Wissahickon squeezes past Hatboro-Horsham
LOWER GWYNEDD >> It was his first ever match in a dual meet, and Spencer Simmons was ready to go.
“I just felt like I wanted to wrestle tonight,” the sophomore 106-pounder said. “I was pumped. I got a good pep talk before my match (from teammate Kevin Salmon).”
Simmons put the Trojans in front for good, pinning Brian Bollendorf in 1 minute and 14 seconds to help send Wissahickon to a 36-30 victory over rival Hatboro-Horsham in a Suburban One League American Conference match Wednesday night at Wiss.
“Good win,” Simmons said. “We get to move on with no losses (in the conference at 3-0).”
For the Trojans, it was their first victory over the Hatters in four years, and several wrestlers came through, including Mark Thompson — who weighs roughly 217 — moving up to earn a 15-9 decision over Tristian Long at 285.
“We thought it was gonna be very tight and we expected that kind of match,” coach Anthony Stagliano said. “Hatboro won the coin flip and I thought that was gonna be a problem, but it wound up not being too big a problem for us.
“Every point was gonna matter and it was that close. I was pleased with the effort and it was a good win for us. Now we go to PW 3-0 on Saturday with some momentum going.”
The Hatters (1-2 conference) surged ahead 21-15 with a pin by Jalen Edwards at 182 pounds and again led 27-21 with a win by forfeit at 220, but Wissahickon followed with the decision by Thompson at 285, the pin by Simmons, and won by forfeit at 113 to lock things up.
“Wissahickon did a good job,” Hatboro coach Glenn Kaiser said. “(Brian) Fennell’s fall at 195 was huge. Their heavyweight pretty much sealed the deal.
“The guys that went out there (for us), I thought they wrestled well, but I think there’s a little bit more work to be done. We need to work a little bit harder in the practice room and I think we need to have a little bit more pride and work a little bit harder on and off the mat.”
Top Photo: Wissahickon’s Brian Pennell pins Hatboro-Horsham’s Logan Flynn during their 195-pound bout in their teams’ dual meet on Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2017. (Bob Raines/Digital First Media)
