Lesinski gets Waynesburg rolling in win over Trinity
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
Waynesburg’s Luca Augustine is chasing a WPIAL title this weekend.
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
Waynesburg’s Noah Tustin wins by technical fall, 19-4, over Trinity’s Nikko Martini at 182 pounds.
Waynesburg’s Caleb Stephenson (black) gets a reversal on Trinity’s Hunter Frantz to win 4-0 at 170 pounds
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
Waynesburg’s Trey Howard is prepared for his final run through the postseason.
WAYNESBURG – Spencer Lesinski thought about joining the Army but decided on the Marines after he graduates this summer.
He just felt that the corps had the type of men he wanted to become: tough, strong, dependable.
Those characteristics were on display Wednesday night for Lesinski, when he rallied in his bout and pinned Dom Quarture in 3:11 to start Waynesburg’s dual meet against Trinity.
Lesinski’s pin at 220 pounds ignited Waynesburg, which won 10 of 14 bouts, on the way to a 50-24 thumping of the Hillers.
The victory moved the Raiders’ record to 12-0 overall and 4-0 in Subsection 4B of Class AAA. Waynesburg travels to Canonsburg Wednesday for the WPIAL Section Team Tournament. They will battle South Fayette in the first round while Canon-McMillan takes on Trinity. The two winners meet for the section title.
Lesinski moved his record to 11-9 with the pin of Quarture in a weight class the Hillers desperately needed to win.
“I knew it was going to be a pretty tough match, team-wise,” he said. “I knew if I got the boys started up, the match would go our way. I felt the kid put in the leg and I threw him in a headlock. I got that pin and everyone got fired up. It got the crowd going, and the match started off right, in our favor.”
Lesinski is one of four seniors on the team and has made great strides this season.
“Last year, I just went out and wrestled just to fill a spot for the team,” Lesinski said. “Over the summer, I decided to join the Marines. I told coach I’ll come out but I wanted to cut a big amount of weight.
Lesinski began the season at 230 pounds but felt he needed to shed some weight to get into Marine Corps shape. He is down to 198 and looks quick as a cat on the mat.
“It might be our last time wrestling in front of our home crowd,” Lesinski said. “I lead it off with a bang. I’ll always remember it.”
Ryan Howard followed with a pin at heavyweight and Waynesburg suddenly had a 12-0 lead. After the teams traded forfeits, Cole Homet pinned A.D. Nelson at 120 pounds to stretch the Raiders’ lead to 24-6.
“We knew those were going to be some of the better matches, 220 and heavyweight,” said Waynesburg head coach Joe Throckmorton. “Our guys have been working really, really hard and we wrestle the best competition year in and year out and it’s no different this year. Spencer got so much better from last year it’s not funny. I know he got down in the match but he’s in really good shape. We knew if it went into the second and third period, we’d be in pretty good shape.”
Trinity (3-1, 3-1) rallied when Gianni Martini pinned Colton Stoneking at 126 and Danny Boardley won by disqualification at 132. That made it 24-18. Waynesburg won the next six bouts to put it out of reach. Trey Howard had a pin at 145 to help the run.
“We’re young. We got a freshman and a lot of 10th graders,” said Trinity head coach Mark Powell. “We know what we’re getting with Waynesburg. If you’re not offensive, if you’re not gritty, then you’re not going to win a lot of those matches.Their guys had more offense than our guys and that’s because of experience. We’re best when we’re on offense.”