Five area wrestlers faring well in college
Last winter, Greene County was represented by a more-than-respectable eight student-athletes at the PIAA state wrestling championships. Of those eight, four of have since graduated, with three of them continuing to compete in the collegiate ranks.
Jefferson-Morgan’s Billy Bowlen and the Waynesburg Central pair of Cole Rush and Shaun Wilson are not only on collegiate rosters, but starting for their respective squads. The trio joins A.C. Headlee (WCHS grad, currently wrestling at North Carolina) and Dustin Conti (J-M grad, currently wrestling at Clarion) in representing the local programs on the college stage.
Here is a brief look at what the three freshmen, as well as their older counterparts, have been up to since graduation.
After finishing as the AA state runner-up at 195 pounds this past March, Bowlen fulfilled his early commitment to Seton Hill University. He quickly and easily moved down to 184 pounds to give the Griffins a potent 1-2 punch at 184 and 197 pounds, joining former PIAA state champion, Jake Temple.
As a true freshman, Bowlen is 4-2 over six dual matches and 10-7 overall at Seton Hill. Despite being in just his first season as a collegiate athlete, Bowlen has been able to hold onto his starting job ahead of older, more experienced teammates.
After dealing with some injury problems early in his days at Shippensburg, Rush has taken a firm grasp of the starting job at 133 pounds for a new Raider team. He is coming off a very solid showing at the Ursinus North-South Duals this past weekend, in which he went 2-1 with two pins and a two-point loss to the No. 10 wrestler in the country at that weight.
That effort has boosted Rush’s overall record to 4-6, with all four victories coming by pin. He also placed sixth at the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championships.
Last, but not least, Wilson, who placed fifth in the PIAA AAA ranks for WCHS, just recently suited up for Waynesburg University. His addition to the team’s roster at 149 pounds was a major change for the Yellow Jackets, who had been struggling to fill the spot since offseason injuries depleted the weight class.
Wilson won his first collegiate bout by pin last Friday, before going 3-1 at the Waynesburg Invitational on Saturday. That second-place finish didn’t come without controversy, as Wilson appeared to pick up a potential match-winning takedown in the title bout that was not allowed by the official.
Headlee and Conti, both of which are competing in the Division I ranks, have experienced very different seasons this winter. Conti is in his fifth year at Clarion as a redshirt season and is competing in his fourth year during which he has either been a full-time or part-time starter. The former Rocket standout is currently 7-5 overall in his final year as a collegiate competitor.
After seeing time as a full-time starter as a freshman, Headlee has been redshirting this year and the opportunity to spend more time and effort training and practicing seems to be bearing fruit for the former state champion.
He is currently 10-5 wrestling as an unattached tournament competitor. During the recent Southern Scuffle, Headlee picked up his biggest collegiate victory by downing seventh-ranked Matt Manley of the University of Missouri. He also has three wins by pin and two more by major decision.
With county natives at all three levels of the NCAA, it will be a lot of fun to watch this handful of local athletes as they wrap up this 2016-17 campaign. Their efforts are a reminder of just how deep the mat talent pool is in Greene County.