WASHINGTON, Pa. (Feb. 14) - Despite not giving up anything worse than a regular decision, the Waynesburg University wrestling team suffered through a disappointing performance at the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Championships, which were held at Washington and Jefferson College.
After beating both W&J and Thiel in the regular season, the Jackets lost four matches by forfeit or injury and couldn't win several key close matches as they finished in second place behind the Tomcats, who won their 10th-straight PAC title.
"We didn't wrestle with our usual fire today," Waynesburg head coach Ron Headlee said. " Thiel wrestled much harder than us."
The Tomcats won the event with 125 points. The Yellow Jackets followed with 88 and the Presidents rounded out the field with 65 points.
The Jackets' championships hopes suffered a major blow when standout freshman 149-pounder #Jesse Byerly# was injured in his match against W&J's Shaun Yackey. Byerly was forced to take an injury default in both that match and his match against Thiel's Alec Miller.
Sophomore 141-pounder #Pat McCabe# was also forced to take an injury default in his bout against the Tomcats' Mason Stewart. McCabe had already beaten W&J's Nick Centra by way of an 8-0 major decision.
Losses in close matches also killed the Jackets' championships hopes. At 133, #Nick Garber# dropped his second close bout to Thiel's Corey Brown, falling 10-9. Garber dominated W&J's Brandon Sansom, pinning him in just 1:35. It was the fastest fall of the day.
Waynesburg freshman 157-pounder #Jared Roberts# was also on the short end of a close match when he dropped a 4-3 decision to Thiel's Greg Hogan. Roberts went 1-1 on the day with a 6-1 win over W&J's Brandon Roshon.
Perhaps the most heart-breaking performance of the day was put in by junior heavyweight #Rich Janicki#, who lost both of his matches by way of 2-1 decisions.
While the day, overall, was very disheartening for the Jackets, there were definite bright spots for the young team. The performances of freshman #Alex Evanoff and first-year grappler Corbin Semple# were the biggest positives.
Evanoff won the PAC title at 165 when he beat Thiel's Anthony Scarillo by 7-4 decision. The young Jacket also won a bout by forfeit.
Semple continued his recent string of dominance by winning his 17th and 18th-straight bouts, both in bonus-point style. He earned a 12-1 major decision victory over W&J's Alex Cressley and pinned Thiel's Brice Mertiff in 2:15.
Though he didn't win an individual title, freshman 125-pounder #Rico Borz# scored an impressive upset by gutting out a 4-2 decision over nationally-ranked Thiel sophomore Rob Miller. The win also earned Borz a measure of revenge for a pin-fall loss at the hands of Miller earlier this year.
While winning the PAC title was one of Headlee's biggest goals coming into his first season with the Jackets, he'll now have to turn his attention to the NCAA Division III Midwest Regional Tournament, which will be held at Trine (Ind.) University on Saturday, Feb. 21.
COMPLETE RESULTS:
125
Cecchetti (W&J) d. Borz (WAY) - forfeit
Borz (WAY) d. R. Miller (THI) - 4-2 decision
R. Miller (THI) d. Cecchetti (W&J) - 9-4 decision
133
Brown (THI) d. Garber (WAY) - 10-9 decision
Brown (THI) d. Sansom (W&J) - 7-2 decision
Garber (WAY) d. Sansom (W&J) - Pinfall (1:35)
141
Centra (W&J) d. Stewart (THI) - 6-4 decision (ot)
McCabe (WAY) d. Centra (W&J) - 8-0 major decision
Stewart (THI) d. McCabe (WAY) - injury default
149
Yackey (W&J) d. Byerly (WAY) - injury default
A. Miller (THI) d. Byerly (WAY) - injury default
A. Miller (THI) d. Yackey (W&J) - 8-2 decision
157
Hogan (THI) d. Roberts (WAY) - 4-3 decision
Hogan (THI) d. Roshon (W&J) - 10-2 major decision
Roberts (WAY) d. Roshon (W&J) - 6-1 decision
165
Scarillo (THI) d. (W&J) - forfeit
Evanoff (WAY) d. (W&J) - forfeit
Evanoff (WAY) d. Scarillo (THI) - 7-4 decision
174
Benczo (WAY) d. (W&J) - forfeit)
Lowry (THI) d. Benczo (WAY) - 7-4 decision
Lowry (THI) d. (W&J) - forfeit
184
Morris (THI) d. Thomas (WAY) - 7-5 decision
Morris (THI) d. Monday (W&J) - 6-3 decision (ot)
Monday (W&J) d. Thomas (WAY) - 5-1 decision
197
Cressley (W&J) d. Mertiff (THI) - 17-6 major decision
Semple (WAY) d. Cressley (W&J) - 12-1 major decision
Semple (WAY) d. Mertiff (THI) - Pin fall (2:15)
285
Potts (W&J) d. Janicki (WAY) - 2-1 decision
Smith (THI) d. Janicki (WAY) - 2-1 decision
Potts (W&J) d. Smith (THI) - 3-2 decision (2ot)
