On Saturday in Collegeville, Pa., the Hopkins wrestling team continued to battle in Centennial Conference play, facing Ursinus and Stevens.
Hopkins, who was 2-1 in conference play going into Saturday, began the day strongly by winning their first three bouts. The tone was set early in the first match by senior Paul Marcello, the reigning Centennial Conference champion, with a 14-6 major decision victory. The 141 pounder contributed to the team's 13-0 early lead, and later helped the Blue Jays in their pursuit for a second victory on the day.
Later in play against Stevens, the Ducks narrowed the Blue Jays’ lead to 16-11. Stevens senior Joey Favia and freshman Zach Bass won their respective bouts. These two disappointing losses helped motivate Hopkins to re-establish a strong lead.
In the 184 pound weight class freshman Kyle Spangler helped seal the victory over Stevens with a 9-5 win. However, it was Joey Tilson’s dramatic win over the Duck’s Chris Moyer that stole the spotlight. The match went into quadruple overtime, as both athletes battled until Tilson finished on top with a 4-3 victory.
Hopkins concluded the matchup with a 25-11 final score. Although the Blue Jays’ lead shrank to as few as 5 points, the team finished strongly by winning their final three bouts.
After the first team victory, Hopkins was left with a tough opponent in Ursinus. With close matchups and strong competition, each team immediately realized that it would not be easy to earn a victory.
The most anticipated match of the day was a rematch of last season’s Centennial Conference 125 pound title match. Hopkins’s Paul Bewak faced off against Chris Donaldson. After a well fought bout, Bewak defeated Donaldson, 3-0 in the first match of the Hopkins-Ursinus competition. Bewak’s victory was accompanied by Paul Marcello’s second victory of the day, extending the Blue Jays’ 7-6 lead over the Bears.
Bewak credited his success to, “Constantly pushing myself as hard as I can and giving it my all during matches." With the pursuit of a conference championship in mind Bewak later added, “Our biggest focus is on finishing strong and pushing ourselves all of the way through to the end.”
After Marcello’s victory, it was all downhill for the Blue Jays. The Bears won six of the last seven matches, giving a final score of 25-9. Although the final outcome did not meet Hopkins’s expectations, many Blue Jays put up a strong fight to protect the strong Blue Jay tradition. Christian Ostrowski won a notable match over the Bear’s Bill Rieck. Also, Kyle Spangler had an impressive match that extended into triple overtime. Although Spangler ultimately lost the bout, his well-fought battle provided some extra motivation for his next match and the remaining season.
The final score of the Ursinus match was certainly not an accurate representation of the Blue Jays’ performance on Saturday. Each of the losing matches were highly competitive. The team remains very optimistic for the future, holding pride in their dominant performance over Stevens.
”Our freshmen are learning the college wrestling style and adapting well from high school,” Bewak said. "Our veterans continue to do what they know while spreading their knowledge to others. So, we grow as a team.” Although Bewak is only in his second year at Hopkins, he has become a strong leader on and off the mat.
This past Saturday was a good test for the Blue Jays, while also supplying them with some areas for improvement. With the season’s end approaching, every practice and match counts. The team is focused on reaching their goals over the final months of the season.
Hopkins’s next match is on Friday February 8th at seven versus Messiah, a non-conference match-up. With only four more matches until the Centennial Conference Championship, the Blue Jays look to finish the regular season strong.
