Wrestling captures first CC championship

The Hopkins wrestling
team made history this past
Saturday in Gettysburg, PA
with the capture of their
first-ever Centennial Conference
championship. After
the Blue Jays were awarded
the Centennial Conference
Title, Head Coach Keith
Norris was honored as the
Centennial Conference
Coach of the Year.
The top five finishers -
Hopkins, Ursinus, Stevens,
Gettysburg and Merchant
Marine -
were separated
by narrow point margins.
Because of this, a true team
effort was needed to take
the trophy. Hopkins' 10
wrestlers all played pivotal
roles on Saturday, but it
was junior Reid Mosquera,
The News-Letter's Athlete of
the Week, who sealed the
victory for the Blue Jays.
Mosquera had a daunting
task in the 197-pound
division, taking on topseeded
Connor McNamara
of Ursinus. McNamara
had already taken down
Mosquera in a previous
match this season in just
90 seconds. Unfortunately
for McNamara, however,
Mosquera battled for an
11-8 victory in the final
three seconds. The victory
sealed the conference
for Hopkins, as well as an
individual championship
for Mosquera.
Leading up to the final
match, the preceding
events put Hopkins in a
position to take the conference
crown. All of the
points won in the previous
matches were crucial for
the chance to take the title
in the final match.
Individual accomplishments
also made program
history for the Blue Jays.
Freshman Paul Bewak
took the first-ever championship
in the 125-pound
weight class for the Blue
Jays. Bewak has been outstanding
this season, and
his two victories on Saturday
did not stray from his
consistency. Bewak moved
to 27-7 on the season.
Junior Paul Marcello,
wrestling at 141 pounds,
also made Blue Jay history
with the third individual
championship of his career.
Marcello won three
wins by decision to claim
his individual title.
The sophomore class
yielded two great performances
from Henry Stauber
and Matt Fusaro. Both
won individual titles, at
149 and 157 pounds, respectively,
but their performances
spurned the points
needed to get to the final
match and set up Mosquera's
finale.
Stauber, the lone Blue
Jay to win an individual
title not seeded first or
second, also faced an opponent
who had beaten
him in a previous match
this year: C.J. Caserta of
Stevens. Caserta came in
seeded second, and Stauber,
like Mosquera, reversed
that former outcome. It is
meaningful to note that the
Blue Jays stepped up when
it mattered this past weekend.
Facing opponents that
have had the upper hand
in the past is not an easy
task and to beat them on
the biggest stage is even
more impressive.
The individual titles
took the spotlight in the
final matches, but all of
the Blue Jay's efforts were
necessary for capturing
their first ever Centennial
Conference championship.
Hopkins took the title with
79 points, while Ursinus
came in second-place with
73.5 points, just short of
their tenth overall title.
Through ups and downs
-
Hopkins entered the
bouts with a 6-15 record -
Hopkins never lost confidence
and fought until the
very end. They advanced
to the NCAA Tournament,
which begins next Friday,
Mar. 9.