Brady's Roadhouse

The Waynesburg University wrestling team was supposed to have a few tri-matches featuring Presidents’ Athletic Conference foes Thiel and Washington and Jefferson.

However, the PAC canceled the wrestling season and the PAC championships last week in a news release.

The Waynesburg University wrestling team won’t go without competition this upcoming season since the news release encouraged teams to find opportunities.

“The PAC Presidents’ Council continues to endorse member schools sponsoring indoor track and field and wrestling to pursue opportunities for non-conference competition consistent with local, state and federal public health authorities, the NCAA Sport Science Institute (SSI) and institutional guidelines and policies,” said the PAC news release.

The Yellow Jackets are already slated to have a match against Garrett College this Friday at 6 p.m. The Lakers are a part of the National Junior College Athletic Association. The team will have a couple more competitions throughout the season after Friday.

Waynesburg head coach Ron Headlee is happy that his team will get the chance to compete this season.

“I’m just really excited for the team to get on the mat,” he said. “It gives the guys something to train for and be excited about having some sort of season.”

Both Waynesburg and Garrett have fresh faces on its rosters and starting lineups. Garrett has only two sophomores on its roster and the rest of it is filled with freshmen.

The Lakers have a couple of standout redshirt freshmen in Trey Weinell and Brady Villa. Weinell is a transfer from Division I Edinboro University and won over 100 matches at Derry Area High School. Villa is coming to Garrett from Shippensburg University.

Noah Korenoski should be a solid freshman addition for the Lakers. Korenoski was a state qualifier for Westmont Hilltop High School in arguably Pennsylvania’s toughest AA weight class last year.

Waynesburg is only returning three starters to a team that finished second in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference last season. Harley Constable, Rocky McGeary, and Colby Morris are the three mainstay starters from a year ago.

Coach Headlee says that his team is “very young.”

That isn’t to say Waynesburg is lacking depth. Luke Lavanway, Noah Grossnickle, Scott Miller, Marco Parry, and Leo Fetterolf all saw mat time last season.

Headlee believes Grossnickle and Lavanway will be key contributors this upcoming season.

“Noah is stepping into 125 and that’ll fit him well,” Headlee said. “Luke is steady in the wrestling room and worked really hard this offseason.”

This match will be full of mysteries with a limited sample size on both teams. Waynesburg easily has more skill and experience on paper. Garrett is making the jump from wrestling other junior college teams to a Division III team and is primarily a young and unproven collegiate team.

The NCAA canceled the Division III Wrestling National Championships, but members of the Yellow Jackets wrestling team will still have a goal to accomplish. The National Wrestling Coaches Association will be hosting their own National Championships for Division III wrestlers on March 12 and 13.

“It’s not going to be an easy match for us,” Headlee said. “It will be some good competition on Friday.”