Complete Results

WASHINGTON, Pa. (Feb. 15) – The Waynesburg University wrestling team traveled to Washington & Jefferson on Saturday looking for a fourth-straight Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) team championship. The Yellow Jackets looked poised to achieve that goal in the final bout of the event, but wound up losing by a half-point to the host Presidents.
 
Waynesburg sent out freshman heavyweight Rocky McGeary (McDonald, Pa. / West Allegheny) to battle Thiel's Gavin Colligan for the 285-pound title. Seemingly, the Yellow Jackets and W&J were both under the impression that a pin for McGeary would give the Jackets the title by half a point. The standout big man went into the third period with Colligan without the fall. However, with just under a minute remaining, he was able to lock a cradle on Colligan and turn him to his back for the fall with 30 seconds remaining in the match.
 
The win set off a raucous celebration by the Waynesburg bench. However, after a lengthy discussion at the scorer's table, a scoring adjustment awarded the title to the Presidents. W&J finished the day with 106.5 points. Waynesburg tallied 106, while Thiel took third with 91.5 points.
 
The Jackets grabbed three individual titles, the first coming from another standout freshman, top-seeded Colby Morris (Waynesburg, Pa. / Waynesburg Central). Morris defeated W&J's Zach Schrott by 15-6 major decision to open his day and followed that with a pin of Jake Longerman to set up a third meeting with the Tomcats' Austin Bonacci. Morris made it three-for-three against the Thiel junior, defeating him 4-1 for his first conference crown.
 
The pressure was on senior Dan Verhovsek (Johnstown, Pa. / Richland), the two seed at 184 pounds, to pick up crucial points with a title. He did just that by scoring a pair of hard-fought decisions. He started his day pulling out a 2-1 win over W&J's Jaden Datz that put him in the finals against Thiel's Dylan Proper. The two were tied 5-5 late in the third period, but Verhovsek was able to pick up a takedown with mere seconds left on the clock to win the bout 7-5 in regulation.
 
McGeary, the nationally ranked top seed at 285 pounds, cruised the day's final championship. Along with his pin of Colligan, he also beat Thiel's Khalil Messai by 15-3 major decision.
 
Waynesburg put a tournament-best eight wrestlers in the finals. Freshman Austin Ryan (Burgettstown, Pa. / Burgettstown) won by fall in his first match of the day, before taking second at 125 pounds.
 
Top-seeded Harley Constable (Smithfield, Pa. / Albert Gallatin) picked up wins by major decision and pin to reach the championship match at 133 pounds. Unfortunately, he dropped a 3-0 decision to Thiel's Jake Alberts, whom he had defeated earlier this season by 4-2 decision.
 
Freshman Jace Guy (Bloomington, Md. / Southern Garrett) put together one of his best matches of the season in the 149-pound championship match against top-seeded and nationally ranked senior Mike Heinl of W&J. Guy, who won by pin to reach the final, stayed right with the heavy favorite and yielded just an 8-4 decision to the returning national qualifier.
 
Senior Zach Mackall (Austintown, Ohio / Austintown-Fitch) reached the championship tilt at 165 pounds thanks to a decision before taking the silver. Senior Dillion Charlton (Stoystown, Pa. / North Star) did the same at 174 pounds.
 
Senior Matt Lascola (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Langley) took third in his final PAC tournament by going 2-1 at 141 pounds. Senior Adam Rigney (Mount Union, Pa. / Mount Union) also took the bronze, doing so at 197 pounds.
 
Freshman Luke Lavanway (Monroe, Mich. / Mason) logged maybe the most memorable and impactful upset of the day. Going up against the top-seeded 184-pounder of the bracket, senior Alex Miller of W&J, Lavanway not only upset Miller, but pinned him in 6:48.
 
McGeary won the first PAC Newcomer of the Year Award and was also named PAC Most Outstanding Wrestler after the conclusion of the tournament, making the first wrestler to accomplish the sweep. Senior Cory Supan (McDonald, Pa. / South Fayette) was named as Waynesburg's representative on the 2020 PAC Sportsmanship Team.
 
With the team portion of the season completed, the Yellow Jackets will begin training for the NCAA Division III Southeast Regional Championships, which will be hosted by Messiah on Feb. 28 and 29. The top three individuals at each weight class advance to the NCAA Division III National Championships, which will be held in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on March 13 and 14.