At Messiah last Friday, Rocky Barilla pinned Chris Hardenberg. Barilla’s six points highlighted an impressive 24-19 Hopkins win over the 24th nationally-ranked Falcons. His pin inspired loud applause and cheers even in the Messiah gymnasium.
Barilla lost to Hardenberg earlier this season 3-2, but the senior co-captain beat him when it mattered most. One of the two pins of the match was Barilla’s, and it came at the 5:46 mark of the 149 pound class.
At 149 pounds, Barilla is 20-8. Against heavier opponents, at 157, Barilla is 3-2. He leads the team in wins and has one of the best winning percentages on the squad. Against conference opponents Barilla has been beat only once and he has recorded two pins — one of which came within two minutes.
He has placed in the top five at three tournaments this season including a second place finish at the Waynesburg open.
The win against Hardenberg was crucial for the Jay victory. Hopkins dropped the first match at 125 pounds but took the next four from Messiah. Marcello pinned Kyle Coblentz with 45 seconds remaining, and Henry Stauber followed the win with an injury fault decision. After Barilla, Matt Fusaro won at 157 pounds and Reid Mosquera beat Tim Hopkins at 197.
As a team, Hopkins is 8-9 with a strong chance to finish the season at the top of the Centennial Conference, and Barilla is a major part of the success.
Barilla is noted by his teamates as a humble winner. Fellow senior Patrick Stanley admires the hard work and dedication to wrestling that Barilla has had for the past four years.
“He is probably the toughest kid to wrestle,” the 174-pound Stanley said, “even at his light weight.”
Stanley went on to praise Barilla. “He never complains — ever,” said Stanley, “and he works his butt off.”
As a junior, Barilla was 13-12 and wrestled most at 141 pounds, although he was 2-2 at 149, all of which were against conference opponents.
As a sophomore, Barilla was an impressive 24-10 and 5-0 against conference opponents. He has come a long way since his freshman year when he was 4-7.
Now, the Westbury, New York native has made a habit out of winning. He is currently riding a four-match win streak and has only lost back-to-back matches twice this season.
After defeating Hardenberg, Stanley knew a Hopkins victory was well within reach. As for the rest of the season, Stanley believes Hopkins can finish first in the Conference at every weight class, especially at 149.
“Now that his confidence level is up, Barilla should win the Conference,” Stanley said.
