Welsh caps high school career with Classic win
Joe Tuscano / Observer-Reporter
Rocco Welsh of Waynesburg (right) is all smiles as he takes down Joshua Barr of Davison, Mich. for a Classic win Saturday at 172 pounds.
Joe Tuscano / Observer-Reporter
Mac Church of Waynesburg (bottom) is tangled up with Koy Buesgens of New Prague, Minn. Saturday in the Pittsburgh Wrestling Classic. Church lost a 1-0 decision at 145 pounds.
Joe Tuscano / Observer-Reporter
Joey Sentipal of Burgettstown (bacK) tries to ward off a takedown attempt by Dy’Vaire Van Dyne during their 139-pound match in Saturday’s Pittsburgh Wrestling Classic at Peters Township.
McMURRAY – When you are the last match in the Pittsburgh Wrestling Classic, some important organizers of the event must think you are pretty special.
Waynesburg’s Rocco Welsh was in such a position and did not disappoint.
The senior 172-pounder got a takedown in overtime to win a 3-1 decision over Joshua Barr of Davison, Mich. There weren’t enough of these victories as the Pennsylvania team took a 33-9 drubbing by the United States Saturday at the AHN Arena at Peters Township High School.
In the first match, the Ohio team defeated the WPIAL, 23-18, to snap a two-match winning streak.
Welsh, who is a four-time PIAA finalist and two-time champion with a career record of 150-17, scored an escape in the second period and gave up one in the third. His takedown came 22 seconds into overtime.
“I didn’t push the pace as much as I wanted,” said Welsh. “He takes really bad shots and I was waiting for him to take one.”
The win was impressive enough to earn Welsh the Outstanding Wrestler for the Pennsylvania team.
“I was in a bad position and started driving forward,” Welsh said of the overtime. “He let go and I said, ‘There we go.'”
Welsh’s teammate, Mac Church, lost a 1-0 decision to Koy Buesgens of New Prague, Minn. Buesgens got an escape in the second period and Church chose neutral because Buesgens rode Church out the last two times they wrestled.
“The choice I made came from the (last two times) we wrestled,” said Church, who finished with a 151-13 record and two state titles. “It was my choice. I wasn’t too worried about it.”
Buesgens has won three state titles and has a 188-6 record.
In the opener, the WPIAL saw a three-match winning streak snapped in this event and its record against Ohio drop to 0-4-1.
Local wrestlers won two of five bouts. Brody Evans of Waynesburg came away with a 3-2 decision over Coen Grimm of Wadsworth, Ohio in the 189-pound weight class.
Evans has spent the last six years in the Waynesburg program, despite attending Mapletown.
“I’ve never been here but I watched it the last couple years on (Floarena),” said Evans, who took 3 in the 189-pound weight class in the PIAA Class 3A tournament with a 78-32 record.
“I lost to this kid back in December at Powerade. I got revenge and it feels great. All the hard work you do as you progress through the season makes you better. You don’t beat the kids when their at their best. Then, you are at your best and you beat them and you feel awesome.”
Evans is an Edinboro recruit.
Ty Banco of Trinity had the other local win for the WPIAL, edging Eli Criblez of Allen East, a senior with a 157-15 record and one Ohio state championship.
“I loved it, loved every second of it,” said Banco, who leaves Trinity with a 121-31 record. “I never saw him before. I didn’t kon who I was wrestling until (Saturday).”
Banco’s original opponent was forced to withdraw because of injury.
Eli Makel of Waynesburg was on the short end of a 4-2 decision to Dylan Russo of Olentangy Liberty. Makel came in with a 124-39 record. Russo had a 150-17 record and won three state titles.
Matthew Furman of Canon-McMillan lost a 3-1 overtime decision to Myles Takats of Perrysburg. Furman finished up a career at C-M with a 125-37 record and was a PIAA runner-up at 172 pounds. Takats had a record of 160-33 and he won one state title.
Joey Sentipal of Burgettstown lost a 6-4 decision to Dy’Vaire VanDyke of Walsh Jesuit at 139 pounds. Semtipal graduates with a 145-40. VanDyke was 143-14.
Four new members were inducted into the Southwestern Pennsylvania Wrestling Hall of Fame.
They included Bill Solominsky, who coached at Washington High School from 1979-89 and who compiled a 121-55-0 record; Drew Headlee, a former PIAA champion from Waynesburg and All-American at Pitt; Chris Como, who amassed a 141-3 record coaching Burrell; and Rich Shaheen, a graduate of Burrell High School and who has been officiating for 43 years.
Bob and Carol Stephenson of Waynesburg were presented with the Dr. Kurt J. Nellis Memorial Award, given in recognition of those showing compassion and community service in wrestling.