In high school wrestling, there are two ways to score six points for a team.
Match photos click here.
In high school wrestling, there are two ways to score six points for a team.
The first, and most desirable, is via pinning your opponent. It takes effort and preparation, and you usually work up a good sweat. But the rewards, if you are the winner, offer lots of positive vibes.
The second method is via forfeits, which means stepping onto the mat against an invisible foe, having the referee raise your hand in triumph, and adding six points to your team score.
In an afternoon matinee matchup between the Berkshire Badgers and Cardinal Huskies Dec. 20, for busloads of students from Berkshire and a large crew from Cardinal creating a loud atmosphere, the two neighbors squared off, and the outmanned Huskies gave up those six points in four weight classes.
Predictably, then, they came up on the short end of a 46-22 match score — but in the matches that were contested, kids and fans alike saw some very talented wrestlers put on a show.
There also were some surprises.
In the first contested matchup, at 113 pounds, Cardinal’s senior Clayton Carman, fresh off of a solid effort in the Russ Ward Invitational in his home gym the previous weekend, came out ready for action. He got a quick lead over Danny Auth, but late in the second period, Carman slipped a bit in getting position on Auth, the Badger grappler was able to take advantage of the slip, and he pinned a shocked Carman in 3:42.
“I love wrestling just because things can change so quickly if you are not careful,” he’d said on Dec. 16.
Scott Wendl of Berkshire was up next at 120 pounds, and he, too, went onto the mat to have the official raise his hand in victory via forfeit. Quickly, the Badgers had an 18-0 lead.
At 126, Berkshire’s Colin Hering has been a stalwart all season. After a pair of takedowns in the first period against Cardinal’s Dave Hicks, Hering finished his quick effort with a pin at 3:07.
Then, at 132, we had the first match that didn’t produce six points for the team, as Caden Klingman got a quick takedown on Cardinal’s Troy Champlin and gradually expanded his lead into a 19-7 decision, giving the Badgers a 28-0 lead.
Cardinal Coach Dakota Ward was happy for the large crowd of fans, but since his wrestlers are not used to such things in their own gym for dual meets, his wrestlers came in a bit nervous.
“I just see this meet today as a chance for our kids to see us work and, hopefully, get an interest and start coming out for the team,” Ward said. “It’s a great sport, but we just haven’t had the numbers out to field a full team. I am hoping today’s meet with our neighbor will spark some kids to try out next year, at least.
“Our kids are not used to having so much noise in the gym when we wrestle, either, so yelling instructions to the kids on the mat was a problem at times. It’s tough enough in tournaments like we had on Saturday, when the gym is packed.”
At 138, Angelo Kozelko of Cardinal changed the direction of the meet with the first pin of the day in 1:21 over Berkshire’s Charlie Dixon.
Vincent Dragolich of Cardinal continued the success for Coach Ward at 145. Taking a 10-4 lead after two periods, he was able to move Nathan Foltz of Berkshire around for the pin in 4:50.
At 150 pounds, Ben Bolton, who also had a good day in the Russ Ward tournament, came out on fire and pushed Chris McDonald around for a bit before settling into the pin mode at 5:27, cutting the margin to 28-18 in the team score.
At 165, Cardinal’s Talon Duncan used the strength of a big second period as he went on to a 15-5 decision.
The final contested match of the day came at 215. Preston Garling, who normally would be a 175-pound contestant, moved up to tangle with Cardinal’s Josh Hartman, a young grappler just learning the sport. The fastest pin of the day happened in 1:20 and with a forfeit in front of that match and another at 285, and the final score was sealed.
“I sure was nervous before the match today, “ Kozelko said. “Wrestling in front of so many friends and fans with so much noise in the gym, it just pushed me to work harder.”
Dragolich agreed.
“I was nervous at first,” he said. “It’s really impressive to be in front of the whole school and my friends, too, but by the time it got to my match, I was able to forget about the crowd and focus on what I had to do.”
Berkshire’s first-year coach, Dave Malkus, loved the big crowd.
“We’ve got a very young group this year here,” he said. “Our kids have answered the call in practice, though, and have worked so hard. I’ve known most of them my whole time here, since I’ve been an assistant for several years, but we’re not used to going in front of crowds like this in duals.
“We have a lot of freshmen, too, but once we started wrestling today, it was a lot of fun.”
Daytime events like this one are a good way for schools to build programs. In recent seasons, especially when Newbury existed, they worked a deal with Joseph Badger High in Kinsman to have basketball games in front of their entire elementary programs. You might be amazed at how much noise little kids make in a packed gymnasium, even if they have no clue about what’s really going on in front of them.
This was a good way for the Berkshire and Cardinal wrestling programs to show off a little. Now to get more bodies into the mix.
