Jan 9, 2023 3 min read

He’s back.

Cole Homet, who had his senior season at Waynesburg Central High School devastated by a severe automobile accident, was back on the mats over the weekend at the Nuway Open Tournament in Louisville.

Homet, wrestling in the 149-pound weight class, won his first three matches to reach the quarterfinals. He then lost his next two matches, one of them to the wrestler who took second place in the 50-man bracket.

“The arm is feeling better,” Homet said. “I’m still going to therapy every single day. It’s coming along. The hand is still paralyzed but it’s slowly getting better.”

Homet was a key piece to Waynesburg High School’s PIAA Class 3A team championship as a junior in 2021 but the accident robbed him of nearly all his senior season.

Homet was driving out to St. Louis the summer before his senior season to take part in Sammie Henson’s wrestling camp and to attend a celebration party thrown by teammate Wyatt Henson. Homet lost control of the car and the crash severely mangled the left arm.

Feeling has returned to about mid-forearm. It’s been a long, slow process but Homet is adjusting.

“It’s still a little patchy,” Homet said. “It’s just the backside of my arm that I still can’t feel but I can feel a lot more than I did a year ago.”

Homet is a volunteer assistant coach at Waynesburg University and also helps out the wrestlers at Waynesburg High School. His goal has always been to return to the sport no matter how long it takes.

“I had to develop a new style,” he said. “It really isn’t that much different. All the things I do on my feet are snatch singles and snatch high crotches. Truly, this weekend wasn’t much different. I’m still able to rise on top and still able to get out from bottom. I can’t do everything I used to do so I try to stay out of that. Other than that, there is not a lot I can’t do.”

Homet ended up at the university because new Yellow Jackets head coach Aaron McKinney asked him. He still spends at least two days per week at the high school room.

“My future is I’m going to continue to bring my hand back (to normal),” he said. “I’ll definitely go to college. I’ve had a couple schools offer me a scholarship. I turned them down because I’d like to start my eligibility when I’m fully healed. I’m thinking about going to college, if not this coming year then the year after that.”

Homet was a state runnerup at 138 pounds as a junior with the Raiders and also finished fifth at 132 pounds as a sophomore and seventh at 120 pounds as a freshman.

He had a career record of 123-28 in high school.