BOYERTOWN >> It was a night of contrasting emotions for the Boyertown wrestling program Wednesday.
John Strickler – Digital First Media
The Boyertown seniors and coach Pete Ventresca, left, pose for a picture on Senior Night before a 55-9 victory over Spring-Ford.
There was the celebration of a senior class that made an indelible mark on the area’s mat landscape the past three years, and is continuing to do so this winter. And that same crew of upperclassmen led the team to another big victory: A 55-9 win over Spring-Ford in a duel between the Pioneer Athletic Conference’s remaining unbeatens, and one that should go a long way toward again establishing the league’s regular-season champion.
But at the same time, there was the knowledge the eight members of the team’s Class of 2016 — though far from finished, with the postseason and duals tournaments still to be contested over the next 1½ months — are approaching the end of a memorable collaboration spanning at least a decade of club and junior-high competition.
“The guys in the senior class … we’re like brothers,” Jordan Wood, the face of Boyertown wrestling excellence the last four years, said. “It’s bittersweet to think it’s going to be ending.”
John Strickler – Digital First Media
Boyertown’s Brody O’Connell, top, closes in on a second period pin of Spring-Ford’s Tim Moran at 195 pounds Wednesday.
Wood, his classmates and their various parents and relations were honored prior to the varsity match. And in keeping with the Senior Night spirit, six of them led the charge against a Spring-Ford unit that had been 7-0 in the league prior to the meeting with the Bears.
Wood (220) was part of a pin flurry at the top of the scale, which included fellow seniors Gregg Harvey (182), Brody O’Connell (195) and Tommy Killoran (285). Their pinning prowess ended any mathematical possibility the Rams (15-3 overall) had in the match.
Harvey’s second-period drop proved the clincher for Boyertown (7-0, 13-0), giving it a 34-9 lead with four weights left to contest. O’Connell also got the slap in the second period of his bout, and Killoran did the same after Wood (26-1) scored his 19th fall of the year in the first period.
“This was one of our goals for the season,” Wood said. “It’s a great way to go out.”
John Strickler – Digital First Media
Boyertown’s Hunter Vogels, right, workrs against Spring-Ford’s Benjamin D’Arcangelo at 152 pounds Wednesday. Vogels won 13-4.
Two other Bear seniors, Lucas Miller and Garrett Mauger, contributed to their team’s 17-point start. Miller posted a 9-2 decision on the Rams’ Jimmy Frank at 126, and Mauger followed with a technical fall at 132.
“I had a tear in my eye, seeing them move on,” Boyertown head coach Pete Ventresca said. “These kids are going to do great things.
“They went through 14-15 years together. They’re a tight-knit group. I knew they would be special if they stuck together, and it paid off.”
Along with those seniors, Boyertown got memorable showings from the underclassmen in its lineup. They padded a 25-9 lead after eight bouts by sweeping the final six, the pin parade complemented by decisions over several of Spring-Ford’s higher-ranked grapplers.
Jakob Campbell got the roll started at 113 with a second-period pin before brother David Campbell racked up a 5-2 decision on Hunter Mitch at 120. Chris Berry (145) and Hunter Vogels (152) posted successive major decisions on Jonathan Westlake and Ben D’Arcangelo, Elijah Jones (170) gritted out a 5-3 verdict on Steven Rice and Matt Wilde (106) closed out the night with a 3-1 decision on Brandon Meredith.
“I thought Jones came up big in knocking off Rice. It was a real confidence-builder for Elijah,” Ventresca said. “Wilde did the exact same thing in beating Meredith, and so did David Campbell against Mitch. The kids came out and fought.”
Spring-Ford got its points from Matt Krieble’s pin at 138, and Brett McGill’s 7-3 decision of Zak Reck at 160. It will be joining Boyertown and Owen J. Roberts on the District 1 Duals Tournament mats Thursday, the Rams and Wildcats both in the opening-round field at Council Rock South.
John Strickler – Digital First Media
Spring-Ford’s Brett McGill, right, controls Boyertown’s Zakary Reck at 160 pounds Wednesday.
“We’ll see how we’re able to work out things against Neshaminy, how well we fight back,” head coach Tim Seislove said.
The top-seeded Bears will be at West Chester Rustin, opening district duals against Unionville. They’re pursuing a third straight Class AAA championship and another long run in states.
“Me, Jordan, Brody … the seniors have been together a long time,” Harvey said. “We have this huge bond. We started showing our talent in junior-high school. We’ve seen a big part of us come out — a cumulative group coming together to make each other better.”
O’Connell, who was a varsity wrestler at the high school level since ninth grade, echoed those sentiments.
“It’s so nice. We have each other’s backs,” he said. “The team being special, and being part of it.”
NOTES >> Evan Campbell and Max Dominique were Boyertown’s other seniors honored during the pre-match ceremony. … Back-to-back matches with Pottsgrove and Phoenixville (Feb. 2-3) stand between Boyertown and its third straight PAC-10 regular-season title. … Jakob Campbell is now one win away from reaching the 100-victory mark for his scholastic career. He was back in action after missing time with an abdominal strain that cropped up prior to the Bears’ participation in the Escape the Rock Tournament the weekend of Jan. 16-17.
