Nicely done, Nolan
Connellsville鈥檚 Rice earns 100th-career victory
Connellsville’s Nolan Rice believes he is starting to come into his own as a wrestler during his junior season, which emphasizes the expectations the Falcons’ 127-pounder has for himself considering he is a two-time state qualifier and one-time medalist.
Rice, who was eighth in the PIAA Class 3A Individual Wrestling Championships last year at 121 pounds, earned his 99th and 100th-career victories last Friday in the University Tri-Meet at University High School in Morgantown, W.Va.
Rice recorded his 99th win with a 4-3 decision over Parkersburg High senior C.J. Carrodus in the Falcons’ 38-20 triumph.
Carrodus is ranked No. 3 in the 126-pound weight by the West Virginia Wrestling Coaches Association.
Rice earned a fall in 3:37 during Connellsville’s 46-26 victory over the host team to reach the milestone and improve his career mark to 100-32. Rice is 25-7 this season.
“It was a great experience to win my 100th-career match,” Rice said. “I had my friends there and members of my family. It is really nice to get it during my junior year. Hopefully, I can keep adding to my win total.”
Rice has been wrestling most of his life, and despite entering this season with 75 career victories, didn’t feel he had reached his potential until he won some quality matches this year.
“I think placing this year at the Powerade and Escape the Rock tournaments was big for my career,” Rice said. “I have gotten into the rankings and been able to fare well and beat some of the best guys in not only the state but the country.”
In 132 career varsity matches, Rice has never been pinned, lost one match via technical fall and five as a result of a major decision.
The Falcons will turn their attention to the WPIAL Class 3A dual meet tournament. They are the fourth seed with a record of 14-2.
Connellsville will host a first-round dual meet against the winner of a preliminary-round bout between Baldwin (6-6) and Penn-Trafford (5-8) on Wednesday at 6 p.m. The Highlanders and Warriors will compete at 4:30 p.m. prior to the first round.
The winner of the Falcons’ first-round dual meet will battle the winner of Kiski Area (15-2) and North Hills (8-2) in the quarterfinals at 7:15 p.m.
The victor of the quarterfinal dual meet will advance to the semifinals of the team tournament on Saturday at AHN Arena on the campus of Peters Township High School. The semifinals are scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m.
Rice is eager to wrestle in front of his home crowd for the third year in a row.
“It is really exciting to host the first round and quarterfinals of the WPIAL team tournament, and I’ve been fortunate to have done it all three of my years in high school,” Rice said. “It definitely gets your adrenaline going to compete with everyone supporting you.”
As for his individual goals for the remainder of the season, Rice is seeking a third trip to the state tournament.
“I want to get back to the state tournament and do better than last year,” Rice said. “I want to get to my offense and score more points.”