WAYNESBURG, Pa. (Nov. 19) – In their first dual match of the season, Waynesburg gave visiting Duquesne all they could handle in front of a raucous crowd inside the Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse on Wednesday night.

 After four bouts, the Yellow Jackets held a 9-6 lead over the Division I Dukes and were in position to pull a huge upset. Unfortunately, Duquesne wrestled well through the middle weights and held on in the heavyweight bout to down the Jackets 23-15.

The win evens Duquesne's record to 1-1 in dual matches, while Waynesburg falls to 0-1.

 

After the Dukes picked up a decision win at 125, Jacket sophomore Nick Garber dominated William Wilde at 133, pinning the freshman in just 27 seconds and giving the home team a 6-3 lead.

 

After Duquesne tied the match at 141, a couple of highly-touted transfers hit the mat for a 149-pound bout. Waynesburg's Jesse Byerly a freshman transfer from the University of Pittsburgh, squared off with junior Tony Lascari, a transfer from Clarion.

 

The bout lived up to expectations as it went to overtime with the score tied 1-1. However, 19 seconds into the first overtime period, Byerly, who was wrestling in his first match for Waynesburg, took Lascari down for the 3-1 win.

 

The Dukes, who trailed 9-6, responded in a big way, taking the next four weight classes, including tight contests at 165 and 174, to grab a 20-9 lead, their largest of the night.

 

However, another Waynesburg newcomer brought the Jackets back into the contest at 197 pounds. Corbin Semple, pictured above, who transferred in from Penn State and hadn't wrestled competitively since his senior year of high school (2005), took on Duquesne's Scott Black.

 

Knowing he needed a pin to give his team a shot at pulling out a victory, Semple dominated Black, taking an 8-1 lead after two periods, but couldn't seem to find a way to turn his opponent.

 

Finally, with less than 20 seconds to go in the critical bout, Semple got Black by the head and managed to twist him to the mat. The referee's hand finally came down with just two seconds left in the bout, giving Semple the fall in his first bout at 197.

 

Trailing by just five, heavyweight Melvin Warrick, who just joined the team this week after playing football, took on the Dukes' John Simmons.

 

After two scoreless periods, Warrick managed to escape from the down position to take a 1-0 lead. However, Simmons took his opponent down towards the end of the bout to grab a 2-1 victory.

 

While the loss was a tough one to swallow for Waynesburg and first-year head coach Ron Headlee, it was a good early indicator of the team's marked improvement since last year when the Jackets forfeited five weight classes and lost 46-3 to the Dukes.

 

Waynesburg returns to action this Saturday, when they travel to Messiah College to compete in the Messiah Duals. The Jackets won't have another home match until January 10, when they host a quad-match, which includes Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) opponent Washington & Jefferson.

 

 

Duquesne 23, Waynesburg 15

 

125       W. Chamberlain (DUQ)        dec. 5-3                 Rico Borz (WAY)              0-3

133       N. Garber (WAY)                    fall 0:27                  William Wilde (DUQ)          6-3

141       Jayk Cobbs (DUQ)                dec. 8-3                 Pat McCabe (WAY)         6-6

149       Jesse Byerly (WAY)               dec. 3-1(OT)         Tony Lascari (DUQ)            9-6

157       Nate Reinhart (DUQ)            dec. 9-3                  Chris Pihou (WAY)          9-9

165       Dan Pauley (DUQ)                 dec. 4-2                 Todd Martinek (WAY)      9-12

174       Matt Gregg (DUQ)                  dec. 5-1 (OT)        Jake Benczo (WAY)        9-15

184       Ryan Sula (DUQ)                   t. fall 18-3 (5:48)   Charles Thomas (WAY) 9-20

197       Corbin Semple (WAY)          fall 6:58                  Scott Black (DUQ)               15-20

285       John Simmons (DUQ)         dec. 2-1                 Melvin Warrick (WAY)     15-23