The Hopkins men’s wrestling team took part in three early season matches at Washington & Lee on Sunday. The Jays defeated Huntingdon 36-12 but lost to Lycoming 40-3 and to Ohio Northern 44-3.
In the team’s first match against Lycoming, senior Paul Bewak defeated freshman Kyle Drick (11-7 [0-3]). All of the other Jays lost their matches. Among the defeated was sophomore Jared Forman, who lost to freshman Brandon Rudy (14-6 [24-3]). Forman, though, said he learned from the experience.
“In the first match of the day, personally I felt my defense was lacking,” Forman said. “I had some major holes that my opponent took advantage of. These matches are really for us to learn and improve, so this lapse in my defense has shown me what I need to work on.”
Lycoming’s Nolan Barger and Willie Alford won by forfeit with scores of [19-3] and [30-3], respectively. The outome was a 40-3 win for Lycoming.
In the second match of the day, Hopkins fell to Ohio Northern University 44-3. Again, Bewak provided Hopkins with its only victory after a 4-2 [0-3] win over freshman Brad Taton. According to Forman, while the loss was disappointing, the team was able to focus on its next match.
“The best word to describe it would be disappointment,” Forman said. “It’s really difficult to take that many losses in a row. It doesn’t bother most of our team though. As wrestlers, especially by the time we are in college, we have become very good at putting the bad matches behind us and focusing on improving for the next match.”
Ohio Northern’s Colt Lovejoy, Aaron Adkins and Dillon Brancheu won by forfeit with scores of [23-3], [32-3] and [38-3], respectively.
In its final match, Hopkins triumphed over Huntingdon 36-12. This time, each and every Hopkins wrestler won his match. Despite the blowout victory, Forman said the team kept things in perspective.
“As exciting as it was to get that win, and trust me, it felt like we needed it, we still went 1-2 on the day,” Forman said. “Our team holds a very high standard for itself, and each member of the team carries that with them. While the win was very nice, we have a lot of work to do.”
Despite the team’s 1-2 record for the day, the Jays were encouraged by sterling individual performances from some of their wrestlers. Bewak, the all-time winningest wrestler at Hopkins already, continued his early-season success by going 3-0 on the day with a pin.
Vallis, McLaughlin, Forman and Flannery all recorded pins on the day, and Vallis and McLaughlin’s falls were picked up in the first period of their matches.
When asked about the team’s early struggles, junior Evan Krumheuer seemed optimistic.
“Well, we’ve had to deal with a little adversity early on, mainly injuries, that has resulted in us counting a lot more on some of our younger guys,” Krumheuer said. “I’m really excited to see how they respond and develop as we continue the season. They have already seen improvements in just a few short weeks. Our goal is to peak at the right time, in February and March, and though we have a lot of work to do, I think we have the necessary pieces to make some noise moving forward.”
The wrestling team will be back in action next weekend on Saturday, Nov. 22 at the Doug Parker Invitational in Springfield, MA beginning at 10 a.m.
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