TOWAMENCIN >> Wednesday’s dual meet between North Penn and Souderton was billed as a tight matchup, pitting the top two teams in the Suburban One League Continental Conference against each other. While it may have been between the two top teams in the conference, it wasn’t as close as most thought it would be as the Knights cruised to a 50-15 win on Senior Night
On paper, it should have been the tight matchup that spectators came to see but North Penn won most, if not all, of the swing-matches at 113-pounds, 170-pounds, and 138-pounds to name a few.
“We came in to this thinking it would be a competitive duel just like everyone else, ‘said Souderton head coach Tristan Boyd. “They kind of stuck it to us this evening so we just have to say congratulation to them for coming out and fighting out a nice win. We’ve got some really good kids but unfortunately we didn’t come out ready to win tonight.’
The meet started at 220-pounds, a match which Souderton forfeited. Following the forfeit, North Penn’s Ryan Cody pinned Ethan Wardrobe quickly, then Souderton forfeited the 106-pound matchup. In about 20 seconds of wrestling action the Indians were already down 18-0 in the meet, a hole they would never climb out of.
Souderton had its chances in some close matches but fell short in most of them.
Souderton’sTroy Mokluk wrestles North Penn’s Colin Shannon in their 152-pound bout on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2017. (Bob Raines/Digital First Media)
Jabez Chae got the 12-8 decision at 113 against Connor Crawford in a back-and-forth match. Reid Dentner (170) got the 3-1 decision at 170 against Bruno Stolfi and in perhaps the match of the night at 138, Erik Laughlin defeated Connor Trowbridge by decision in a match he trailed for basically its entire duration.
With under 20 seconds remaining Laughlin still trailed and was desperate for points. Trowbridge shot in from neutral but Laughlin was able to block his shot, take him down and get two more points for a near fall, securing the win
“I was just thinking about the team and how I had to get it done, I was in the zone,” Laughlin said. “Our team just was able to step up and get the job done tonight. I could tell by my teammates eyes we were ready.”
Souderton leaves the meet with the Knights having dropped their first conference dual meet of the season giving them a 3-1-0 record in the SOL Continental. While the loss may leave a bad taste in their mouth, the up and coming Indians will look to learn from it.
“Taking that leap from being mediocre to good and then good to great is really difficult,” Boyd said. “One of the best opportunities to learn as a team comes from a loss. As long as we’re better tomorrow than we were today I think this ends up being a positive experience for us.”
Souderton’s Brydon Bateman wrestles North Penn’s Jake Yoder in their 132-pound bout on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2017. (Bob Raines/Digital First Media)
The victory for the Knights puts them in the driver’s seat from here on out. With just two conference meets remaining they are 4-0 in the Continental and if they win out, the title is theirs.
Perhaps the best part about how well they’ve performed this year, on their way to a 10-6-0 overall record, is that their coach didn’t think it was possible before the season.
“No,” said North Penn head coach Rob Shettsline when asked if he had these expectations in the preseason. “I just thought we had too many holes in our lineup and I didn’t know what the other teams had.”
Whatever holes North Penn had at the beginning of the season have definitely been shored up and if they can continue to wrestle the way they have been they stand to make a push when the post season comes around.
North Penn 50, Souderton 15
220 — Owen Verespy (NP) won by forfeit
285 — Ryan Cody (NP) pinned Ethan Wardrobe, 0:20
106 — Austin Ziegler (NP) won by forfeit
113 — Jabez Chae (NP) won by decision over Connor Crawford, 12-8
120 — Harrison Andrade (S) pinned Alec Schrum, 1:10
126 — Brandon Bach (S) won by decision over Caleb Chae, 10-4
132 — Jake Yoder (NP) won by major decision over Brydon Bateman, 9-0
138 — Erik Laughlin (NP) won by decision over Connor Trowbridge, 9-8
145 — Will Laughlin (NP) won by tech. fall over Cole Ragusa, 2:45 15-0
152 — Colin Shannon (NP) pinned Troy Mokluk, 3:26
160 — Patrick O’Neill (NP) won by major decision over Craig Finkenbeiner, 16-3
170 — Reid Dentner (NP) won by decision over Bruno Stolfi, 3-1
182 — Jake Phaup(S) pinned Garrett Quallett, 0:35
195 — Brandon Ullman (NP) won by decision over Jack Morgan, 12-2
