Buxton Wins Title at 125-Pound Class
When the morning shower turns on, his mental preparations begins.
After checking bags and gear, he climbs aboard the bus and his earbuds nestle in his ears. While music blares, he envisions how each match will go.
After arriving at the location of the tournament, he grabs breakfast and warms up. Series of jumps and squats ensue as he gets ready to face his opponent, and when his name is on the display board, it is time to take his focus to the next level.
As junior 125-pound wrestler Tristan Buxton steps on to the mat, his focus turns into action.
“Once, I see my name come up on the board, I picture myself wrestling that guy,” said Buxton. “I step out on the mat and do a deep squat and jump in the air and normally, my opponent is waiting for me, and I look him dead in the eye and the match starts.”
It is focus like this that drove Buxton to his first 125-pound title win of the season and kicked off a fifth place finish for the Waynesburg University wrestling team. The Jackets traveled to Grove City, Pennsylvania, Saturday, Dec. 3, to participate in the Ohio Northern Invitational. The first place finish, said Buxton, is one he expected going into the match.
“I knew I had a pretty good chance going into it,” said Buxton “I went out there and took it one match at a time and won that title.”
While Buxton was the only title winner of the day, several other Waynesburg University wrestlers had top-five finishes. One such wrestler, senior Filippo Crivelli, lost his first match but went undefeated in his next seven matches. For Crivelli, the ability to pick himself up after a loss was key.
“Obviously, as a second seed, you never want to lose your first match and sometimes you have to go through your lowest lows to get to your highest highs,” said Crivelli. “It opened my eyes and gave me a sense of urgency to win everything.”
Crivelli finished third in the 141-pound weight class. The team’s efforts were bolstered even more by sophomore Jake Evans, who finished second in the 285-pound weight class. Evans only loss of the day came against the fourth-ranked wrestler in the nation at the Division-II level.
The Jackets also received help from a couple of two-sport athletes in sophomore Will VanNorman and freshman Dan Verhovsek were tied up with the football team for the previous matches and wrestled their first matches of the season on Saturday. The effort of the team is one head coach Ron Headlee is pleased with.
“I was pretty happy with it, and we have two weight classes where we didn’t have anybody,” said Headlee. “[The] 174-[pound class] is the only weight where we didn’t place anybody, so I was pretty happy with it.”
Buxton was also happy with team’s performance but for a much different reason.
“The freshman stood up and did what they were supposed to do; they really surprised me,” said Buxton. “It gives them momentum – the mindset, as well, for them to go out and do things, and I was really happy with how we did and think we can continue to go out and do that.”
With a home match on Dec. 8, and Saturday in the history books, Headlee has one goal in mind.
“We’re just getting better and trying to get better each time on the mat right now,” said Headlee. “By the second semester, we will be starting to be where we need to be.”