Dec 9, 2011 By Jonathan Guth, For The Greene County Messenger 2 min read

Waynesburg Central wrestling coach Joe Throckmorton will have his hands full this season as the former Raider lost over 200 combined wins following the graduation of Derrick Nelson and Zach McGinnis.

“We are a young team and you never know what will happen,” Throckmorton said. “We are also in a very tough section, but we petition every year to compete in Class AAA.”

Waynesburg competes in Section 4B against Mount Lebanon, McGuffey, Trinity, Bethel Park and Peters Township. Competing in the other sub-section are Canon-McMillan, Chartiers Valley, Montour, Moon, Upper St. Clair and West Allegheny.

“Canon-Mac is probably the best team in the state and one of the best in the country,” Throckmorton said. “We also compete in non-section competition out of the state to get away from seeing the same teams all the time.”

Despite losing Nelson and McGinnis, the Raiders have seniors Tom Henderson, Eric Jones and Bo Hampson returning. Hampson had a promising junior season cut short by an injury.

Waynesburg will once again compete in the Powerade tournament and head to the Battlefield Duals and the Tri-County tournament.

“We always want to face the best competition,” Throckmorton said. “That is why we play up and face great teams like Canon-Mac.”

The Raiders have already scrimmaged Albert Gallatin during the first week of the season.

“The scrimmage was OK,” Throckmorton said. “We paired some kids up and it was nice to work out with some different guys.”

This season marks the first significant weight change since the 1980s, which Throckmorton understands but would have liked to have seen it geared towards the middle weights.

“Everybody has to deal with it, so it doesn’t bother us too much,” Throckmorton said. “It is geared more for heavier guys and we have more lighter guys so that will be something we have to overcome.

“I think it would have been better to not take that one weight out of the middle because wrestling is the one sport where a lighter guy can go to college and get a scholarship. That is just my opinion.”

Throckmorton still focuses on the basics, which is what wrestlers at the Olympic level use.

“Wrestlers at the highest level use singles, doubles and stand-up from the bottom,” Throckmorton said. “You don’t need all kinds of fancy moves to be succesful. We are always in good shape.”