Trib HSSN Wrestling Team of the Week for March 16, 2021: Waynesburg

By: Greg Macafee
Tuesday, March 16, 2021 | 10:01 AM

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No team in the WPIAL had a better showing at the PIAA Class AAA tournament this weekend than Waynesburg.

The Raiders had five wrestlers reach the finals, which is the second most in program history.They had seven wrestlers reach the finals in 1943 and came away with four champions.

On Saturday, Waynesburg had three wrestlers come home with state titles and two finish as runners-up. Sophomore Mac Church (120 pounds), senior Wyatt Henson (145) and senior Luca Augustine (172) won titles. Henson won his third state title and his second PIAA title. He won a title in Missouri in 2019.

Junior Cole Homet (138) and sophomore Rocco Welsh (152) finished second. Welsh lost to Seneca Valley’s Alejandro Herrera-Rondon, who won his third PIAA title. Homet lost to Franklin Regional’s Finn Solomon.

With an escape in the sixth period, Church beat Chambersburg’s Karl Shindledecker for the first state title of his career after finishing third last season.

In a rematch of the PIAA Class AAA West Super Regional final from last weekend, Henson topped Norwin’s John Altieri with a 5-3 decision.

Augustine took advantage of a takedown with 10 seconds left in the third period to beat Mifflin County’s Trey Kibe.

Honorable mention

Hempfield: With one champion and three third-place finishers, the Spartans placed second in the team race at the PIAA tournament. Briar Priest won at 132 pounds.

Burrell: The Bucs finished in third place at the PIAA Class AA individual tournament by one point and had all three wrestlers earn state final berths. AJ Corrado (160) became the program’s 10th state champion, and Ian Oswalt (138) and Cooper Hornack (106) finished as runners-up.

Seneca Valley: The Raiders placed fourth in the team standings and finished with one state champion, one runner-up and a third-place finisher. Herrera-Rondon captured his third state title, and Dylan (132) and Tyler Chappell (106) placed second and third, respectively.

Franklin Regional: The Panthers placed seventh in the team standings during the PIAA Class AAA tournament as they produced a state champion and a runner-up. At 138 pounds, Finn Solomon captured a title, and Arizona State recruit Carter Dibert placed second at 126 pounds.

Greg Macafee is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Greg by email at gmacafee@triblive.com or via Twitter .

Tags: Burrell, Franklin Regional, Hempfield, Seneca Valley, Waynesburg