Jacket wrestlers face Division II West Liberty

Waynesburg just misses out on road upset over Hilltoppers

WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. (Jan. 30) – The Waynesburg wrestling team gave West Liberty State, the 12^th-ranked team in Division II, all they could handle on Saturday night in a road dual match. The Yellow Jackets held a slim lead after eight bouts and seemed poised for an upset, before the Hilltoppers came back to grab a 21-16 win.

The match started with freshman 125-pounder Alex Crown picking up a win by forfeit that gave his team a 6-0 lead. After West Lib bounced back with a major decision win at 133, seniorAbdul Yusuff put together a terrific effort to beat Matt Cunningham by 9-0 major decision.

Leading 10-4, the Jackets got their biggest win of the night when sophomore 149-pounder Jesse Byerly beat West Liberty’s Mitch Smith by 6-5 decision. Smith came into the night with a 21-1 record, was ranked second in Division II at 149 and placed fourth at the Division II national championships last year. The win put the Jackets up 13-4.

The Hilltoppers battled back with three-straight victories at 157, 165 and 174 pounds to take their first lead at 15-13. However, junior 184-pounder Corbin Semple put the Orange and Black back ahead (16-15) thanks to an 8-1 decision over Derrick Williams. It was his seventh-straight win and his 20^th victory of the year.

West Lib finished the night with back-to-back decision victories at 197 and 285 pounds to close out the night.

The Jackets return to the mats to face another highly ranked Division II program in Gannon for a road contest on Wednesday night.

Sport:

2.10.12 | 5 p.m.

Wrestling vs PAC Tournament

Athletes of the Week

Jessi Drayer

Women's Basketball

Drayer poured in a team-high 21.0 points per game for the 1-1 Yellow Jackets this past week. She was the team’s leading scorer in both games, going for a game-high 23 points against Westminster, before pouring in a contest-best 19 points in a win over Geneva. The Waterford, Ohio native averaged 21 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.5 steals per game this week.

Dan Bruni

Wrestling

Bruni went 3-0 during Waynesburg’s home quad-match against Penn State Greater Allegheny, Penn State Beaver and Penn State Fayette. The sophomore won two matches by major decision and scored a fall in just 31 seconds over Greater Allegheny’s Soham Salvi.

What are you most looking forward to in 2012 when it comes to Waynesburg sports?

Seeing how far the women's basketball team can go in the PAC tournament and beyond.
The wrestling team going for a third-straight PAC team title.
The Jacket softball team playing to get back into the PAC playoffs.
Waynesburg track taking another shot at an elusive PAC team title.
Just being outside when the weather turns warm.

Did You Know...

Jackets own Nittany Lions

The Waynesburg football team is 2-0 all-time against Penn State. The last time they met was in 1932, when the Jackets won 7-6.

Going nowhere fast

Waynesburg held Westminster to minus-105 yards rushing in a game in 1967.

Headlee's All-American resume

Head wrestling coach Ron Headlee was a three-time NAIA All-American at Messiah College and the school's first NCAA All-American.

Unbreakable record

In 2009, Scott Cree ran an interception back 100 yards for a touchdown, a record that can't be broken.

Don Herrman

Former Waynesburg football great Don Herrman played for the New York Giants and New Orleans Saints from 1969 to 1977.

The Three Musketeers

Dominick Hunter, Ivan Hawkins and Paul D'Imperio, who rank 1-2-3 in career receptions , all played together from 2002 to 2004.

Champions in the classroom

During the 2009-10 school year, no school in the conference boasted more honorees on the PAC Academic Honor Roll than Waynesburg.

TV Football

Waynesburg played in the first televised football game. The Yellow Jackets faced Fordham on Sept. 20, 1939 in Randalls Island, N.Y.

Waynesburg University Athletics