The Hopkins wrestling team traveled to New York City on Jan. 31 to take on a pair of conference foes in a dual meet. This Centennial Conference matchup featured two of the conference heavyweights in New York University (NYU) and the Stevens Institute.
NYU, currently at the top of the Centennial Conference with a record of 4-0, is ranked 30th in the nation (per www.d3wrestle.com), while Stevens, currently placing third in the conference with a record of 4-1, is ranked 24th in the nation. The Jays fell to Stevens 33-9 and 32-6 to Stevens and host NYU, respectively.
The first match against Stevens started off well for the Blue Jays, as the always-reliable senior Paul Bewak defeated Rob Murray in the opener. The senior won 4-0 in the 125-class bout and gave the Blue Jays the early 3-0 lead in the match.
Junior Evan Krumheuer dominated opponent Andrew Dickerson in the 133-class match. The Hopkins lead ballooned to 9-0 after his 71-second pin. However, the match quickly took a turn for the worse, as the Ducks reversed the cards and proceeded to win the next eight matches to secure the victory.
Seniors Christian Salera and Evan Johnson both battled hard, but ultimately fell 4-0 and 4-2, respectively. Freshman Tommy Grifa was also close to a win, but ultimately was defeated by fellow freshman Zach Wilhelm, 3-2.
Freshman Connor Joyce lost his match in a 149-second pin. Senior Welles Sakmar fell 12-1 in the 165-class while sophomore Jared Forman was pinned in 151 seconds. Sophomore Kory Johnson lost 7-2 in the 197-class while heavyweight sophomore Ellis Flannery was defeated 21-5.
The second match against the 30th-ranked Violet also kicked off with a boom. Paul Bewak needed 170 seconds to pin Jacob Donato as he staked the Blue Jays to the early 6-0 lead. Once again, this lead did not forecast the next nine bouts, as the Blue Jays were dominated in the latter part of the matches.
Grifa once again was defeated 3-2 and Krumheuer could not follow up on his earlier success as he fell to Nathan Pike 11-2. Notable scorers included Welles Sakmar, Jared Forman and Evan Johnson, who lost 9-5, 8-5 and 6-2, respectively. Connor Joyce was defeated 19-7, and Christian Salera lost 6-0 in the light classes. Kory Johnson fell 14-3 in the 197-class and Ellis Flannery was beaten 19-3 in the heavyweight match.
Despite the two losses for the Jays, Paul Bewak once again shone, as he has throughout the season and his whole career for Hopkins. Bewak, a senior from Greensburg captured his 120th win for the Jays to place fifth in Centennial Conference’s all-time victory list.
Coincidentally, Bewak is currently ranked fifth in the country for the 125-pound weight class by d3wrestle.com. As the season goes down the home stretch, Bewak is eyeing the NCAA championships to show his ability. He looks to improve upon seventh place finishes in 2012 and 2014, but also has hopes for the team in the Centennial Conference Championships.
“The team has made major improvements in terms of minor, but important, technique changes,” Bewak said.
He was especially excited about the freshmen, saying they helped the veteran players “score key points they would have missed out on in the past.”
“Our team still needs to improve our time management, wrestling near the out-of-bounds and when you need to be more or less offensive,” he said.
Bewak, arriving at the twilight of his Hopkins career, reflected on what he has accomplished as a Jay.
“I’ve had some amazing teammates and accomplished a lot of accolades with their help,” he said. “I hope that by doing everything I have, that I’ve set a good example for every other Hopkins wrestler to follow and hopefully, set the bar high enough to challenge them to be their best.”
Bewak still has high hopes for himself and his teammates and refuses to look to a post-Hopkins life just yet. He wants the team to compete in the Centennial Conference playoffs, and he hopes to win the conference and regionals as an individual.
“I expect to finish the season strong, with high hopes of winning the national tournament in March,” he said.
Hopkins (3-13, 2-4 in conference) travels to Gettysburg, Pa. to close the regular season with matches against Muhlenberg and Ursinus on Feb. 7.
Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The News-Letter.