NEWTOWN TWP. >> The Methacton wrestling team finished in fifth place at the 2019 Rock Yard Dual Tournament at Council Rock North High School Saturday.
The Warriors went 2-2 on the day with wins against William Tennent and Ridley.
The Warriors started the day with a 50-24 victory over a short-handed William Tennent team with the help of seven forfeits.
Methacton later lost back-to-back matches against Downingtown West and Neshaminy to set up the fifth-place match against Ridley.
The Warriors lost to Downingtown West 48-25 before losing to Neshaminy 49-17 in the third round.
Ridley, which won the first two bouts with a technical fall and a decision victory at 126 and 132 pounds, lost the 8-0 lead by losing the next four matches.
Kibwe McNair earned his fourth win of the day at 138 pounds by pinning Eli Rodriguez in 2:16 to put the Warriors on the team scoreboard.
“Honestly today was just another day,” said McNair. “Just being around good guys and facing good wrestlers, just another day.”
“Before I even walked into the gym, I talked to the coaches and we talked about facing competition that we could face in the state tournament,” added McNair.
Thomas Dinh gave the Warriors a 12-8 lead with a fall to Angelo Blythe in 1:39 at 145 pounds.
Methacton increased its lead to 17-8 after Drew Balek scored the team’s third straight pin despite being called for unsportsmanlike conduct at the end of the bout at 152 pounds.
Roman Moser kept the pin streak going at four bouts by pinning Ridley’s Nick Marrow in 56 seconds.
Ridley’s Jacy Shaak finally stopped the pin streak by earning a tough 6-4 decision over Richard Armstrong at 170 pounds.
However, the Warriors responded quickly with three falls in the next three matches to gain a 41-11 lead.
After Ridley’s Tom Bramwell earned a forfeit at 285 pounds, Ridley earned two falls at 106 and 113 pounds.
Warrior Jorge Carmona finished the day with a fall in 3:32 over Abraham Miser to seal the 47-29 fifth place victory.
In total, 10 out of 14 bouts in the Methacton/Ridley fifth place match ended with a fall.
McNair highlighted the day for Methacton with four wins including three falls and a forfeit.
McNair, who scored three falls in 8:18, is now 15 wins away from joining the Methacton wrestling 100-win club.
Methacton head coach Bill Clark was thrilled with his team against a tough field in the tournament.
“We are very happy with our performance today,” said Clark. “We competed against some of the best teams in our region and this is just a step to what we’ll see in the postseason.”
“The coaches are very happy with how our wrestlers improved in their abilities and attitude today,” added Clark.
The Methacton returns to action Wednesday when it travels to Spring-Ford with action set to start at 6:30 p.m.
Team Results
Table A
Spring-Ford 3-0
Council Rock North 2-1
Ridley 1-2
Archbishop Wood 0-3
Table B
Downingtown West 3-0
Neshaminy 2-1
Methacton 1-2
William Tennent 0-3
Championship Round results
Championship: Spring-Ford 44, Downingtown West 23
Third Place: Neshaminy 40, Council Rock North 30
Fifth Place: Methacton 47, Ridley 29
7th Place: Archbishop Wood 42, William Tennent 21
Final Team Standings
1. Spring-Ford 4-0
2. Downingtown West 3-1
3. Neshaminy 3-1
4. CR North 2-2
5. Methacton 2-2
6. Ridley 1-3
7. Archbishop Wood 1-3
8. William Tennent 0-4
