Wrestling: Black and Blue Brawl lives up to name

For most athletes, the first match of the season doesn't necessarily have much of an effect on the rest of the season. Win or lose, there are still plenty of games left for a team to redeem themselves. However, that's not the case for the Hopkins wrestling team.

Last Saturday, the Blue Jay wrestlers competed in the fourth annual Black and Blue Brawl, an event created by Head Coach Keith Norris in his first year of coaching that has since become an important tradition in the sport. The week before the Brawl, the wrestling team is split into two separate divisions: Black and Blue, to compete in the upcoming event. But the match is more than simply a friendly competition; these wrestlers are competing for a starting spot on the team. In a sense, how they perform in this single match determines their opportunities for the entire season.

The bleachers were packed with parents, friends and several wrestling alumni who made the trip from all across the East Coast, as well as the first round of high school recruits, who get their first chance to see what Jay wrestling is all about. And this year, they were treated to a show.

The match opened with the 125-pound weight class, pitting sophomore Akshay Paintal against freshman Adam Stevens, a four-time New York high school state finalist and two-time champion. Despite Stevens's accolades, Paintal's year of collegiate experience gave him a significant edge in the match. Commanding the match with his double-leg takedown and riding ability, Paintal managed to execute complete control throughout the match, dispensing of Stevens by a major decision of 16-6.

Following a forfeit in the 133-pound class came the 141-pound match-up between sophomores Chris Ruland and Rocky Barilla, a gridlocked match to the finish. Barilla scored a one-point escape in the second period and rode out Ruland for the entire third period to gain a riding-time point, winning the match by a score of 2-0.

Sophomore Robbie Nedbor-Gross handled senior Mike Vecchiollo in the 149-pound match-up to secure a 13-4 victory. Vecchiollo, a fighter to the finish, helped his team in the final second by scoring an escape point to elude a crucial major decision loss.

The 157-pound match-up proved to be one of the most eventful of the afternoon as Will Selba, the highly-touted freshman wrestler from Pasadena, Md., squared off against sophomore Matt Cole. Cole and Selba, two very technical wrestlers, were precise in their attacks and counter-attacks, which created a heated battle between the two teammates. Each minor slip-up was capitalized on by the opponent, leading to a score of 5-5 in the middle of the third period. Cole, demonstrating his experience and athletic ability, managed to pull off an impressive diving double-leg takedown at the edge of the mat in the closing seconds of the third period, keeping his toes in bounds to push the score to 7-5. He held Selba to the mat for the remainder of the match to secure the victory.

The excitement continued in the 165-pound match as junior Kyle Keane faced sophomore Eric Levenseller. The two have been practice partners for two years, and as a result, knew each other's styles and moves perfectly. Keane and Levenseller were at a constant stalemate from the neutral position, constantly defending attack after attack. Each wrestler scored an escape point in the second and third periods, respectively, driving the match into a one-minute overtime. Levenseller, desperate to capture the starting spot, went on a wild offensive, but Keane managed to defend each attack, finally capitalizing on a Levenseller shot and spinning around to score the match-winning takedown.

"I knew it was going to be close," Keane said. "We wrestle each other every day. We know what each other is going to do. I'm just happy I came out on top."

The 174-pound match between senior Mickey Keane and freshman Andrew Brochu resulted in a bittersweet Brochu victory, after Keane re-injured his knee, an injury that has plagued him most of his collegiate career. Keane, unwilling to go down without a fight, limped to the center of the mat, but weakened by the injury, fell to a tight Brochu half-nelson and lost by a pin in the second period.

A 184-pound freshman scrap followed between freshmen Alex Villa and Hector Cintron as Cintron fought to a 13-7 victory.

Then came the match that everyone came to see. Senior Matt Rugani, a relatively light but powerful heavyweight, squared off against the behemoth Vince Domestico. The two have traded off victories in their college careers, a result of mismatched styles and body types. Domestico executed control in the opening two periods, but began to slow down in the third. Rugani, an athletic wrestler, took advantage of his opponent's fatigue with a vicious offensive to pull off a narrow 9-5 victory.

"I think that on a personal level I tried to keep pushing the pace of the match into the later periods," Rugani said. "As the match went on, I continued to try to push the pace of the match higher and higher because that's a style that's worked for me in the past."

With the starting line-up set, the Jays set their sights for the upcoming season, one which will certainly test the team's resilience. The Jays are hampered by the graduation of Eric Fishel and the transfer of sophomore Patrick Stanley, both of whom were the lone Jay conference champions in 2008. With a force of young but untested freshman talent and a strong senior class at the helm, the Jays look to continually improve, fighting for their undying goal of a team Conference Championship.

"The freshmen have all shown the tenacity that we've seen in the past," Rugani said. "We also have a very strong senior presence that hasn't existed in the past, and those are the advantages that we're going to see in this upcoming season."

The team opens the season two weekends from now at the Messiah Invitational in Granthan, Penn.