Jan 23, 2020 4 min read

Ron Headlee should buy a lottery ticket today. That’s how good things are going for his Waynesburg University wrestling team.

For the third straight time in a dual meet, the Yellow Jackets won in the final bout.

This time, it was Rocky McGeary pinning Jake Walker in 6:06 at heavyweight to give Waynesburg a 22-21 victory over Washington & Jefferson Thursday evening at the Salvitti Family Gymnasium.

W&J fell to 0-2 in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference and 3-6 overall. This was Waynesburg’s first PAC meet.

“I had it figured out that if we kept them at 21 points, then we had a shot at winning,” Headlee said. “We’re never out of it with our heavyweight. Boy, that’s hard to do, trying to pin someone when they are trying not to get pinned.”

The Presidents ran off three straight wins, all decisions, by Jaden Datz at 174, Hunter Neely at 184 and Alex Donahue at 197 pounds to take a 21-16 lead heading into the final bout.

That left it up to McGeary.

How can you be worried? His name is Rocky.

“We’re on a good roll now,” said McGeary, who graduated from West Allegheny High School. “We had a .500 record. Now we’re above that.”

It was McGeary’s 11th pin of the season.

“It’s hard to go out and get a pin,” said McGeary. “You just have to go out and try to wear them down.”

Colby Morris (157) and Zach Mackall (164) also had pins for the Waynesburg. That helped overcome W&J winning six of the 10 bouts.

“It was tough; they wrestled well,” said W&J head coach Tommy Prairie. “I wish we had (Jared) Walker in. That would have been a nine-point swing.”

Waynesburg has a rush of freshmen, 10 on the roster, and a group of familiar names. The latter list includes Josh Kuslock of Chartiers-Houston, Morris of Waynesburg, Brenden Hanning of Washington and Cory Supan of South Fayette.

“That’s always been my goal, keeping local kids on my team,” said Headlee. “We’ve had some injuries and that has put a damper on things. Overall, it’s been an up-and-down year, but we’re still fighting.”

Morris has managed to keep his matches close, which has led to some exciting finishes.

“He’s staying in matches,” Headlee said. “He won three overtime matches. He doesn’t give up a lot of easy points. He’s really hard to score on.”

McGreary is having an outstanding season with a 25-3 record.

“He doesn’t wrestle like a heavyweight,” Headlee said. “He wrestles like a lighter weight and that’s what I like about him.”

Headlee said the key for any athlete is confidence. Finding a way to instill it is the hard part.

“When a wrestler walks onto the mat believing he is going to win, it’s a brand new story,” Headlee said. “Belief has a lot to do with kids at our level. When you believe in yourself, it makes a big difference. That’s what we’re shooting for.”

W&J has a strong team, too, with Neely of Bentworth and Mike Heinl each winning their 100th career match this this season. Only seven Presidents have ever reached the century mark.

“Neely has had a great career for us,” Prairie said. “This year, he moved up from 157 up to 174. He’s good on his feet. He’s been really good.”

Neely, Heinl and Jared Walker all went to nationals last season. Heinl has 111 wins and a chance to break the record of 124, set by Sonnieboy Blanco.

“Heinl has improved all around,” Prairie said. “He’s a great top wrestler and really good on his feet.”