Leading up to this past weekend’s matchup in Lexington, Va., the Blue Jays had several tough matchups to start off the New Year. Early in January, Hopkins competed in the Waynesburg Invitational. Leading the way at 125 lbs was sophomore Paul Bewak who clinched an individual title for the team. His efforts, along with seven other wrestlers who placed in the top six, earned the Blue Jays a third place finish. The team finished only behind Olivet, currently ranked seventh in the nation in Division III, and West Liberty, the 12th ranked school in Division II wrestling.
The following week brought the Blue Jays to Springfield, Illinois to take part in the 2013 NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals. From the onset the Blue Jays understood it would be a difficult week. The tournament matched three of the top thirteen teams in the nation against Hopkins. However, the Blue Jay squad showed they can hang with the best, holding early leads in all three matches before losing against top-ranked Wartburg, number eight Coe, and thirteenth ranked Luther. Paul Bewak, the nation’s top wrestler in the 125lb weight division, was able to protect his ranking with a victory over second ranked Gilberto Camacho. Senior Paul Marcello was also able to impressively upset the nation’s fourth-ranked wrestler in the 133lb class.
After battling against some of the nation’s top wrestlers, Hopkins came into this Saturday’s match ready to compete. Despite ultimately coming up short in a majority of their matches in Springfield, the stiff competition undoubtedly will provide invaluable experience for the future.
On Saturday the Hopkins wrestling team traveled to Washington & Lee University for the team’s first conference matchups of the season. The Blue Jays faced off against New York University and Washington & Lee University, the first steps in defending the team’s conference championship. Hopkins opened the day against 20th ranked NYU, before ultimately falling 22-12. The team recovered, dominating with a 38-6 win over the host Washington & Lee Generals. The split moved Hopkins to 3-9 overall, 1-1 for conference. Apart from early season face offs against Division I Maryland and West Virginia, the match against NYU is the sixth against a nationally ranked team.
In their first match of the day the Blue Jays faced off against the NYU Violets. NYU wasted no time, winning the first six face-offs to secure a 19-0 lead. The matches were all tight, with the Violets winning five of the six matches by decision.
Four of those battles were decided by two points or less. Hopkins won three of the last four matches to account for the 22-12 final score. Paul Bewak won by forfeit, while juniors Ray Yagloski and Henry Stauber won their respective matches at 133 and 149lbs.
After the disappointing finishes, Hopkins faced off against Washington & Lee to close out the day. The Blue Jays fell in the first two matches at 157 and 165lbs, before winning the next eight bouts. A hard fought 7-5 win by Christian Ostrowski at 174lbs sparked the streak for the Blue Jays. A contributing effort was supplied by sophomore Evan Johnson who completed a 77-second pin at 197lbs. Major decisions from both Joey Tilson and Henry Stauber along with forfeit wins by Bewak, Yagloski and Duncan Crystal helped secure the victory.
The Blue Jays continue their conference schedule with a matchup against Centennial Conference foe Gettysburg. The Bullets enter the meeting with a 4-14 record on the year. Last year, the Blue Jays eked out a tough 22-18 decision.
Lead by the continued dominance of standout sophomore Paul Bewak, Hopkins should continue to be competitive as they look to secure consecutive conference championships. Their tough early season schedule will surely propel them through both the highs and lows of the remaining season.
