Waynesburg Graduate Welsh Advances to Semifinals

Rocco Welsh reached the semifinals at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in Cleveland. The Waynesburg Central graduate improved to 25-0 this season while wrestling at 184 pounds for Penn State.

Welsh’s run at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse

Welsh entered the bracket as the No. 1 seed at 184 pounds. He won three matches to advance to the evening semifinals scheduled for 8 p.m.

He opened with a 19-4 technical fall in 6:32 over Utah Valley’s Caleb Uhlenhopp. Next came a 13-4 major decision against Lehigh’s Rylen Rogers.

In the quarterfinals, Welsh held a 7-1 lead against Nebraska’s Silas Allred. Allred defaulted nine seconds into the third period, sending Welsh into the final four.

By reaching the semifinals, Welsh secured All-American status. Competitors who reach the final four cannot finish lower than sixth place.

Semifinal matchup and background

Welsh is scheduled to meet Michigan’s Brock Mantanona in the semifinals. Mantanona carried a 24-6 record into the bout.

Welsh defeated Mantanona twice this season. He won 8-1 in Ann Arbor on Feb. 6 and prevailed 8-5 in sudden victory in the Big Ten semifinals.

Welsh transferred to Penn State last March after redshirting one season. He said the move was to find the coaching and practice room depth needed for a national title.

He previously finished second to five-time national champion Carter Starocci while competing for Ohio State at 174 pounds.

Local wrestlers in the tournament

Several wrestlers with regional ties also competed in Cleveland. Their results varied across the championship and consolation brackets.

• Wyatt Henson (Lock Haven) moved into the blood round at 174. He opened with an 11-2 major decision, lost in the round of 16, then won two consolation bouts.

  Henson beat Oklahoma’s Tyler Wells 6-4 in the fourth consolation round. His record was 28-7 entering the blood round.

• Dayton Pitzer, a Mount Pleasant graduate now at Pitt, qualified for the blood round at 285. He beat Ohio State’s Nick Feldman 10-1 by major decision.

  The redshirt junior is in his third national tournament. He can place if he defeats Oklahoma State’s Konner Doucet.

• Jared Keslar of Pitt, a Connellsville graduate, earned his first national tournament win. He beat Gunner Filipowicz 14-4 but later lost a 2-1 decision to Ohio State’s Paddy Gallagher.

  Keslar dropped a 5-0 match to No. 2 Joey Blaze in the round of 32 earlier in the event.

• Rune Lawrence, a Frazier graduate and West Virginia redshirt freshman, won his national debut 9-6 in sudden victory. He rallied from a 6-2 deficit to beat Ohio State’s Luke Geog.

  Lawrence then lost to top seed Joey Novak of Wyoming in the round of 16 and moved to the consolation bracket.

• Mac Church, another Waynesburg Central product, fell twice at 165. He lost a double-overtime decision to Little Rock’s Matty Blanchi, then fell to Penn’s Sean Seefeldt in consolation.

• Luca Augustine of Pitt posted a 1-2 record at 174. He lost his opener 6-4, won by fall in the next bout, then was eliminated after a 4-3 loss.

Waynesburg Graduate Welsh Advances to Semifinals highlights the strong regional presence at the national meet. Filmogaz.com will monitor results as the blood round and semifinals conclude.