The Waynesburg University wrestling team traveled to Alliance, Ohio this past Saturday to take part in the Mount Union Duals. The 24th ranked Yellow Jackets went 3-1 on the day, defeating Alma College, Greensboro College and Heidelberg University before falling to 22nd ranked Mount Union in the final match of the day.

For head coach Ron Headlee, the day was a success.

“Overall, I was pleased with our effort going in – I thought everybody responded really well in those first three,” said Headlee. “We knew going in that Mount Union was going to be a tough match for us…we haven’t had much success at Mount Union Duals before. We never went out of it with winning records like that. This was our best overall performance going into Mount Union for us.”

Waynesburg (3-2) started off with a convincing 37-16 over the Scots of Alma (0-5). Senior 125-pounder Tristan Buxton and freshman 133-pounder Josh Kuslock got the Yellow Jackets off to a 10-0 start with a major decision and pin, respectively, but Alma responded with 10 points of its own to tie the score after four bouts. Waynesburg then finished the match off on a 27-6 run, securing the victory with authority.

Next up on the day was Greensboro (0-6), who Waynesburg dominated to the pace of a 53-0 decision. Four Yellow Jackets scored pins in the match – Buxton; a 141-pounder freshman in Marco Parry – who earned his first collegiate win; freshman Michael Mahon at 184 pounds and junior heavyweight Jake Evans.

The Heidelberg Student Princes (2-2) were the next team up for the Yellow Jackets, but did not muster too much of a fight against the Orange and Black, losing 34-8. For Headlee, Heidelberg was a team he was eager to face off against this year after losing 29-19 at the Mount Union Duals last fall.

“Heidelberg stomped us last year and we talked about that a little bit going in…I thought we wrestled really well against them,” Headlee said. “I thought everybody responded – we won a couple tight matches in that one that I thought were good wins for us.”

The final match of the day pitted two top-25 ranked Division III teams in Waynesburg and Mount Union (5-0), with the Purple Raiders securing a 25-12 win. The Yellow Jackets only won three bouts in the match, with Kuslock topping off a 4-0 day with a 7-3 decision, sophomore Ken Burrs notching a pin at 197 pounds and Evans gutting out a 2-0 win at 285 pounds.

According to Headlee, the Purple Raiders hold a tough lineup to match up against, and he is looking forward to facing them again at the Messiah Petrofes Invitational in early December.

“Our matchups weren’t really good for that because where we were strong was also where they were strong,” said Headlee. “One good thing is we’re going to see Mount Union again here too in two weeks at the Messiah Tournament. We will get a chance to go back and work.”

Kuslock and Evans finished the day 4-0, while senior Landon Lohr, junior Mike Millero and Burrs went 2-0 at 174 pounds, 184 pounds and 197 pounds respectively.

Headlee was quite content with Kuslock, who was lauded as PAC Rookie of the Week for his performance, including a 9-7 win against Heidelberg at 141 pounds, one class above his typical 133 pounds.

“Josh Kuslock really impressed me. He went 4-0 during the day and beat some good kids,” Headlee said. “Having him step up and move up a weight – he’s just the type of kid that’s like ‘yeah I’ll do whatever it takes to help the team.’ I definitely think he did a great job for us on the day as one of the young guys stepping up.”

One of the things Headlee took away from the day was that while things might not have finished up how the team wanted, the small mistakes are something that they will be able to fine tune as they progress throughout the season.

“I’m pleased with where we’re at right now. I think things didn’t quite go our way at Mount Union…but it’s better now than later with any of those kinds of things happening,” Headlee said. “You learn from them, and I think our guys are learning from the things they are doing. I think the team is all pushing each other in the practice room and I think our depth is helping us a lot.”

The Yellow Jackets are off for the next two weeks until the aforementioned Messiah Petrofes Invitational, which will take place on Dec. 1 and Dec. 2. Headlee is confident about his team’s chances in the upcoming event.

“We can concentrate on getting better at our technique this next week and then going into Messiah we will regroup,” Headlee said. “I think we have a chance to finish in the top three there, which would be our goal going into that tournament.”