Feb 27, 2019 3 min read

Luca Augustine just polished off his second straight section title last week, putting him on a path to four straight in his high school wrestling career.

But the sophomore from Waynesburg High School has bigger and better accomplishments in mind.

Namely, a WPIAL championship and a medal at the state tournament.

Both are within reach for this talented and determined wrestler.

Augustine rifled his way through the 152-pound weight class in the Section 4-AAA Tournament at Chartiers Valley High School, capping it with a hard-fought but satisfying 2-1 overtime decision against Eli Brinsky of South Fayette.

That performance earned a fourth seed in the weight class for the WPIAL Class AAA Championship.

Action gets underway at 4 p.m. at Canon-McMillan High School Friday. Quarterfinals are at 7 p.m. Finals are set for 5 p.m. Saturday.

The top four wrestlers in each weight class advance to the state tournament.

“This is definitely going to give me a good spot for the WPIAL tournament,” said Augustine after beating Brinsky for the third time this season, all in one- or two-point matches. “I’m excited for it. It should be a really good tournament. There are a lot of good kids there and I have to wrestle my best.”

Augustine has been working on his offensive moves in practice, realizing that each bout has the potential to come down to one strong move or one key point.

“I noticed in the past couple matches that if I stay complacent, I usually lose a close match,” said Augustine, who has compiled a record of 37-5 this season. “So I’m trying to push the pace in my matches and just rush on in. I work out with Trey Howard and Colby Morris and you can’t ask for better workout partners.”

Augustine missed a trip to the Giant Center last year by one win. Worse, it came down to a one-point loss to Zach Macy of Chartiers Valley in ultimate tiebreaker in the consolation semifinals at 132 pounds.

Senior Cam Connor (42-2) of Kiski is top seed at 152 for this tournament. Senior Alex Weber (35-2) of Thomas Jefferson is second seed and senior Nick Montalbano (26-9) of Seneca Valley is third seed. Brinsky ended up with a sixth seed.

“I’m keeping my mind on the main goal, and that’s winning a state title,” said Augustine. “No matter what, I have to wrestle (well) to reach that goal.”

Other are seeds of note are Augustine’s teammate Trey Howard, a senior who is second at 145; and Belle Vernon senior Scott Joll, who is second at 182 pounds.

Waynesburg freshman Cole Homet is expected to move up one spot to the second seed after a report that 120-pound top-seed Ryan Sullivan, a defending state champion from Shaler, had to withdraw from the tournament with a broken hand suffered in last week’s section tournament. Belle Vernon senior Logan Seliga (27-6) will move to the third seed.