WAYNESBURG, Pa. (Feb. 23) – With the winter postseasons upon us, the Waynesburg basketball and wrestling teams enjoyed some outstanding individual efforts this past week.
Three of those individuals were honored as the top athletic performers on campus and were named the latest Waynesburg University Athletes of the Week.
On the women’s side, senior guard Johnna Deco led the women’s basketball team to an impressive victory over Geneva in the Yellow Jackets’ regular season finale. Playing in her final game in front of the crowd at the Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse, Deco led all scorers with 15 points and pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds as the Jackets downed Geneva 76-52. The double-double effort came as part of a two-game week that saw Deco average nine points and a team-best nine rebounds per game.
With junior wrestlers Nick Garber and Corbin Semple both winning NCAA Division III Midwest Regional titles this past Saturday on a pin and two decisions each, it would be unfair to pick one over the other, so they share this week’s male award.
Garber got his day started with a bang by pinning Charles Holmquest of Manchester in just 10 seconds to advance to the semifinals. Though he was certainly pushed more by Olivet’s Adam Wilson, Garber still triumphed, this time picking up a 9-4 decision win to set up a rematch with archrival Corey Brown of Thiel. Garber downed his rival by the final of 6-0 to take the win.
Semple’s run to his championship started in a similar fashion to Garber’s, as he pinned Case Western’s Peter Heggs is 58 seconds. Semple then squared off with fellow PAC member, Patrick Morris of Thiel in the semis. The Waynesburg native bested Morris by 10-5 decision to advance to the finals where he beat the second-seeded Nicholas Kraus of Trine, 10-5.
Deco will try to lead her team to victory in tonight’s PAC playoff game at Westminster, while Garber and Semple are preparing for a trip to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where they will compete in the Division III National Championships.