Wrestling Shut Out in Tennessee
The Waynesburg University wrestling team traveled to Nashville, Tennessee to take part in the Gator “Boots” Duals, hosted by Luther College. After taking part in matches against Elmhurst College, Simpson College, No. 23 Ferrum College and Luther College, the Yellow Jackets unfortunately found themselves at 0-4 following the long day.
The Yellow Jackets (5-9) were hampered consistently on the day by having to forfeit two bouts in every match, which is an automatic 12 point swing in favor of the opposing team. Head coach Ron Headlee knew it would be difficult to overcome that adversity in each match heading into the day.
“We knew coming in that there were two weight classes we didn’t have, and that’s tough,” said Headlee.
The team started the day facing Elmhurst, where at 125 pounds junior Tristan Buxton took a rare loss, falling to Blue Jays junior Anthony Munoz 9-8. The loss was just Buxton’s second of the year and set the tone for the matchup, as the team would not record their first win until weight class 174 when junior Derek Hull pinned Elmhurst junior Shawn Swiderek at 3:39, but the deficit by that point was too large to overcome, as the pin made the score 29-6.
Senior Ryan Shank won by decision at 184 and sophomore heavyweight Jake Evans pinned his opponent at 5:28, bringing the final score to 32-15.
“We got off to a bad start, didn’t get all the matchups we wanted to get,” said Headlee. “Tristan was up 8-5 [late]…and [Swiderek] got just enough riding time to beat him. We knew [senior Filippo Crivelli] was going to be tough [too].”
The second match of the day was against Simpson, where the loss of 12 points by forfeit proved to be costly with the team losing by four points, 22-18.
The Yellow Jackets battled back from a 19-6 deficit, as freshman Dan Verhovsek, Hull and Shank each won by decision at 165, 174 and 184 pounds respectively to bring the score to 19-15. A loss by freshman Adam Rigney solidified the victory for the Storm, pushing the score to 22-15 before Evans won the final bout of the match by decision for the final score of 22-18.
Headlee was optimistic about the last two matches, saying that he felt like overall the team battled hard against two quality opponents.
“We were wrestling much better the last two matches against two good teams,”
The third match paired the Yellow Jackets up against the number 23 ranked team in Division III, the Ferrum College Panthers. Waynesburg kept it close early following wins from Buxton and Crivelli at 125 pounds and 141 pounds respectively, but the two forfeits again hampered the team overall. After forfeiting at 149 pounds, the Panthers took a 12-6 lead that they would not relinquish, winning the match 29-13. Hull and Shank provided the other two victories for the Orange and Black in this matchup.
The final match of the day featured the Yellow Jackets squaring off against the host team, the Luther College Norse. This one followed a similar storyline to match three, where Buxton and Crivelli won at 125 pounds and 141 pounds, but fell behind 12-6 after the forfeits and were unable to battle back. Evans was the only other Yellow Jacket to record a victory in this showdown, winning by major decision in the final bout of the day to bring the final score of the matchup to 36-10, leaving the Orange and Black winless on the day.
Headlee said that the team will be able to tighten up at least one of the two weight classes that they currently have to forfeit during the second semester so that they won’t have to keep dealing with the 12 point setback every match.
Despite the unfortunate overall showing, Headlee was impressed with many of the wrestler’s performances.
“Derek [Hull] had a lot of confidence today…he’s wrestling better, Ryan Shank had a good day…and Jake [Evans] stayed consistent…,” he said.
Hull, Shank, Evans and Buxton all went 3-1 on the day for the team. Hull had a pin, Shank had a major decision and Evans had both a pin and major decision victory. Despite his first lost in 18 matches, Buxton bounced back from the early loss to win the last three matches to improve to 22-2 overall on the year. Headlee thinks he has taken some big steps from last year that have contributed to his achievements this year.
“He is confident in what he does, he believes he should win every match,” he said. “Sometimes he was trying to go big last year, but he has really been able to cut down on the mistakes, which I think is a big part of his success.”
Buxton isn’t the only one with an impressive record to this point in the season, as Shank has posted a 21-3 overall record and Evans currently has a 19-3 overall record.
The Yellow Jackets compete next on Jan. 6 in their first Presidents’ Athletic Conference matchup of the year against Thomas More College at the Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse. This will be the first ever meeting between the two teams because this is the first year that the Saints have had a wrestling team. Although it’s their first year, Headlee said that they cannot be taken lightly and needs the team to stay focused heading into the match.
“We need everyone on the same page [and] effort from everyone. We need guys to keep wrestling hard… [and] be confident,” he said. “[Thomas More] beat W&J, they have a bunch of good guys and wrestle tough…we [have to] keep working and can’t get frustrated.”