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Church wins Raiders’ first Powerade title in 15 years

By Jonathan Guth Jguth@heraldstandard.Com 5 min read
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Waynesburg Central’s Mac Church has a bar in on Hempfield Area’s Briar Priest during their bout in the finals at 106 on Saturday in the Powerade Tournament at Canon-McMillan High School. Church, a freshman, earned an 8-1 major decision to give the Raiders their first individual champion in the event in 15 years. (Photo by Jonathan Guth)

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Waynesburg Central’s Mac Church stands on top of the podium with second-place finisher Briar Priest of Hempfield Area and Erie Prep’s Jacob Van Dee (left), who was third. Church earned a 9-1 major decision over Priest in the 106-pound final for the Raiders’ first Powerade individual champion in 15 years on Saturday night at Canon-McMillan High School. (Photo by Jonathan Guth)

CANONSBURG — Mac Church gave Waynesburg Central its first individual Powerade Champion in 15 years with a 9-1 major decision on Saturday night in the 106-pound final at Canon-McMillan High School.

The Raiders are second with the most individual champions crowned in the prestigious tournament with 40, but due to an increased level of national talent joining the field in the past decade, Chris Neidermeier’s title at 112 in 2004 was the most recent for the storied program.

“I didn’t even know that,” said Church when he was told he is the team’s first Powerade Champion in 15 years. “I don’t even think I was born then, so it is pretty cool to win this knowing that. I know we had a couple of second-place finishers.”

Waynesburg Central scored 146.5 team points to top rival Canon-McMillan (133) for third place. Wyoming Seminary was the runaway winner with 272 points and Malvern Prep was second with 178.

“They are all focused and in the right direction,” Waynesburg Central coach Joe Throckmorton said. “This is the best team we’ve had since ’04-05 when those guys were coming through, but it is still a long season. It has been fun so far and they are having fun, too, and that’s important for all this. We have five tournaments in a row and it doesn’t get any easier. I think we have the toughest schedule in the country.”

Church recorded a takedown and locked up a cradle for two near-fall points to take a 4-0 lead over Hempfield’s Briar Priest with 24 seconds left in the first period. Church took the four-point advantage into the second.

“I think I could have stuck him, but we were on the edge of the mat,” Church said. “If we weren’t on the edge, I think I could have, but I didn’t want to risk anything stupid because I know he is really strong and big. I just wanted to get as many backs as I could. I think getting those back points were real big because it kind of wakes him up.”

The Raider freshman picked up two more near-fall points 19 seconds into the second before he was penalized one point for locked hands. He added an escape and a second takedown to get the bonus points for a major decision.

Church, who is 19-3 this season and ranked seventh at 106 by FloWrestling, is a two-time junior high state champion and been competing in big tournaments since he was a youth grappler, was glad to win his first big tournament title in high school varsity competition. Church was second at the Walsh Jesuit Ironman and fifth at the Beast of the East.

“Wrestling in the Ironman and Beast of the East played a big part in me winning this tournament,” Church said. “I was able to stay calm, and I think wrestling in those previous tournaments really helped me with that tonight.”

“There are a lot of freshmen that come in with high expectations, but sometimes they don’t perform as well as they did in the elementary and junior-high levels,” Throckmorton said. “Mac has always tested himself in high-level competitions and age groups and everything else. That bodes well for having success in high school. He goes to the best of everything so he is not hiding from competition.”

Waynesburg Central also faces the toughest competition and competes in Class AAA even though it is a Double A school in terms of enrollment.

“We are always preparing for Hershey,” Throckmorton said. “That is the most important tournament of the year, but this is a lot of national exposure for these guys. There are college coaches at all three (Ironman, Beast of the East and Powerade) of these tournaments. It is nice to see that and do well in these tournaments. You can’t be too high or too low in this sport. If you are overconfident on the mat and take things for granted, you get upset.”

The Raiders’ Rocco Welsh (126), Cole Homet (132), Wyatt Henson (138) and Luca Augustine (160) also finished in the top eight and earned a spot on the podium.

Henson, a junior who competed for Waynesburg Central as a freshman, earned the bronze after a 13-5 major decision over Seneca Valley’s Chanz Shearer. Henson, who has verbally committed to Iowa, won a state championship last year in Missouri. He was eighth at the Powerade as a freshman at 120.

Welsh, a freshman, was edged, 1-0, by Bullis School’s Meyer Shapiro in the bronze-medal bout to settle for fourth.

Augustine, a junior that has verbally committed to wrestle for the University of Pittsburgh, placed fifth as Wyoming Seminary’s Gabe Arnold had to default. Augustine guaranteed himself a spot on the podium on Friday evening when he won his quarterfinal bout, but he suffered a 7-1 setback to Parkersburg South’s John Martin Best in the semifinals.

Homet, a sophomore, took sixth for the second straight year at Powerade. He suffered an 8-0 setback to Burrell’s Ian Oswalt in the fifth-place bout.

Connellsville had two place winners in Mason Prinkey (113) and Jared Keslar (138). Keslar, a sophomore who placed seventh, is a two-time medal winner at Powerade. He was seventh last year as well.

Prinkey earned a 6-1 decision over Mount Pleasant’s Luke Geibig in the battle for seventh. The Vikings were hoping for a better run at Powerade, but defending state champion Dayton Pitzer is out with an injury.

Elizabeth Forward senior Ryan Michaels, who is a Campbell University recruit, had to forfeit his fifth-place bout to South Park’s Joey Fischer at 120.

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