Waynesburg stops Trinity, wins 4th straight section title
WAYNESBURG – A few years ago, they were huddled together on the gymnasium floor at Waynesburg central High School waiting for someone from the WPIAL to decide the winner by tiebreaker.
It seemed to take forever before the Raiders were declared champions of the section over Canon-McMillan.
On Wednesday night, it didn’t take nearly as long.
And when Eli Makel put the match away with a pin at 215 pounds, the celebration could get underway. Waynesburg had its fourth straight section championship, this one coming after a 39-27 victory over Trinity in Class 3A Section 4.
The win keeps the Raiders undefeated in the section at 5-0 and sets them up for one of the top seeds in the upcoming WPIAL Team Tournament. The pairings are expected to be released this afternoon.
“There was always a doubt,” said Waynesburg head coach Kyle Szewczyk. “It went back and forth. We took the early lead and they grabbed it back. We managed to stretch the lead at the end.”
Trinity was coming off a 35-31 loss to West Allegheny. But unlike that dual meet, Trinity head coach Ron Tarquinio was pleased with the team’s performance.
“I felt like we wrestled really hard today,” he said. “The guys fought their butts off. The effort was there and while it would have been nice to get a win, it was a much better response than we got last week.”
The match started at 107 and Waynesburg won the first two, an 11-0 major decision by Floyd Huff over Mickey Horne and an 8-5 decision by Ky Szewczyk over Frank Fedorchak.
“We had a lot of momentum grabbing that first win,” Szewczyk said. “It was nice getting that first win, getting the crowd involved and get the team all fired up.”
Trinity rallied with two pins, the first by Dom Canali over Albert Medlen in 5:38 at 121 and the second by TJ Allison over Luke Rush in 3:41 at 127. Those pins gave the Hillers a 12-7 lead.
Joe Simon’s pin of Luke Poland in 29 seconds at 133 gave Waynesburg the lead back, 13-12. It lasted one bout as Blake Reihner won by 28-3 technical fall over Daniel Huffman at 139.
Mac Church, a two-tine PIAA champion, pinned Jackson Bruckner in 58 seconds for a 19-17 lead for the Raiders after 145. Nate Jones gave Waynesburg some breathing room, 25-17, with a pin in 15 seconds of Adam Watson at 152 pounds.
The teams traded major decisions. Robbie Allison took a 14-4 decision from Roan Tustin and returning state champion Rocco Welsh got the best of Bodie Morgan 15-6 at 172 pounds.
Waynesburg put the match away with a major decision by Brody Evans and a pin by Eli Makel at 215.
Welsh and Church said they expect a top seed for the team tournament.
“I think we should be first in the team tournament,” Welsh said.
Waynesburg has losses to Butler in the Kiski Duals and to Connellsville. Both times, the Raiders were missing key wrestlers who could have reversed the outcome.
“I think we should be first seed or second seed,” Church said. “But I don’t think it matters. All the teams are so close.”