Final Brackets (.pdf)
Final Team Standings (.pdf)

MECHANICSBURG, Pa. (Dec. 7) – Freshman Rocky McGeary (McDonald, Pa. / West Allegheny) looked impressive as he rolled through the heavyweight field at this weekend's Messiah Petrofes Invitational. The first-year big man won his first collegiate title in dominant fashion and led Waynesburg to a fifth-place showing in the team standings.
 
McGeary posted a perfect 5-0 record with three pins and a major decision on his way to the 285-pound crown. His most impressive win of the day came in the semifinals where he squared off with top seed Nico Ramirez of Southern Virginia. McGeary put together seven solid minutes on the mat and defeated the eighth-ranked heavyweight in the country 11-6. He followed that up by pinning Mount Union's Grant Martin in 3:12 to take the gold. Martin had been 4-0 on the day, with a quartet of first-period falls.
 
McGeary was one of four Yellow Jackets to place in the highly competitive event. Freshman Colby Morris (Waynesburg, Pa. / Waynesburg Central) and senior Zach Mackall (Austintown, Ohio / Austintown-Fitch) finished in fifth place at 157 and 165 pounds, respectively. Junior Caleb Baxter (Butler, Pa. / Butler) added a sixth-place showing at 174 pounds.
 
Morris won by pin and decision to reach the quarterfinals, before getting caught and dropped into the consolation rounds. Following a pair of decision victories in wrestle-backs, the Waynesburg native dropped a 3-2 heartbreaker one match shy of the bronze medal contest. He ended his day on a high note with an 8-0 major decision victory over Alex LaVeck of McDaniel in the fifth-place match. Morris was winning in his quarterfinal match with LaVeck, before getting caught and pinned.
 
Mackall put together back-to-back pins to roll into the quarterfinals, where he met the two seed and eventual champion. The Jacket senior dropped a decision to fall into wrestle-backs, where he promptly picked up his third and fourth falls of the event. After dropping his consolation semi-final bout, Mackall locked up his fifth pin of the event to take fifth. That final win by fall gave the Jacket veteran the distinction of earning the most pins in the shortest amount of time at the event.
 
Like his fellow medalists, Baxter dominated his early bouts, logging wins by technical fall, first-period pin and major decision to reach the semifinals. Unfortunately, he couldn't make a 4-2 lead hold up, as he dropped a heart-breaking 9-6 decision one match shy of the finals. Baxter took two medical forfeits in wrestle-backs to pick up a sixth-place finish.
 
Sophomore Dylan Williams (Schellsburg, Pa. / Chestnut Ridge), freshman Jace Guy (Bloomington, Md. / Southern Garrett), senior Dan Verhovsek (Johnstown, Pa. / Richland) and freshman Brandon Ntankeu (Hyattsville, Md. / Montgomery Blair) all racked up multiple wins over two days on the mats.
 
Waynesburg tallied 95.5 points as a team. Mount Union took the top spot, while Messiah and Muhlenberg rounded out the top three in the team standings.
 
The Yellow Jackets are off until Saturday, Dec. 14, when they compete in the Long Island Open.