McCance still battles injuries at Clarion

By JOHN ENRIETTO Eagle Sports Editor

January 06, 2006 Last Updated: January 06, 2006 12:11 PM College

Frustration got the best of T.J. McCance — once.

The Butler High School graduate and lone 100-match winner in Golden Tornado wrestling history left the Clarion University wrestling program last January.

"He told me he was bored with it and lost his focus," Clarion coach Ken Nellis said. "I was shocked. Given T.J.'s work ethic, the fact he never even missed a practice — I didn't see it coming at all."

McCance was 12-10 on the year and seemingly ready to contend in the Eastern Wrestling League. The top three placers at the EWL meet earn berths in the NCAA Division I national meet.

Besides Clarion, EWL member schools include Pitt, West Virginia, Cleveland State, Edinboro, Lock Haven and Bloomsburg.

McCance did suffer a shoulder injury last season, one in a long line of physical ailments during his high school and collegiate career.

After suffering elbow, neck and hand injuries in high school wrestling — he was 103-20 at Butler regardless — McCance sprained the MCL in his right knee his freshman year at Clarion and was redshirted.

He was 10-17 as Clarion's 149-pound wrestler during that redshirt freshman season.

"If you do this sport for a long time, you're going to get hurt," McCance said. "It builds character, in a way. We have guys on this team who had back surgeries and knee surgeries before they even got to college."

It was his love for the sport that made McCance return to wrestling this season.

"He called me last April and said he wanted to come back," Nellis said. "He worked hard to regain the trust of his teammates."

The junior apparently succeeded in that regard, as he was named a co-captain in this. McCance got off to a 3-0 start before spraining the MCL in his left knee against Lock Haven Nov. 26.

Sidelined since then, McCance hopes to return to the lineup next week.

"We're just hitting the heart of our EWL schedule and I still have time to get seeded for the league tournament," he said. "My goal is to get to nationals this year.

"Ultimately, I want to become an All-American (by placing among the top eight at nationals). I figure I have this year and next year to get there."

That's assuming he can stay healthy.

"Just the way he wrestles gets him banged up," Nellis said. "T.J. is not a smooth wrestler, he's a banger. He scraps so hard on the mat that he stays close in every match.

"He's a tough-nosed kid who needs to increase his diversity of offense on his feet and he needs to score better from the top position."

A former two-time PIAA champion at Shaler High and a four-time national qualifier at Clarion, Nellis recognizes the leadership qualities in McCance. It was he and assistant coach Tom Tomeo, a Grove City High School graduate, who named the team captains.

"He's a good student and the president of our student senate on campus," the coach said. "He's a great role model for our younger wrestlers."

McCance is carrying a 3.25 grade point average as a management and industrial relations major. He graduates this spring and plans to get his master's at Clarion next year.

As for the injuries, he just perseveres. The wrestling preseason began Sept. 18. The national meet ends March 22.

"You just have to fight through some things," McCance said. "It's a seven-month season where you're banged up, the guy you're wrestling is banged up. Whoever can gut it out the best wins."