Nijenhuis moving in right direction to win gold medal
Logan Macri of Canon-McMillan holds the leg of Kale Buckiso of Thomas Jefferson during their 120-pound bout. Macri won by 25-10 technical fall.
Caleb Morris of Waynesburg keeps a hold on Canon-McMillan's Ken Hayman in their 126-pound bout. Morris won a 4-2 decision.
CANONSBURG – Gerrit Nijenhuis lost only twice in last year’s wrestling postseason.
The first one cost him a gold medal in the WPIAL Class AAA Championships. The second cost him a gold medal in the state tournament in Hershey.
The goal for the 160-pound sophomore from Canon-McMillan is to have two fewer losses in this postseason.
So far, so good.
Nijenhuis remained perfect with two wins in Friday’s first day of the two-day WPIAL Championships at Canon-McMillan.
Nijenhuis opened the tournament with a pin in 25 seconds of Jamil Khalil of Baldwin then followed it with a 7-0 shutout of Jon Hoover of North Allegheny in the quarterfinals.
Nijenhuis advanced to today’s semifinals (noon) against Luke Stout, a sophomore from Mt. Lebanon with a 30-3 record. Nijenhuis, who raised his record to 39-4, is the second seed and Stout is the third.
Finals are at 7 p.m.
The top four wrestlers in each weight class advance to the PIAA Championships at the Giant Center in Hershey, March 8-10.
Top-seeded Zach Hartman of Belle Vernon and fourth-seeded Nick Delp of Kiski wrestle in the other semifinal.
Last season, Nijenhuis made it to the finals at 152 only to drop a 5-2 decision to Cam Coy of Penn Trafford. In Hershey, Nijenhuis lost a 5-1 decision to Carter Starocci of Erie Cathedral Prep in the quarterfinals. Nijenhuis blew through the consolation field and took third with a 4-1 decision over Chase Stephens of Coatesville. Coy went on to win the state title in that weight class.
“It’s really a big motivation for me,” said Nijenhuis of how close he came to winning two gold medals. “In the (practice) room on the wall is a list of state champions. There are some really big names there. I want to keep working until I see my name on that wall. It drives me every day.”
Nijenhuis foregoes any scouting reports on his opponent, preferring to concentrate on what he does best.
“You never want to let your opponent dictate what you do,” he said. “You always want to go in there with the same mindset and that’s keep going no matter what the score is. Keep pushing.”
Luca Augustine of Waynesburg celebrated his first appearance in this tournament by upsetting the fourth seed in the 132-pound weight class. Augustine won a heart-stopping 3-2 decision over Dylan Ross of Connellsville.
Augustine, a freshman with a 16-2 record, draws top-seeded Colton Camacho of Franklin Regional in the semifinals.
Augustine got into the postseason when teammate Caleb Morris decided to drop to 126. That move paid off for Morris, a second seed with a 39-6 record, when he moved into the semis with a hard-fought 4-2 decision over Kenny Hayman of Canon-McMillan. Jacob Ealy of Hopewell waits in the semifinals.
“I feel comfortable when I start wrestling,” Morris said of cutting weight. “It’s not the easiest thing to do. But I manage it.”
Logan Macri of Canon-McMillan looked strong in chalking up two wins. The 120-pound senior pinned Mario Sarnic of Franklin Regional in 1:54 then stopped Kale Buckiso of Thomas Jefferson with a 25-10 technical fall. The top-seeded senior, who raised his record to 33-2, meets Darren Miller of Kiski in today’s semifinals.
The Henson brothers of Waynesburg – Wyatt and Jackson – advanced. Wyatt, a 120-pound freshman, got there with a 7-1 decision over Nate Lukez of Pine-Richland and Jackson, a 138-pound senior, did so with a closer-than expected, 1-0 decision over Tyler Linsenbigler of Hempfield.
Jackson Henson battles Tim Hritsko of Canon-McMillan, who arrived at this point with a 7-6 decision over Tom Kyle of Upper St. Clair. Wyatt gets Louis Newell, a state runner-up last year from Seneca Valley.
Waynesburg’s Kyle Homet advanced at 170 pounds with a 21-6 technical fall over Evan Miller of Canon-McMillan. Greensburg Salem’s Jesse Quatse is next for the top seed.