical fall and a pin.

Isaac Roberts was the only Rocket finalist to not come home with a win. Saegertown's Milan Harrison was a very quick responder to any opening and getting some take down points enroute to an 8-1 decision at 127. "I'm sure Isaac is disappointed with his performance, but as a coaching staff we're not disappointed," Burns said, pointing to an early missed opportunity for a take down that could have changed the tone of the match. 

"We'll fix some things. One thing Isaac is not short of is trying to get better and winning," Burns said. " The goals that he has will never be achieved in January."

The Rockets placed third as a team behind Fort LeBoeuf and Greenville.

Additional information on the tournament will be published in Friday's Titusville News-Journal.

Below are more photos from Tool City. And more can viewed and purchased at  sayerrich.zenfolio.com/p410036474