The Hopkins Wrestling squad has come off a tough weekend after facing three losses on the road. JHU traveled to participate in the Wrestling for a Cure Duals in Harrisburg, PA where the Blue Jays saw some great opposing teams on Saturday.
Their first opponent was American International. The match ended 24-16 in the final, which ended up being Hopkins closest score of the day. 17th-ranked York came in next, beating the Blue Jays by a score of 27-13. Closing out the weekend's matches against Hopkins was the 4th-ranked Ithaca Bombers. This match ended 33-6 in favor of the Bombers.
It was a rough set of matches for the Blue Jays, who moved on to face off against another opponent during the week.
Elizabethtown College paid Hopkins a visit this past Tuesday in what proved to be an exciting bout of wrestling. After five matchups, the Jays looked like they were in a good position with a 9-6 lead. E-town wasn't about to have it that way, however, and scored 25 unanswered points in the remaining matchups. Two pins were recorded in back-to-back matches.
Luckily for Hopkins, this was a non-conference opponent so the bearing on the rest of the season will be reduced. The team should hope to move on to the rest of the season without looking back.
Despite the loss, there were some impressive performances. Freshman Paul Bewak defeated an opponent who was ranked ninth in the 125-pound weight class. He was followed by his teammate sophomore Ray Yagloski's 13-9 win. Yagloski's match was fast paced and ended up getting pretty exciting before a solid finish.
Elizabethtown took the next two wins before sophomore Matt Fusaro won the fifth match to take the lead back. The Blue Jays of E-town took the remaining matches in what proved to be some explosive performances by their athletes. Pins in the 184 and 197 pound weight classes shut the door on Hopkins before the end of the match.
JHU did not have a wrestler participate in the heavyweight 285-pound class, forfeiting the victory to E-town's wrestler.
The Hopkins wrestlers have all the necessary talent to win matches this season, and it pays to notice that their opponents so far this season have been either ranked or from high division schools (Maryland and West Virginia, for example). While they are currently 1-7 on the season, the singular victory comes from a match against their singular conference opponent (F&M) so far this year.
With any luck, the Blue Jays will steal a few more victories in the coming weeks before they make big moves in conference. The team isn't 100 percent healthy at this point, either, so a better indication of what the squad is capable of will become more visible as the season develops.
Hopkins returns to action this weekend. The team travels to Oneonta, NY, where they will be matching up in the Red Dragon Open. The beginning of the season will likely differ greatly from the second half, so keep your eyes on the Jays and see how the season turns out.
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