Final destination: Waynesburg will wrestle for title
Joe Tuscano/Observer-Reporter
Waynesburg celebrates a victory over Bethlehem Catholic Friday.
Nate Jones of Waynesburg tries to free himself from Erie Prep’s Phil Stark in a 113-pound semifinal bout Friday.
The medical staff tends to Nate Jones following a slam at 113 pounds.
HERSHEY – The dream season continues.
Waynesburg High School’s wrestling team competed in one of its most epic matches of the program Friday night, and came away with one of its biggest victories.
The Raiders knocked off perennial power Bethlehem Catholic, 33-31, in the semifinals of the PIAA Class AAA Team Tournament at the Giant Center in Hershey.
Waynesburg is one victory away from its first state team title in the program’s history.
The Raiders will wrestle Nazareth, the No. 1 team in the state, at 1 p.m.
“These kids all stick together and that’s what makes them so special to be around,” said Waynesburg head coach Joe Throckmorton. “That’s what makes it so much fun. You’ve seen them forever and they are all still young.”
This match had just about everything one could think of happening. But the most significant situation came in the 113-pound weight class.
Bethlehem Catholic was called for a slam on Nate Jones in the first period. Dante Frinzi lifted Jones into the air and brought him down with a thud. Jones was obviously in pain and the referee stopped the action and awarded a penalty point to Waynesburg and started the injury time.
When the two minutes expired and Jones was not able to continue, Frinzi was disqualified and Waynesburg awarded six points. Bethlehem Catholic also had a team point deducted for unsportsmanlike conduct. Waynesburg led 26-8.
The six points were crucial for Waynesburg because Mac Church, the top-rated 106-pounder in the state lost a 4-3 decision to Tyler Kasak. Later, wins by Rocco Welsh and Wyatt Henson at 126 and 138, respectively, sealed the win and allowed Waynesburg to forfeit the final two weight classes to make the score close.
“I knew it was going to be like madness,” said Welsh. “This win is awesome and we have an opportunity to go after (Nazareth) with no seniors.”
Ryan Howard, as a junior, is considered old for this team, in a good way.
“I’m pretty much the old man,” Howard said with a laugh. “I haven’t seen anything like this but I knew we could do it.”
In the quarterfinals, Waynesburg dominated the lighter weights and came away with a 44-24 victory over Erie Cathedral Prep.
The big bout in the dual meet came at 106 pounds, where Church won a dramatic 2-1 overtime decision against Jacob Van Dee. This was a matchup of the No. 1, Church, and No. 2, Van Dee, wrestlers in the state.
Jones followed Church’s win with a gutsy performance of his own. Jones scored in the final two seconds of his bout to take a 4-2 victory from Elijah Hunt at 120 pounds.
That seemed to invigorate the Raiders. Welsh followed with a 20-5 technical fall over Kaemen Smith at 126 pounds.
Cole Homet pinned Stefan Lynch in 3:04 at 132 pounds and Erie Prep forfeited to Henson at 138.
Another big victory came at 182 pounds, were Darnell Johnson pinned Luke Sittinger in 5:09 at 182 pounds.
Waynesburg won nine of the 14 bouts.