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Patience pays off for Waynesburg’s Augustine

3 min read
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Luca Augustine has the talent to be a starter on the wrestling mat for just about any team in the WPIAL.

But the freshman from Waynesburg High School found his way blocked for much of the season.

A natural 132-pounder, Augustine was behind Caleb Morris, who has been ranked at that weight all season. One weight up was Jackson Henson, a two-time West Virginia state champion who transferred in with his brother Wyatt this season.

Instead of pouting, Augustine showed maturity with his patience and determination to become a better wrestler in case an opportunity arose.

It did in the postseason, when Morris decided to drop to 126.

When that happened, Augustine pounced, ripping through the 132-pound weight class to win the Section 4-AAA tournament at Trinity High School last week.

Augustine will take a 14-2 record into the two-day WPIAL Class AAA Championships at Canon-McMillan. First round is 2:45 p.m., today and quarterfinals follow at 7 p.m.

Semifinals are noon Saturday with the finals set for 7 p.m.

The top four wrestlers in each weight class advance to the PIAA Championships, March 8-10, in the Giant Center in Hershey.

Augustine is excited for the opportunity.

“It was pretty frustrating (early in the season) because I felt I was good enough to be (starting) on any other team,” said Augustine. “I was just at the wrong weight at the wrong time. I still got better in the long run because it made work harder and want to be better. It was a surprise when Caleb told me he was dropping. I was so happy because I got a chance to prove myself. I was a little in the dark because not many people knew a lot about me.”

Augustine opened the section tournament with two pins. The first came over Jordan Usenicnik of West Allegheny in 26 seconds, then he stuck Geno Stilvat of Montour in 3:42. Augustine won the title with a 7-2 decision over Zach Macy of Chartiers Valley.

“I was pretty nervous,” he said. “I was looking at the seniors in the bracket and I was at a disadvantage because of my age. A teammate of mine told me you can’t make mountains out of mole hills and that I just had to go out and wrestle my match.”

In Friday’s district tournament, Augustine gets Gabe Falo of North Allegheny in the first round.

“I looked over the bracket once or twice,” Augustine said. “I know what I have to do. As long as I keep the right mindset, I’ll do well.”

Waynesburg head coach Joe Throckmorton had high hopes for Augustine and used him whenever possible during the season.

“There were 11 matches we were able to get him in,” Throckmorton said. “He works very, very hard. He’s talented, a state runner-up for our junior high program last year. Our assistant coaches worked with him and I got to work with him the last two or three summers. He wrestles year round and went to freestyle states.”

Throckmorton said Augustine came within a point or two in eliminations with Morris and Jackson.

“He’s well-rounded,” Throckmorton said. “He’s best on his feet. He’s a freshman coming in . . . and I just had this conversation with my team. Never miss an opportunity to get to the state tournament because they fly by so fast. Our juniors realize it now. They were freshmen and now they are seniors with a snap of the fingers.”

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