Hempfield wrestling suffers another strange loss in playoffs

By: HSSN Staff
Wednesday, January 30, 2019 | 10:09 PM

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For the second consecutive season, the Hempfield wrestling team lost a quarterfinal match in an unusual manner.

Last season, after the Spartans defeated Seneca Valley in the quarterfinals, they were forced to forfeit the win because they used an academically ineligible wrestler.

An hour before Wednesday’s first-round match against Chartiers Valley, first-year coach Tom Dolde was informed sophomore heavyweight Isaiah Vance was not available for personal reasons, according to athletic director Greg Meisner.

Vance wasn’t needed in the first match against the Colts as the Spartans rolled to a 53-12 victory. But he was missed against Waynesburg.

The Raiders used the forfeit at heavyweight and the six points that came with it to defeat No. 3 Hempfield, 39-33.

Waynesburg (15-1) advanced to the semifinals at 4 p.m. Saturday at Norwin where it will face Seneca Valley (12-2) in a rematch of the third-place match from a year ago. Seneca Valley defeated Norwin, 46-22.

Hempfield (13-3) turns its focus to getting ready for the individual tournaments, which begin in four weeks.

Dolde said Vance was missed in the quarterfinals.

“Not having him was the difference in the match,” Dolde said.

Waynesburg won eight of the 14 bouts wrestled but needed wins in the final two matches to pull out the victory.

After Hempfield freshman Briar Priest (106) was awarded a forfeit, senior Kyle Burkholder (120) pinned Hunter Shriver to even the score 33-33.

Waynesburg freshman Cole Homet was able to defeat Ethan Berginc, 7-2, and freshman Colton Stoneking rallied to defeat Nolan Daerr, 11-9, in a wild final match.

“Those two wins were big,” Waynesburg coach Joe Throckmorton said. “I don’t know what the criteria was, but I’m glad it didn’t come down to it.

“All the wins were big, but in the middle we got those five big. We had kids step up and get bonus points.”

The Raiders strung together consecutive pins by Colby Morris (160), Caleb Stephenson (170) and Darnell Johnson (182) to grab a 27-12 lead. Hempfield began the match with pins from Jared Brean (132) and Ty Linsenbigler (138).

A pin by Justin Cramer (195) stopped the Raiders’ run, and a win by Dillon Ferretti (220) cut the lead to 27-21.

“We gave up three pins in a row. You can’t win matches doing that,” Dolde said. “With that being said, if we have our full lineup, we win that match. Not having our heavyweight was the difference.

“We were outwrestled at times, and that was the difference.”

Hempfield advanced to the quarterfinals with the win against Chartiers Valley, and Waynesburg was pushed to the limit by Mt. Lebanon before winning 38-30.

Again it was the Raiders winning the final two bouts, pins by Shriver (113) and Homet (120).

“We’re just happy,” Throckmorton said. “Every single guy gave it his all. That’s all you expect from a team.

“We got to the semifinals last year, and now we have to get to states. That’s out next goal.”

Paul Schofield is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Paul at pschofield@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Schofield_Trib.

Tags: Hempfield, Waynesburg, Waynesburg Central