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Throckmorton resigns from Waynesburg wrestling

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WAYNESBURG – Joe Throckmorton has resigned as head coach of Waynesburg High School’s wrestling team.

Throckmorton submitted his letter of resignation to the Central Greene School Board and they voted 9-0 to accept it at Tuesday night’s school board meeting.

Interestingly, one of the school board members is Jim Howard, who is a volunteer wrestling coach. Howard did not want to comment on the situation or say whether he had an interest in the job.

Dr. Kevin M. Monaghan, superintendent for Central Greene, referred all questions to solicitor Barbara A. Graham of Peacock-Keller.

Graham could not be reached Tuesday evening.

Throckmorton, who manages the Giant Eagle supermarket in Dry Tavern, was hired in September of 2009. He and his coaches were the driving force in keeping Waynesburg, a school with Class AA enrollment numbers, competing in Class AAA.

A search for a new head coach will get underway with the opening being posted in the school, then outside the school.

Throckmorton was charged with conspiracy to commit theft by unlawful taking, criminal mischief and receiving stolen property at the Green Cove Marina by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission.

Peyton Avery Whipkey, 19, also received similar charges.

According to the fish and boat commission, Throckmorton and Whipkey crashed a boat into a dock the night of Aug. 28 at 11 Maple Glenn Road. They allegedly stole a pontoon boat and docked nearby to attempt to pull the boat off the dock.

They were both arraigned by District Judge Eric Glenn Porter, and released after posting $50,000 bond through a professional bondsman.

When interviewed about the incident the next day, Throckmorton told officials he did not recall much of what happened the previous night and that he had been drinking.

Throckmorton graduated from Waynesburg in 1980 after winning a pair of WPIAL titles and one PIAA gold medal, both coming at 119 pounds. He was a four-year starter at Waynesburg, then started four more years at Pitt.

Throckmorton led the Waynebsurg wrestling team to the PIAA Team Tournament title in March, the first in school history. Waynesburg was simply dominating, defeating Erie Cathedral Prep, 54-10, in the first round, Williamsport, 50-15, in the semifinals and Central Dauphin, 42-3, in the finals.

Waynesburg also won the team title at the individual tournament held in Hershey, March 13. The Raiders nearly doubled the scores of Hempfield and Bethlehem Catholic.

The Raiders had three wrestler – Mac Church (120), Wyatt Henson (145) and Luca Augustine (172) – win gold medals, two wrestler – Cole Homet (138) and Rocco Welsh (150) – take silver medals for second-place finishes, and one – Colton Stoneking (132) – finishing in fifth.

Throckmorton’s resignation was the second bomb to rock Waynesburg’s program.

In July, Homet, a junior last year, was driving out to Missouri when he was involved in a serious car accident. Homet suffered severe injuries, especially to his arm, and there are questions about whether he will ever wrestle again.

Throckmorton led the Raider to a second-place finish in the 2020 PIAA Team Tournament. The Raiders defeated Bethlehem Catholic, thanks in part to a slam call against BC. Nazareth stopped Waynesburg in the state team finals.

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