Dec 27, 2019 3 min read

Everything seems to be falling into place for Luca Augustine.

The junior from Waynesburg committed to Pitt last month and is off to a strong start to the wrestling season.

He placed in the Ironman tournament, the Beast of the East and has a good chance to win the Powerade Wrestling Tournament at Canon-McMillan High School.

Augustine won three bouts Friday to reach today’s 160-pound semifinals. The final one was a 1-0 decision over Jack Weyhmeyer of Malvern Prep. Augustine will wrestle John West of Parkersburg (W.Va.) in today’s semifinals.

Augustine expects big things this season, not only from himself but from a Raiders team that seems to have enough pieces in place to be a champion.

“If everybody goes out and does their job, just go out and give it their all, we’ll do well.”

Augustine came into the Powerade tournament as the third seed in the weight class and opened with a 10-0 major decision over Austin Siko of Derry.

He won by the same score against Montoursville’s Isaac Cory that put him in the quarterfinals, where he beat Wehmeyer.

“I wrestled hard,” Augustine said. “This is a tough tournament.”

Picking a college had a lot to do with Augustine’s strong wrestling. It took a lot of pressure off to finish with the recruiting process.

“The campus is beautiful,” said Augustine. “They treat you like family. I fit right in. Education is the most important thing.”

Augustine also made a determined effort to reshape his body. He dedicated himself to the weight room and moved up a weight class this season, thanks to the newfound muscle.

Now, he feels better prepared for the long postseason run and believes he can make a return trip to Hershey if he stays healthy.

“I’m trying to score more points, improve my technique on top and get more pins,” he said.

Whitmer on a roll

Cole Whitmer came into the Powerade tournament unranked but motivated. The senior from Trinity High School believes this could be a special year and showed why on the first day of this event.

Whitmer made it to the quarterfinals at 195 pounds, where he lost by 23-6 technical fall to Nick Feldman of Malvern Prep. Whitmer can still finish as high as third.

Whitmer began the tournament with a hard-fought 2-0 decision over Tyler Rohaley of Canon-McMillan. Whitmer made a second-period takedown stand for the victory.

Whitmer followed that win with another two-point decision, 3-1, over seventh-seed Justin Cramer of Hempfield. Whitmer broke a 1-1 tie in the third with an escape and take down in the final 1:29.

Whitmer was one of two unseeded wrestlers who made it to the quarterfinals of the 195-pound weight class.