The Waynesburg University Yellow Jackets wrestling team started the season with their annual orange/black wrestle-offs as the freshmen stole the show with 12 newcomers making their college debut.

“We had some young guys step up. I’m really excited at being at full strength for a dual match coming up and getting everyone in the room for the full week of practice. As far as upperclassmen I was glad to get some of our guys such as Colby Morris and Josh Kuslock back on the mat just to name a few,” said Head Coach Aaron McKinney.

The night kicked off with two guys making their collegiate debut with the 184-pound weight, as Jesse Orbin defeated Jacob Wilson 9- 5. Orbin also defeated junior Ayden Bishoff 4 to 2 less than 30 minutes after his first match. 

“The goal was to start on a college team eventually. I won both matches and was excited to win. I put a lot of emotion and effort into those matches. Both men I wrestled were tough and good opponents. Just to see us three compete was a great opportunity,” Orbin said. 

The next match was last year’s Presidents’ Athletic Conference 133 lb runner-up sophomore Christian Michaels, who pinned freshman Gavin Novak with the fastest fall of the night at 1:07.

Next up was Josh Kuslock making his return to the mat for the Jackets since 2020, having two matches on the night and winning both by technical fall with scores of 16-0 and 19-2 against sophomore JT Hollyfield and freshman Jackson Spiteri respectively.

The match up next were another two guys making their collegiate debut in freshmen Nash Bloom and Jamarion Lewis with Bloom pinning Lewis in 3:57.

The next match was the return of reigning PAC Championship Colby Morris in his first time on the mat since going 2-2 at the NCAA Division III National Championships. He pinned freshman David Fish in 2:36. 

 “I would have to say that I was happy to see the way the team fought, even though we are going up against each other during them everybody looked to be in the fight not giving up. I love seeing this many people all the team and having a full room, it definitely enlightens the room, and these younger guys are really bringing a sense of energy and excitement,” Morris said.

The next matchup was junior Seth Evans going up against freshman Brayden Barbao. Evans won by technical fall (18-2) in just four minutes.

The last two matches of the night were freshman heavyweight Aydan Holloway defeating freshman Jaron Polk 4-1, and senior Kyle Hinerman defeating Nash Bloom 7-3 to finish out the night. 

The Black squad defeated the Orange 37-17.

The Jackets will be in action this Saturday, Nov. 4, when they travel to King’s College to compete in the Ned McGinley Invitational. The scheduled start time is 9:30 a.m.