Raiders crown 5 champions to place 2nd at TriCADA
Cole Homet of Waynesburg makes his move and holds down Jimmy Baxter of Canon-McMillan. Homet defeated Baxter with an 8-2 decision. (Photo by Eleanor Bailey)
Nate Jones of Waynesburg (right) tries to slip out of the hold of Brandon Dami of Canon-McMillan at 113 pounds last Friday in the Tri-CADA Wrestling Tournament at South Fayette High School.
McDONALD â Waynesburg Centralâs freshmen trio of Mac Church, Nate Jones and Rocco Welsh won gold medals on Saturday in the TriCADA Wrestling Tournament held at South Fayette High School.
The Raidersâ Cole Homet and Wyatt Henson won their second TriCADA titles.
Church used an early takedown and a tilt to build up a 4-0 lead over Canon-McMillanâs Jacob Houpt en route to an 8-4 decision in the final at 106 pounds. Church, a freshman, denied Houpt his second TriCADA title.
âI like using that tilt a lot,â Church said. âI get to it a lot in my matches. I thought I had two at the end. I thought his two was kind of bull because I was just running into him. I shouldnât have charged that hard at him. I am sure I will wrestle him a lot more this season.â
Jones built up a 7-0 advantage in the first period and hung on for a 7-5 decision over Fort Cherryâs Julian Moore for the championship at 113. Jones enjoys working in the wrestling room with Church, as they constantly push each other. Jones won his bracket as an unseeded wrestler.
âOur coach always uses the phrase, âTake it and run with it,'â said Jones in regards to not being seeded. âI have been wrestling with Mac since I started in second grade. Iâve always seen the things heâs accomplished, and if I am taking him down in practice, I know I am doing something right, and I just build off that. We have a very tough schedule and face some of the best competition in the country.â
Welsh decisioned Big Mac senior Jacob Gardner, 5-0, for the championship at 126. Although he is a ninth-grader, Welsh wasnât intimidated by Gardner.
âMy teammates and I were all talking about pretty much every final being Canon-Mac vs. Waynesburg, and we were all pretty pumped up about it,â Welsh said. âI was happy with the way I wrestled, but I donât think I finished that good, so I have to work on that when we get back to the room. We always have great practice partners in the room.â
Homet gave up a takedown 26 seconds into his bout against Canon-McMillanâs Jimmy Baxter in the finals at 132, but the sophomore rallied for an 8-2 decision and his second title in as many seasons. Baxter was seeking his third championship.
Henson, who won TriCADA gold for Waynesburg Central as a freshman in 2018, earned his second title at 138 with a 21-9 major decision over Trinityâs Micah Finley. The Raider junior and Iowa recruit wrestled in Missouri last season and won a state championship.
Waynesburg Central was the team runner-up to Canon-McMillan, who scored 283.5 team points. The Raiders had 257.5. The Big Macsâ Gerrit Nijenhuis won the outstanding wrestler award. Nijenhuis, a senior who has committed to Purdue, won his fourth TriCADA Championship to join Albert Gallatinâs Tim Wallace and Waynesburg Centralâs AC Headlee as the only four-time TriCADA champions.
âNate wrestles in the room hard all the time,â Waynesburg Central coach Joe Throckmorton said. âHe is a freshman, but wrestles with Mac Church and all those guys all the time, so it makes a difference. We always have that happen at TriCADA where we have guys that come in with losing records and then they win the tournament because we have such a tough schedule in the beginning of the year.
âWe are in the Winnerâs Circle next weekend. We have five tournaments in five weekends, but it doesnât get any easier because we go right into our team stuff. Wrestling is not a part-time sport.â
Beth-Centerâs Trevor Pettit broke Canon-McMillan and Waynesburg Centralâs run of six straight champions in winning his first TriCADA Championship at 145. The sophomore earned a 4-0 decision over McGuffeyâs Rocco Ferraro in the finals.
âI wrestled that kid twice last year, and the first time he beat me in overtime, and the second time he beat me 8-2, but this year I was finally able to beat him,â Pettit said. âI was a little bit nervous for the match, but I realized it was just a match and I could beat him. You run into some heavy hitters against teams like Canon-McMillan and Waynesburg Central. I was looking to the left, there is a Canon-Mac kid, and to the right, and there is a Waynesburg kid, but wrestling teams like that will really help us.â
The Bulldogs placed fifth in the team standings with 147.5 team points.
Waynesburg Centralâs Nate Stephenson was denied his second TriCADA Championship in a 3-2 setback to Canon-McMillanâs Tanner Rohaley at 152. Stephenson was penalized for stalling and the point that was given to Rohaley proved to be the difference. Rohaley won his second straight TriCADA title.
Beth-Centerâs Kyle McCollum was the runner-up in the 120-pound weight class to Canon-McMillanâs Costa Moore.
Bentworthâs Owen Petrisek lost in the finals at 170 to the host schoolâs Eli Brinsky.
Albert Gallatin sophomore Shawn Loring lost in the quarterfinals on Friday evening, but battled back with three straight wins before a setback in the third-place bout for fourth at 285.
Loring won a 4-0 decision over Fort Cherryâs Christian Illig before pinning Trinityâs Mason Clemens in 2:03 in the third round of consolations to assure himself a spot on the podium. The Colonial sophomore won a 7-2 decision over Washingtonâs Cameron Carter-Greene in double overtime in the fourth round of consolations, but lost to the Hillersâ Tyson Brophy.
âI was pleased to be able to come back and place fourth,â Loring said. âI have been wrestling since I was in seventh grade, so I have had to get a grasp on the sport, but I feel like I am starting to put it all together. I also work out with Ian Edenfield, and he has helped me so much. I really want to thank him for what he has done to help me. I am all about football and wrestling. They go hand-in-hand so it helps.â
Edenfield, who is a sophomore at California University of Pennsylvania where he plays football, was a two-time WPIAL champion in 2017 and 2018. He also was second in the state as a junior and fifth as a senior.
Waynesburg Centralâs Colton Stoneking suffered a setback in sudden victory to finish fourth at 145. Teammate Hunter Shriver was fourth at 120.
The Raidersâ Darnell Johnson and Ryan Howard won the bronze medal at 182 and 220, and teammate Eli Makel was fourth at 170. Waynesburg Centralâs Brody Evans placed sixth at 132.
Beth-Centerâs Davis Stepp finished in fourth place at 106. Teammates Tyler Berish (132), Todd Fisher (138) and Alex Lange (160) also took fourth. The Bulldogsâ Joey Holmes was sixth at 113.
West Greeneâs Brock Bedilion placed fifth at 285. Teammate Levi Corbly was sixth at 120. The Pioneersâ Kolin Walker (220) was sixth after he had to default to Fort Cherryâs Robbie West.
Jefferson-Morganâs Jonathan Wolfe finished fourth at 220.
Bentworthâs Noah Weston placed sixth in the 138-pound weight class.
Ringgoldâs Jacob Duncan earned the bronze medal with a fall over South Fayetteâs Luke Finestone in the third-place bout at 152. The Ramsâ Joe Black defeated teammate Joey Verscharen for fifth place.