College notebook: Three qualify for D-I wrestling tournament
Washington and Greene counties will be well-represented at the NCAA Wrestling Championships that will be held March 16-18 in Tulsa, Okla.
Three local wrestlers clinched spots in the national tournament over the weekend, including two from Waynesburg.
Pitt’s Luca Augustine (174 pounds) and Oklahoma’s Wyatt Henson (133) will be wrestling in the NCAA tournament for the first time. Augustine and Henson were teammates and state champions at Waynesburg.
Augustine, a redshirt freshman, placed third in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament to secure an automatic berth in the national tournament. Augustine decisioned Vic Marcelli of Virginia, 3-1, in the third-place bout.
Starting the tournament unseeded, Henson clinched third place in the Big 12 Tournament by winning six straight bouts, including a 9-3 win over No. 2 seed Kyle Biscoglia of Northern Iowa in the third-place bout.
Also earning a spot in the NCAA meet was Henson’s Oklahoma teammate, Gerrit Nijenhuis, who finished in seventh place at the Big 12 tournament. The Canon-McMillan graduate defeated Tanner Cook of South Dakota State 8-3 in the seventh-place bout. Nijenhuis’ top-8 finish secures his spot at the NCAA Championships for the third time in his collegiate career. He did it twice while at Purdue before transferring prior to this season.
In track & field
Daniel Layton’s performances during the indoor season have caused the William & Mary record book to be updated.
Layton, a Waynesburg graduate, won the heptathlon with 4,831 points at the Colonial Athletic Association Championships. The senior became the first CAA champion in the event. In addition to his medal-worthy performance, Layton also set program history by breaking his own school record in the heptathlon 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.35. Layton set the previous mark at the Brant Tolsma Invitational in Lynchburg, Va., the same performance that saw him set the W&M heptathlon record with 4,967 points.
In baseball
Nathan Vidmar, a freshman pitcher from Canonsburg, had a quality start in more ways than one at Delaware State.
Vidmar made his collegiate debut on Feb. 18 against The Citadel. Getting the start on the mound, Vidmar fired seven shutout innings for the Hornets. He scattered six hits and walked three, but Delaware State’s defense turned three double plays.
The only thing missing for Vidmar was a victory. He left the game with a 4-0 lead and after throwing 84 pitches. The Citadel, however, rallied for five runs in the bottom of the ninth to win, 5-4.
Vidmar has made two other starts, against Longwood and Saint Peter’s.
In wrestling
The Division I Wrestling Championships will not be the only national tournament with connections to Waynesburg.
Waynesburg University junior Colby Morris qualified for the NCAA Division III Championships that will be held Friday and Saturday in Roanoke, Va.
Morris, a Waynesburg High School graduate, qualified by placing second at 174 pounds in the Southeast Regional Championships in York. Morris opened his first day at the event with an 11-1 major decision over Tyson Hoopes of Southern Virginia. He wrapped up his 2-0 day by beating Washington & Lee’s Mark Troni by a 7-2 decision. The next day, Morris defeated returning national qualifier Alex Turley of Averett 3-1 to reach the title bout and qualify for nationals.
Eyeing a regional title, the second-seeded Morris squared off with top-seeded Stefan Major of Stevens Institute of Technology. Major, who is ranked fifth in the country, pulled out a 5-4 victory over Morris.
Morris will take a 25-2 record into the national tournament.
In swimming
Two local athletes had big seasons for the Wheeling women’s swimming team.
Jade Miller, a sophomore from Washington and a Trinity graduate, and freshman Gabby Baiano of Biglersville and a South Fayette graduate, helped the Cardinals to their best season since 2016-17.
Miller won two Mountain East Conference championships, giving her three in two years. Miller won both the 100-yard backstroke and 200 backstroke. In winning the 100, Millers set a personal record with a time of 59.22. The next day, Miller successfully defended her title in the 200 with a time of 2:11.03. Along with her two first team All-MEC awards, Miller received two other All-MEC honors as she continues to be one of the top swimmers in the conference.
Baiano was the Cardinals’ top distance swimmer all season. She received an honorable mention All-MEC Award in the 1,650-yard freestyle, setting the third-fastest mark in program history with a time of 18:07.71. It was a PR for Baiano, who beat her previous time by more than 14 seconds and capped a huge freshman season.
In softball
Penn State’s Bailey Parshall was named Monday the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week for her performance over the weekend in Virginia Beach at the Pirate-Spartan Classic.
Parshall, who earned her fourth career weekly honor from the league and second of the season, pitched two complete games, totaling 13 innings, while not allowing an earned run. A Belle Vernon graduate, Parshall struck out 14 batters, walked two and allowed only four hits.
Parshall’s dominant performances helped the Nittany Lions to an 11-1 victory over Delaware and an 8-1 win over Hampton.
Parschall has a 6-3 record and 1.40 ERA on the season. She has struck out 57 in 45 innings and opposing hitters are batting only .125 against her.
The Nittany Lions are off to a 10-3 start.