Raider squads poised for another playoff run
As they did last year, the Waynesburg Central volleyball and soccer teams are all in position to make a serious run at their respective section titles.
In fact, by the end of this week, all three programs will know if they get to add another season to the championship banners hanging in the gymnasium.
The Lady Raider volleyball team will have a section match against second-place Beth-Center on Tuesday, Oct. 17, but if both teams run the table en route to that showdown, the Lady Raider girls can do no worse than share the crown with the Bulldogs.
Go ahead and throw the WCHS golf team into the conversation about outstanding fall programs, as the Raider men and women of the links ran the table this fall, going a perfect 13-0 in dual matches. Included in that flawless run was a pair of victories over county rival Carmichaels, and a one-stroke triumph over Class AAA opponent Albert Gallatin.
The Class AA playoff run for the Raiders and Mikes came to a close Tuesday in the semifinals.
Waynesburg finished sixth in the semifinal held at River Forest Country Club with a team total of 460. McGuffey (405), Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic (416), and Quaker Valley (421) advanced to Thurday’s WPIAL Boys Class AA Team Golf Championship at Cedarbrook Golf Course.
Carmichaels finished fifth in the other semifinal held at Indian Run Golf Club with a team total of 444. Matt Barrish was the low man with an 80. Sewickley Academy (388), South Park (398), and Riverside (421) advanced to the WPIAL finals.
While not always known as a hot bed of elite scholarship-level talent, all three WCHS programs, along with the traditionally successful cross country team, have recently produced talent that has caught the eyes of Division I programs.
Senior women’s soccer standout Madison Clayton is a star not only in Waynesburg, but also at Jefferson-Morgan. Playing as part of the team’s co-op program, Clayton has risen to the upper levels of the WPIAL talent pool. She has already turned four years of excellence on the turf at the Raider Field of Pride into an athletic scholarship from the University of Pittsburgh.
Along with being remembered as arguably the best Raiders girls soccer player ever, Clayton also etched her name in Jefferson-Morgan’s history, but for a very different reason. This past Friday, she was honored as the 2017 homecoming queen.
While not as well-known as Clayton, sophomore Gavin Benson may one day join her in the Division I ranks. He was the focal point of the 2016 Raider team that claimed the section crown. While he is far less of an unknown this fall, he is still producing at a fantastic rate. He tallied eight goals and two assists over a three-game winning streak for WCHS that stretched from Sept. 28 to Oct. 5.
Last, but certainly not least, senior volleyball standout Abby Gibbons made a decision to switch from red and black to the blue and gold for the next stop in her athletic career. Gibbons will take her talents south to Morgantown to compete for West Virginia University.
Before suiting up for the Mountaineers, Gibbons and her teammates will look to not only qualify for the 2017 WPIAL Class AA postseason, but advance past the first round, where last year’s run to a district title came to a close.
Freshman Ben Bumgarner was the first of the recent WCHS fall athletes to break into the Division I ranks. He is currently competing in his first year with the Penn State men’s cross country team.
As an alumnus of the WCHS class of 2000, I have to admit that it’s great to see the old alma mater continue to find success in some not-so-traditional athletic pursuits. Best of luck to all the Raider programs the rest of the way.