Dec 15, 2019 3 min read

Waynesburg Central showed some of the best wrestlers in the country that its preseason hype was for real, as head coach Joe Throckmorton’s team placed 10th at the Walsh Ironman Tournament on Saturday in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.

The Raiders had four place in the top eight, including freshmen sensations Mac Church and Rocco Welsh. Church was second at 106 pounds and Welsh took fifth at 126. Luca Augustine was fourth at 160 and Wyatt Henson placed eighth at 138.

Church dropped a 6-3 decision to Marc-Anthony McGowan of New Jersey prep powerhouse Blair Academy in the finals.

He opened action in the two-day tournament in the second round after receiving a bye in the opening round. Church earned a 15-0 technical fall over Marmion Academy’s Jameson Garcia in 2:47 before a 7-1 decision over Dominic Hoffarth (Louisville) in the third round.

Church guaranteed himself a spot on the podium with a 6-4 decision over Mason’s Pacey Najdusak in the quarterfinals. He edged Lake Highland Prep’s Eligh Rivera, 7-5, in the semifinals. Church scored 23.5 team points.

Welsh also received a bye in the first round before a 14-3 major decision over St. Christopher’s Jake Keeling. He edged Broken Arrow’s Jackson Cockrell, 7-6, to advance to the quarterfinals, but lost to Wyoming Seminary’s Nic Bouzakis, 6-2.

Welsh rebounded in the sixth round of consolations with a 3-1 decision over Perrysburg’s Joey Blaze and advanced to the consolation semifinals with a 7-5 decision over Monarch’s Vince Cornella. He dropped a 7-3 decision to Elyria’s Dylan Shawver to move into the fifth-place match.

Welsh earned a 7-4 decision over Mount Saint Joseph’s Chris Barnabee and scored 14 team points.

Augustine, who qualified for the state tournament last season, did it the hard way after losing in the third round to Notre Dame GP’s Andrew Cerniglia, 3-1. He won five straight matches to reach the bronze-medal bout, but lost suffered a 4-3 setback to Wyoming Seminary’s Gabe Arnold. Augustine scored 19 team points.

Augustine won by decision, 4-0, in the fourth round of consolations, then edged Aurora’s Tyler Lillard, 1-0, and had back-to-back tiebreaker victories over Blair Academy’s Thomas Stewart and Mount Saint Joseph’s Connor Strong. He earned a 5-1 decision over Malvern Prep’s Jack Wehmeyer in the consolation semifinals.

Henson, who won a state title in Missouri last year and placed fifth in the state of Pennsylvania as a freshman for the Raiders, had to forfeit in the seventh-place match to Coeur d’ Alene’s Drew Roberts. Henson won his first three bouts before dropping a 1-0 decision to Bethlehem Catholic’s Kenny Herrmann in the quarterfinals.

The junior came back with a 6-0 decision over Legacy Christian Academy’s Gavin Brown to guarantee a spot on the podium before dropping a 7-6 decision to Lake Highland Prep’s Justin Rivera. Henson scored 9.5 team points.