Young blood: Trio of freshmen spark Raiders wrestling team
Waynesburg Central freshman Colton Stoneking picks up back points during his match against Beth-Center鈥檚 Jimmy Gwyer in the 126-pound weight class at Waynesburg Central High School. Stoneking edged Gwyer, 7-5. (Photo by Jonathan Guth)
Waynesburg Central鈥檚 Trey Howard is about to pin Beth-Center鈥檚 Tyler Fisher during their match in the 145-pound weight class at Waynesburg Central High School. Howard won by fall in 36 seconds. (Photo by Jonathan Guth)
Waynesburg Central鈥檚 Colby Morris controls Beth-Center鈥檚 Makiah Bayus during their match in the 160-pound weight class at Waynesburg Central High School. Morris won the match by fall in 1:27. (Photo by Jonathan Guth)
Waynesburg Central freshman Noah Tustin drives through Beth-Center鈥檚 Joseph Berish to pick up a takedown during their match at Waynesburg Central High School. Tustin won by fall in 1:53. (Photo by Jonathan Guth)
WAYNESBURG 鈥� Waynesburg Central鈥檚 Cole Homet, Colton Stoneking and Noah Tustin may be freshmen, but they don鈥檛 wrestle like it.
鈥淭hey were all in the top three in JOs last year,鈥� Waynesburg Central coach Joe Throckmorton said. 鈥淵ou just got to keep getting better till the end of the season. Hershey鈥檚 our goal, but you got Beast of the East and Powerade coming up real quick. It鈥檚 going to be here before you know it.鈥�
The trio all picked up wins to help lead the Raiders to a 44-27 non-section victory over Beth-Center in an early-season match at Waynesburg Central High School. Last Wednesday, the Raiders rolled over Montour, 62-12, as Homet and Stoneking picked up wins but Tustin lost a decision.
鈥淭his is our first year wrestling Beth-Center,鈥澛燭hrockmorton said. 鈥淲e work together to train for the postseason. He (Bulldogs head coach Gary Welsh) asked and we had a point, so I decided to make it as local as we could. It was a good test for the kids.鈥�
Stoneking earned a 7-5 victory over senior Jimmy Gwyer at 126 pounds. Gwyer qualified for the state tournament as a sophomore.
Homet pinned Kyle McCollum in 3:08 at 120 and Tustin won by fall over Joseph Berish in 1:53 at 182.
Stoneking picked up a takedown in the first period to take a 2-0 advantage into the second. He deferred choice in the second period and Gwyer escaped and picked up a takedown of his own for a 3-2 lead. Stoneking escaped to send the match into the third tied at 3.
Stoneking picked up a reversal and two near-fall points before Gwyer picked up a reversal to cut the deficit to two. Gwyer worked hard to turn Stoneking as time ran out, but the talented freshman fought off Gwyer鈥檚 attempts.
鈥淲e knew it was going to be a tough match for Jimmy, even though he鈥檚 a senior,鈥� Welsh said. 鈥淭hey could possibly see each other at Tri-CADA, and I think they gave the crowd a show tonight. We were well aware of their trio of freshmen.鈥�
Tustin鈥檚 fall at 182 pounds gave the home team an early lead before the Bulldogs鈥� Dominic Fundy tied things up with a fall over Darnell Johnson in 1:12 at 195.
Fundy, a senior who was the state runner-up as a sophomore, missed last season鈥檚 postseason action due to an injury, but is back and healthy for his last chance to become Beth-Center鈥檚 first state wrestling champion.
鈥淗e (Fundy) is progressing very well coming off his injury,鈥� Welsh said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 probably mentally more than anything. A lot of times when you suffer an injury like that and the sky鈥檚 the limit, and you are probably one of the top guys in the state, a lot of kids don鈥檛 handle it as well as he did. I think he has a little sense of urgency. He鈥檚 grinding in the room and I鈥檓 very proud of how he鈥檚 handled the whole situation.鈥�
Jacob Baker gutted out a 6-1 decision over Ryan Howard at 220 to give the Bulldogs a 9-6 lead before Spencer Lesinski tied the match for the home team with a 7-2 win over Evan Dreucci at 285 pounds.
Beth-Center went up 12 points when Joseph Holmes and Philip Wisniewski picked up forfeits at 106 and 113.
Homet鈥檚 fall cut the deficit to 21-15 and Stoneking鈥檚 decision pulled the Raiders (7-0) within three.
Trevor Pettit鈥檚 fall over Nate Kirby in 4:30 at 132 pounds extended the Bulldogs鈥� advantage to 27-18, but Waynesburg Central won the dual meet鈥檚 last five bouts.
Nate Stephenson edged Todd Fisher, 5-4, at 138 and Trey Howard pinned Tyler Fisher in 36 seconds at 145 to tie the meet at 27-27.
Luca Augustine won by forfeit at 152 and Colby Morris clinched the match for the Raiders with a fall over Makiah Bayus in 1:27 at 160.
Caleb Stephenson capped the night for the home team with a 16-1 technical fall in 5:25 over Dylan Dingle at 170.
Waynesburg Central started its season with a win over 12-time defending WPIAL Class AA team champion Burrell by criteria and won the Greenville Duals with a 46-21 victory over Brookville.
鈥淲e wrestled Brookville up there at the Greenville Duals in the last match. They were probably the best team up there. Burrell was ranked fourth in the state in Class AA, and Brookville was ranked fifth, and we beat both.鈥�
The Raiders, who are a Class AA school but wrestle up in Class AAA, open section play tonight against Montour at 7:30 p.m. at Waynesburg Central High School.
Beth-Center competed in the Chartiers-Houston Tournament, but wrestled its first dual meet this year on Tuesday. Welsh was encouraged by the effort from his wrestlers over a perennial Class AAA powerhouse.
鈥淲e had a couple of toss-up matches that didn鈥檛 go our way, but the kids battled and kept pushing the pace in the third,鈥� Welsh said. 鈥淚 was very happy with the fight our guys showed. We kept things in perspective and knew that this was one of the top Class AAA teams out there, and it was going to be a challenge from the moment we set up the match.
鈥淚 think we can keep things moving and we look forward to being in the discussion as one of the top Class AA teams in the WPIAL, and I think gradually over the years we are putting ourselves in the conversation. We have a great relationship with Coach Kyle (Szewczyk) and Coach (Joe) Throckmorton, and these guys invite us down in the offseason to work out.鈥�
In the win over Montour, Waynesburg dropped only three bouts in the Section 4-AAA (4B) opener for both teams.
Waynesburg鈥檚 Hunter Shriver opened the match at 113 pounds with a fall, followed by Homet鈥檚 pin at 120.
Trey Howard (145), Augustine (152), Morris (160), Stephenson (170), Johnson (182), Ryan Howard (220), and Lesinski (285) all won by fall for the Raiders (1-0, 7-0).
Stephenson won by a 15-2 technical fall at 138 pounds.
Stoneking won a 6-2 decision at 126 pounds.
Montour won decisions at 132 and 195 pounds, and won the final bout at 106 pounds by forfeit. Dante Presutti decisioned Tustin, 8-3, in the 195 match.