Feb 9, 2022 3 min read

This summer was especially hard on Waynesburg High School’s wrestling team.

They lost a senior class, led by Luca Augustine, their head coach Joe Throckmorton and a vital piece to their team in Cole Homet, who severely injured his arm in an automobile accident.

The school board made all the right moves in hiring Kyle Szewczyk, who was Throckmorton’s main assistant, kept volunteer assistant Jim Howard and brought up Scott Rhodes from the junior high program.

All were familiar faces and popular coaches in the program and brought an air of stability to the wrestlers.

That’s why Waynesburg finds itself back in the PIAA Class 3A Team Tournament with a first-round match against Dallastown, 8 p.m. tonight, at the Giant Center in Hershey.

Canon-McMillan will also be in Hershey, wrestling a first-round match against District 11 champion Bethlehem Catholic.

In Class 2A, Burgettstown, fresh from a thrilling win over Fort LeBeouf in the preliminary round, takes on Brookville, the District 9 champion.

“There are certain things that you can’t control, like Homet’s accident,” said Szewczyk. “Sometimes, kids grow into each other because of weight and sometimes it creates a logjam. So yeah, there were a lot of unknowns going into the season but the team rallied around each other in a good way.”

Two key wrestlers for Waynesburg are Brody Evans, who managed to reach 189 pounds, and Noah Tustin, who has been solid at heavyweight. A middleweight last year, Evans put on enough weight so Waynesburg could fill a hole at 189.

“Brody really stepped up to reach 189,” Szewczyk. “Last year, if he stayed where he was, he got Rocco (Welsh) and if he went up, he (had to eliminate against) Luca. There was a lot of pressure when you are expected to win. When your team is no good, there’s not a lot of pressure. The team has responded really well.”

Szewczyk said he thought the school board made a wise move by keeping the coaching staff relatively intact.

“The wrestlers wanted it that way and the parents did too,” Szewczyk said. “They didn’t want a new face coming in, shaking things up. I know the familiar face is important. I’ve been there, Jimmy Howard has been there, Scott Rhodes was their junior high assistant. So the very first practice, we hit the ground running.”

Szewczyk said he talks with Throckmorton frequently but the former coach did not visit the school for a dual meet.

“I take a lot of what I learned from Joe and add my own personality,” said Szewczyk. “He still is a friend of mine. Sometimes, I pick his brain and when you can do that, you are picking the brain of a top-notch wrestler and coach because Joe is fantastic.”

Szewczyk said Throckmorton was in a traffic accident over Christmas break.

“Somebody ran a red light and hit him,” said Szewczyk. “It broke a vertebrae in his neck. He’s still in a neck brace. Doctors told him not to pick up anything heavier than a shoe and there he is carrying an 80-pound wrestling mat. Joe is Joe.”