WASHINGTON, Pa. (Feb. 16) – The Waynesburg University wrestling team traveled to Washington & Jefferson on Friday night to compete in the 64^th annual Presidents' Athletic Conference Wrestling Championships. The Yellow Jackets advanced five wrestlers into championship bouts at their respective weights, brought home two individual champions and finished third in the four-team field.
 
Waynesburg's performance was made even more impressive by the fact that it only entered wrestlers into seven weight classes. The Jackets tallied 75.5 points on the evening, which put them six points ahead of last year's co-champion Thiel. Saint Vincent rolled to the team title in its first trip to the PAC tournament with 103.5 points, putting it comfortably ahead of the host Presidents, who tallied 81.0 points.
 
Senior Colby Morris (Waynesburg, Pa. / Waynesburg Central) continued to roll through his final season as a Yellow Jacket by claiming the crown at 174 pounds. He pinned Saint Vincent's Anthony Barle in 1:39 before defeating another Bearcat – Logan Bechtold – 8-2 in the championship tilt.
 
Junior Ayden Bishoff (Kingwood, W.Va. / Preston) earned his first PAC title by going 2-0 at 197 pounds. He pinned his way into the finals by sticking Thiel's Howard Congdon in 1:42 to set up a first-place showdown with W&J's Christian McChesney. After the two wrestled to a 1-1 tie at the end of regulation, Bishoff scored a walk-off win with a takedown and two near-fall points in sudden victory.
 
Waynesburg's first finalist of the night was freshman Cole Homet (Waynesburg, Pa. / Waynesburg Central), who reached 149-pound finals with a 22-4 technical fall over Saint Vincent's Liam Flanigan. He had to settle for the silver after falling to top seed Taylor Smith of W&J.
 
Freshman Jacob Wilson (Wills Point, Texas / Princeton) pinned Saint Vincent's Nick Carter before gutting out a 4-1 overtime decision over the Presidents' Jiovanni DeChicchis to reach the finals against top-seeded Chase Brandebura of SVC at 165. Wilson wound up in second place to end his first trip to the PAC championship tournament.
 
Another Waynesburg freshman – 184-pounder Jessie Orbin (Houston, Pa. / Chartiers-Houston) – pinned his way to the finals with a fall over Saint Vincent's Collin Keller. Like Bishoff, his title bout extended past the seven regulation minutes, but he came up just short of his first championship in a 4-1 loss.
 
The Orange and Black enjoyed a pretty successful evening in consolations that helped boost its spot in the final team standings. Freshman Andrew Johnson (141), Junior Seth Evans (157) and senior Kyle Hinerman (174) all placed third in their respective weight classes.
 
With the team portion of the season complete, Waynesburg now begins preparations tor the 2024 NCAA Division III Southeast Regional Championships, which will be hosted by Lycoming College. The two-day tournament gets underway on Friday, March 1. The top three finishers in each weight class punch their tickets to the NCAA Division III National Championships, which will be held in La Crosse, Wisconsin, on Friday, March 15.