Area talent will be on display in college wrestling postseason
While all eyes of local wrestling fans are on the PIAA postseason, I thought I would inject a little college action into the high school-heavy scene, specifically where some local and WPIAL talent will be competing in the upcoming days and weeks.
The Atlantic Coast Conference recently released the brackets for its tournament and former Waynesburg Central standout A.C. Headlee was given the No. 3 seed at 141 pounds. Coming off a redshirt season last year, Headlee went 14-11 in 2017-18 and won the Hokie Open.
The biggest obstacle to a conference title will likely be North Carolina State’s Kevin Jack, who is not only the top seed in the six-man bracket, but is currently ranked fifth in the country. The two met earlier this year, with Jack edging Headlee 4-2.
Another former Raider standout, Colin McCracken, is expected to represent Kent State in this weekend’s Mid-American Conference championships, barring an injury. McCracken has gone 12-20 as a true freshman for the Golden Flashes at 184 pounds, but his 0-6 record against conference competition isn’t likely to help him when the brackets are released to the public.
Speaking of Waynesburg collegiate wrestling, Ron Headlee’s Yellow Jackets will be represented by three individuals at the upcoming Division III National Championships, which will be held in Cleveland on March 9 and 10. Considering that is the same weekend as the PIAA championships in Hershey, I am still trying to figure out how to schedule that much mat excitement in a few days.
Waynesburg University will be represented by senior 125-pounder Tristan Buxton, sophomore 197-pounder Ken Burrs and junior heavyweight Jake Evans. Buxton, a Trinity graduate, and Burrs placed third at their respective weight classes at this past weekend’s NCAA Division III Central Region tournament, and Evans, an Elizabeth Forward grad, put on perhaps the most dominant performance of anyone at the event.
The returning All-American went 4-0 with three pins and a technical fall, with none of his matches extending past the second period. Expectations are certainly high for the big man, who could be a dark horse candidate for the school’s first NCAA title in decades.
Before I go for this week, I will delve into a bit of the high school scene to continue what has been a theme of these columns over the past year or so: just how good life is for West Greene athletics.
If Garrett Johnston returning to Rogersville to lead the Pioneer wrestling program was a popular move prior to this past weekend, it looks like one of the best in recent history after West Greene senior Connor Main advanced out of the PIAA Southwest Region and on to Hershey. His fifth-place finish at IUP’s Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex means the Pioneers will be represented at the Giant Center for the first time since 2014, when Dalton Wildman made the trip. A medal by Main would the first for the Blue and Gold since Cody Jacobs took sixth in 2013.
Main’s trip to one of the most talent-rich tournaments in the country comes after both the boys and girls basketball teams qualified for the WPIAL postseason.
As excited as West Greene nation should be for the promise of early March, even better things are just over the horizon.
On March 27, the mighty Pioneer softball team begins its defense of two straight WPIAL championships and last year’s historic PIAA crown.