Match Results (.pdf)

WASHINGTON, Pa. (Jan. 23) – Over the past few seasons, the Waynesburg vs. Washington & Jefferson match has been intense, closely contested and a highlight of the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) calendar. Thursday night's meeting of the two schools didn't do anything to change that trend.
 
Knowing they were going to have to forfeit at 125 pounds, the Yellow Jackets knew they would be battling from behind against a Presidents squad that was picked to win the conference title prior to the start of the season. Head coach Ron Headlee and his staff made several moves in the upper weights to try and keep the match in reach by the time 285 pounds rolled around. The moves worked perfectly thanks to the outstanding efforts put forth by all nine grapplers that hit the mat.
 
Trailing by five points going to heavyweight, freshman Rocky McGeary (McDonald, Pa. / West Allegheny), who is currently ranked eighth in the country by Intermat and fifth by D3Wrestle.com, took to the mat against W&J's Jake Walker. Walker managed to keep the decisive bout alive at 285 pounds, but in the third period, McGeary locked a cradle on his larger opponent. It took a couple of tries, but the standout freshman finally stacked Walker up for the match-deciding six points in a 22-21 victory.
 
The win was the fifth-straight in the series decided by three points or less, with the Jackets (8-4, 1-0) claiming victory on four of them. Thursday's victory was Waynesburg's third-straight dual win of the season and its seventh-straight PAC victory.
 
The Jackets won four of the nine contested bouts, with three of those victories coming from the team's freshmen. One of the biggest triumphs of the night came from first-year 133-pounder Harley Constable (Smithfield, Pa. / Albert Gallatin), who squared off with W&J's (2-6, 0-2) Manny Dovshek. Dovshek, who was featured in the D3Wrestle.com rankings earlier this year, scored first with a takedown, but Constable kept his poise and turned the bout to his favor as the second period became the third. Constable wound up not only upsetting Dovshek, but used some late near-fall points to grab a crucial 15-7 major decision victory.
 
Trailing 6-4, Waynesburg gave up a decision at 141 pounds and saw its deficit grow to 9-4. Though Junior Josh Kuslock (Hickory, Pa. / Chartiers-Houston) dropped his match at 149 pounds to nationally recognized Mike Heinl, he only gave up a 9-4 decision to minimize the damage.
 
Trailing 12-4 going into 157 pounds, freshman Colby Morris (Waynesburg, Pa. / Waynesburg Central) got his team trending in the right direction with a pin in 6:20, again earning his team precious bonus points. Senior Zach Mackall (Austintown, Ohio / Austintown-Fitch) made it back-to-back falls by sticking his opponent in 4:09.
 
With Waynesburg leading 16-12, the chess match between the two coaching staffs kicked into high gear as Headlee moved freshman Jace Guy (Bloomington, Md. / Southern Garrett) up two weight classes to face W&J's Jaden Datz. Guy hung tough against his larger opponent in a 9-5 loss.
 
Senior Dillion Charlton (Stoystown, Pa. / North Star), who has been wrestling up at 184 pounds all year, faced returning national qualifier Hunter Neely, who himself moved up from 174 to 184. Neely jumped out to a big early lead with a first-period, six-point move. Charlton rebounded when he was able to get Neely to the mat and not only hold his opponent down, but score a few crucial near-fall points. A riding point from Charlton kept the final result of the bout a 14-7 decision.
 
Finally, senior Dan Vervhovsek (Johnstown, Pa. / Richland) gave up close to 20 pounds to Division I transfer Alex Donahue at 197 pounds. Verhovsek kept his level low and after a scoreless first period, took the first lead of the contest with a reversal in the second period. Though he didn't log another Jacket upset, Verhovsek gave Donahue all he could handle in a 3-2 loss that featured zero takedowns or near-fall points.
 
McGeary made all the dogged efforts at 174, 184 and 197 pounds pay off by controlling Walker from the opening whistle before sticking him to close out the memorable victory.
 
The Jackets are back in action on Saturday, Jan. 25, when they travel to Case Western Reserve for the Dr. Si Ostrach Meet. Waynesburg wrestles Adrian at 12 p.m. and the host Spartans at 1:30 p.m.