By Ken Wunderley, Tri-State Sports & News Service
Last summer, Nick and Matt Nelson qualified for the USA Wrestling National Championships.
These twins from Shaler Area High School had hoped to make a return trip to the national championships next week, but both are sidelined with shoulder injuries.
Matt Nelson earned All-America status last summer by placing seventh in the Cadet Division at 135 pounds in freestyle, but has been on the disabled list since the end of the high school season.
“Matt had shoulder surgery at the end of may, “said the twins’ father, Mike Nelson. “It wasn’t as bad as they thought, but he did have a cyst on his shoulder blade and a minor problem with the growth plate not growing where it should.
“The Penguins doctor [Dr. Charles Burke] did the surgery and the recovery process is going well. He should be back on the mat by mid-September.”
Matt Nelson actually injured his shoulder during his freshman season at the Beast of the East Tournament, but continued wrestling that season, during the summer, and all of last season, which aggravated the injury to the point where he needed surgery.
Nick Nelson qualified for a return trip to Fargo, N.D., site of the USA Wrestling National Championships, by winning the 145-pound weight class title in the Junior Division at the Pennsylvania Amateur Wrestling Federation state tournament in June, but has since sustained a shoulder injury, similar to his brother’s.
“I don’t want to embarrass myself like I did last year, “said Nick Nelson, who withdrew from last summer’s 140-pound weight class after only two matches.
“I suffered a concussion during my first match, but continued to wrestle. I actually won the match, but in the next match I strained my back muscles because my neck wasn’t as strong as it should have been. I pulled out of the tournament after that match.”
Nick Nelson incurred his most recent injuries at the USA Wrestling Junior National Duals, which took place June 28 to July 3 at Enid, Okla.
“I wrestled Greco-Roman for the first time and won two of three matches, but broke three fingers during one of the matches, “said Nick Nelson. “I won my first two matches in the freestyle tournament, but lost the third after hurting my shoulder.
“I tried to wrestle again in the next match and had to default after my shoulder popped out.”
Nick Nelson has been diagnosed with a separated shoulder and a strained trapezoid muscle (the muscle that leads from the shoulder to the neck).
“I just didn’t want to take a chance on hurting myself anymore, because I still have the high school season to think about, “said Nick Nelson.
Both Matt and Nick were WPIAL Class AAA runners-up in March. Matt posted a 39-4 at 130 pounds after making a surprisingly quick exit from the PIAA tournament. Nick finished third in the state at 135 pounds and finished the season with a 45-2 record.
Pine-Richland wrestler heads to Fargo
Sixteen members of the Pine-Richland High School wrestling team are in the Poconos this week attending Gene Mills’ Pin To Win Wrestling Camp. But one of the Rams left camp a few days early.
Ryan McGarity left yesterday to attend a wrestling camp at Lock Haven University in preparation for his first trip to the USA Wrestling National Championships, which will take place Saturday through July 30 at Fargo, N.D.
“I’ve heard the place is huge and has more than 20 mats, “said McGarity, referring to the Fargodome, which is on the campus of North Dakota State University. “You have to wrestle a ton of matches, but it’s supposedly a lot of fun. I’m really looking forward to it.”
McGarity, the son of Pine-Richland coach Tom McGarity, has been a starter for the Rams since his sophomore year and takes a two-year record of 59-14 into his senior year.
“Ryan qualified for the Junior Nationals in freestyle by placing third [at 130 pounds] at the [Pennsylvania Amateur Wrestling Federation] state tournament, “said coach McGarity.
“It’s a shame he had to leave in the middle of our team camp, but the training camp at Lock Haven is more important. The level of competition he will be training with at Lock Haven, and wrestlers he will face in Fargo, is experience he can’t get any other place.”
McGarity posted a 30-4 record in his debut with Pine-Richland as a 103-pound sophomore, then compiled a 29-10 record last season at 119. He is a two-time WPIAL qualifier who fell two wins short of a PIAA berth.
“He’s been working very hard to get ready for the national tournament, “said coach McGarity. “He went to wrestling camps at the universities of Pennsylvania and Virginia to prepare.”
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