Waynesburg University Wrestling Fans,
We have come to the conclusion of another year. Our team reached many of our goals and came up a little short on others. Overall, Coach Yates and I are more than pleased with our teams’ effort this year. We finished the year with a 12-2-1 record. We had 4 first place tournament finishes. We won the PAC tournament for the second season in a row, with 6 individual champions. We had our highest finish at the Midwest Region, finishing in third place behind Olivet and Wabash. Waynesburg University sent 3 wrestlers to the NCAA Nationals in Lacrosse Wisconsin. Alex Crown, Nick Garber and Brandon Fedorka represented us at the tournament. Alex Crown had an outstanding tournament, as he was seeded eighth to begin the tournament, and finished on the podium in fourth place, as a 2011 All-American. Not only did our team excel on the mats, but four of our wrestlers became Academic All-Americans. Alex Crown, Garett Johnston, Alex Evanoff and Jared Roberts were all rewarded for their efforts in the classroom. I really appreciate all of the support throughout the year for our team.
I have included some articles of interest that highlight the end of our season. As we continue to move forward we hope that you will stay a part of our team and we look forward to next year. We hope to be in our new practice facility in the fall of 2011. We are also planning to have our camp this summer from June 27-30,2011, if you know of anyone looking to be involved in a summer camp please pass these dates on to them and have them contact me.
Coach Headlee
Waynesburg wrestling team honored for academic success
Quartet of Yellow Jacket grapplers named NWCA Division III Scholar All-Americans
Junior Alex Evanoff was one of four Waynesburg wrestlers to be named an NWCA Division III Scholar All-American.
WAYNESBURG, Pa. (March 18) – After a year of team and individual success on the mats, the Waynesburg University wrestling team added several academic accolades to its trophy case.
Four Yellow Jackets were honored as 2010-11 National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Division III Scholar All-Americans. To qualify for the award, a wrestler must sport a GPA greater than 3.2, have a winning record and be one of the following: an NCAA qualifier, placed in an NCAA qualifying tournament or win better than 66 percent of his matches.
Junior 174-pounder Jared Roberts, picked up the award with a 3.46 GPA while majoring in elementary education. On the mat, Roberts was not only the Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) champion at 174 pounds, but he was also named PAC Outstanding Wrestler.
Junior 157-pounder Garrett Johnston was honored thanks to his 3.44 GPA while pursuing a degree in math education. Johnston was the 2011 PAC champion at 157 pounds and placed second at the NCAA Division III Midwest Regional Championships.
Before having his season cut short by an injury, junior Alex Evanoff was having a fine third year as a starter. He went 16-6 and posted a 3.42 GPA in biblical and ministry studies.
Sophomore Alex Crown had arguably the best season on the mats of any Waynesburg wrestler. He went 35-4 overall, won the 125-pound titles at the PAC and Midwest Regional tournaments and placed fourth at the NCAA Division III National Championships.
The Jackets tied for the most honorees of any Midwest Regional team and just missed out on being included in the NWCA Division III Scholar Team Awards, which went to the top 25 programs based on team GPA. Waynesburg’s team GPA averaged out to just over 3.1, while the number-25 team, the Milwaukee School of Engineering, sported a 3.237 team GPA.
For a complete look at all of this year’s individual and team honorees, click here.
Crown finishes fourth at nationals
Sophomore wrestling standout wins four in a row in Wisconsin before dropping third-place bout
LA CROSSE, Wisc. (March 11) – Waynesburg sophomore Alex Crown finished an outstanding run at the NCAA Division III National Wrestling Championships with a fourth-place finish on Saturday.
The second-year Yellow Jacket standout placed higher at nationals than any Presidents’ Athletic Conference wrestler since Thiel’s Chad Beach placed fourth in 1993. Crown was also the PAC’s top finisher this year and his fourth-place performance is also the highest placing ever for a Waynesburg wrestler at the NCAA Division III Championships.
After going 2-1 on Friday to reach the All-American round, Crown opened up his Saturday with a thrilling 6-5 win over Timothy Hood of Cornell College. Hood led 5-4 in the third, but Crown started from the top and tilted Hood over for two near-fall points, then held on for the victory.
The Carlisle native’s next match pitted him against fifth-seeded Riki Reynolds of Mt. Union. Once again, Crown showed his heart and determination with another come-from-behind victory. Reynolds was able to put the sophomore on his back for a five-point move, but Crown rolled through, reversed Reynolds and pinned the Purple Raider standout in 2:26 to reach the third-place bout.
Unfortunately, Crown found himself overmatched against second seeded sixth-year senior Mark Kist of Wartburg College and dropped a 17-2 technical fall to finish fourth. Kist is a three-time Iowa State champion and a transfer from Division I powerhouse Iowa State.
Despite ending with a loss, Crown’s first run through the national tournament was a successful one. After receiving the number-eight seed, the Carlisle High School graduate dropped a heart-breaking 2-1 decision to the eventual fifth-place finisher in his first match. However, he responded well to the defeat with an 8-2 decision and then a 16-1 technical fall win to reach All-American status.
Crown was joined at the tournament by senior 141-pounder Nick Garber and freshman heavyweight Brandon Fedorka. Garber got off to a great start by winning his first two matches, including one by fall. Unfortunately, he seemed to hit a wall, lost his next two matches and came one win short of his second-straight All-American performance. Fedorka went 0-2 in his first trip to the national tournament.
Waynesburg was in 20th place out of the 60 teams represented at the event going into the championship finals with 19 total points. For a complete look at this year's national championships, click here.
Yellow Jackets' terrific trio qualify for nationals
Alex Crown, Nick Garber and Brandon Fedorka all win individual titles at Midwest Regional Championships
CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind. (Feb. 26) – After traveling all the way to the state of Indiana, the Waynesburg University wrestling team certainly didn’t want to leave empty-handed. The Yellow Jackets definitely made the most of Saturday’s trip as they had one of their most productive days at the NCAA Division III Midwest Regional Tournament, which was held at Wabash College, in team history as three Jackets got their tickets stamped for the NCAA Division III Championships.
Sophomore 125-pounder Alex Crown, senior 141-pounder Nick Garber and freshman heavyweight Brandon Fedorka all earned individual championships and will travel to La Crosse, Wisc. for the NCAA Championships on March 11. Waynesburg bested their total of two qualifiers from last year, and also finished third in the team standings, which was one spot higher than in 2010. No team had more individual champions than the Jackets.
Crown was the first Waynesburg wrestler to qualify for nationals and also had the closest match of the finals. After earning true second last year and just missing out on last season’s national tournament, Crown, the number-one seed, pinned Mt. St. Joseph’s Cory Clolinger in 2:49 to reach the finals in the five-man bracket. After cruising to the title match, the second-year standout had one of his most dramatic matches of the year before pulling out a 1-0 victory over third seeded Adam Wilson of Olivet.
The next Jacket with a chance to head to nationals was Garber, who was also looking for his third-straight regional title. He won back-to-back 133 pounds championships over the last two seasons, but put forth his most dominant tournament performance on Saturday. After cruising into the finals with two pins that took a combined 2:26 to achieve, the top-seeded senior met up with Washington & Jefferson freshman Josh Etzel in the championship match.
Etzel upset Garber earlier this season in a dual match, but the Waynesburg standout left no doubt who the better grappler was on the day as he dominated his first-year opponent to the tune of a 13-3 major decision. Garber, who was a 133-pound All-American last year, was one of only two wrestlers to win each of his matches on the day with bonus points. The other was returning national champion Isaac Dukes of Case Western Reserve.
For his dominating effort, Garber was named Most Outstanding Wrestler of the event. The Jacket senior has now won his last seven bouts, all with bonus points, including six by fall.
Fedorka’s run to a title may have been the most impressive of Waynesburg’s three championships. After missing the Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) Championships due to illness, Fedorka took to the mat after not competing since Feb. 5. Following a hard fought win over Will Ringer of PAC rival Thiel, 3-2, the second-seeded freshman picked up a 9-4 decision over Patrick Clegg of Wabash to reach the finals against top-seeded Logan Renes of Olivet. Fedorka finished off his run to the title with a 3-1 victory over Renes.
Along with its three champions, Waynesburg got a fourth wrestler into the finals thanks to junior 157-pounder Garrett Johnston, who upset top-seeded Steven Mena of Olivet to reach the championship bout against Elias Larson of Trine. Unfortunately, Johnston came one win short of the title after losing by decision to Larson.
The Jackets also boasted three more top-six finishers. Freshman 149-pounder Luke Lohr concluded a stellar debut season with Waynesburg by placing fourth with a 2-2 record. Freshman Sam Lombardo and junior Jared Roberts added fifth-place performances at 157 and 174 pounds, respectively.
Crown, Garber and Fedorka will now spend the next two weeks training for the national championships, which will be hosted by the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse on March 11 and 12.
