Wrestling wins three of last four

The Hopkins men's wresting
team managed to clinch
an important win last night,
topping the Gettysburg
Bullets 22-18.
Although still only
4-11 overall, the Blue
Jays have moved to
3-1 in the Centennial
conference, while the
Bullets have fallen to
1-4 in the Centennial.
The team recently
beat Washington
& Lee and McDaniel
and will hopefully
be able to sustain
this momentum
over the next few weeks.
Their next match will take
place at Messiah, at 7 p.m.
on Feb. 3, while the next
two home games will be
against Stevens Tech and
Kings Point on Feb. 12, the
first of these two games
taking place at 11 a.m.
Although the team has
sustained a few injuries for
some key players, Hopkins
had confidence going into
Wednesday's match.
"We did expect to win,
although we knew it'd be
a tough one," Head Coach
Keith Norris said.
Although Hopkins
maintained the lead, it
was at times by no more
than six points; sufficiently
close that a pin by the Bullets
could have changed
the match drastically.
The Bullets' pin never
came, though. "[Junior Michael
Koren] did a great job
not getting pinned," Norris
said. "It's his first year, and
it's a big jump into collegiate
wresting. . .he fought hard."
Koren has taken the
place of the team's usual
133-lb wrestler, sophomore
Ray Yagloski, as the result
of Yagloski's injuries.
A pin against Koren
would have put the Bullets
at six points, tying
them to the Blue Jays before
they had gained more
of an advantage.
In addition, Koren and
junior Jody Gowen both
faced talented opponents
and helped Hopkins defend
their lead by not getting
pinned and playing
hard to get points for the
team according to Norris.
Hopkins had moved to
an early lead, which they
held on to for the remainder
of the match. It began with
125-lb freshman Paul Bewak,
who started off the match on
a strong note, pinning senior
Abe Evans and giving Hopkins
an early 6-0 lead.
141-lb sophomore Matt
Fusaro fought for a 10-3 victory
over opponent, junior
Joe Fiore, missing a major
by only one point. This
would have given Hopkins
two more points and
a more comfortable
lead going into the
next match.
Hopkins kept the
momentum going,
though, and, despite a
few close losses, managed
to stay ahead 19-
15 entering the 197-lb
match between junior
Reid Mosquera and
the Bullets' junior
Marshall Puls. Mosquera
pulled Hopkins
ahead in the end, winning
the match 16-9, which put
Hopkins at a comfortable
22-15 lead going into the
heavyweight match.
The usual heavyweight
wrestler, 285-lb senior Rick
Danilkowicz, is injured and
will probably sit out for the
season, according to Norris.
Taking his place against
Bullets' junior Kevin Poplaski
in the 285-lb weight class
was 174-lb freshman Evan
Johnson, fighting hard for
an impressive 1-0 loss.
"[It'll be] up to Evan if he
wants to continue wrestling
in that class," Norris said.
With Danilkowicz out
for the season, the spot
will be open indefinitely,
leaving a 285-lb gap for the
team to fill. It will be difficult
and will put more
pressure on the other nine
wrestlers to perform.