Trib HSSN wrestler of the week: Kiski Area’s Stone Joseph

By: HSSN Staff
Tuesday, December 25, 2018 | 9:18 PM

Wrestler of the week: Stone Joseph, Kiski Area, fr.

A concussion sidelined Joseph for Kiski Area’s first few competitions of the season, but he made the most of his long-awaited debut.

The freshman heavyweight had a dominant 20-second pin in his first varsity match, helping the Cavaliers roll to a 60-12 win over Section 1-AAA opponent Penn-Trafford, but he saved his best for the four-team WPIAL showcase at Canon-McMillan on Friday.

Joseph began Kiski Area’s match against No. 4 Seneca Valley with a second-period pin of Tyler Proctor, staking them out to an early lead in their eventual 39-32 victory. Then, with Kiski Area needing a win to hold off No. 2 Canon-McMillan in the second match of the night, Joseph came through with a 3-1 decision over Giomar Ramos, securing the Cavaliers’ 39-33 win.

Joseph is replacing Isaac Reid, a WPIAL and PIAA champion, at heavyweight in Kiski Area’s lineup. So far, so good.

Other nominees:

Luca Augustine, Waynesburg, so.: He is following up a solid freshman campaign with a strong start to this season, finishing fifth at last weekend’s Beast of the East tournament at the University of Delaware. Augustine recorded a 5-3 decision over Malvern Prep’s Henry Hague in the fifth-place match at 152 pounds, joining senior teammate Trey Howard as fifth-place finishers at the tournament.

Bret Huffman, Southmoreland, jr.: The Scotties needed a win from Huffman, and he delivered with a pin at 195 pounds to give his team a 42-39 victory over Section 3-AA rival Mt. Pleasant. It was the only contested bout that Southmoreland won on the night.

Gerrit Nijenhuis, Canon-McMillan, jr.: He needed just over two minutes on the mat to get two pins at the WPIAL Showcase and moved closer to 100 career victories. Nijenhuis, a PIAA third-place finisher the past two seasons, registered a blink-and-you-missed-it pin of Hempfield’s Joseph DeRiso, registering the fall in nine seconds. Then, wrestling up a weight class at 195 pounds, he had a 1 minute, 44-second pinfall over Kiski Area’s Brayden Roscosky.

Doug Gulasy is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Doug at dgulasy@tribweb.com or via Twitter @dgulasy_Trib.

Tags: Canon-McMillan, Kiski School, South Allegheny, Waynesburg, Waynesburg Central