Methacton pins down a win over Norristown

WEST NORRITON >> In what was a tight, back-and-forth match all evening, Oswaldo Carbajal allowed Methacton to breathe a little easier.

Carbajal battled to a 9-0 major-decision victory over Norristown’s Jared Rubin at 126 pounds, locking things up and sending the Warriors on their way to a 38-35 win over the Eagles.

“I just came out with intensity, because my team told me ‘intensity, intensity. Overcome your match,’” Carbajal said. “And I did.”

Of his mindset going into the match, the second-to-last one of the evening, with Methacton clinging to a 34-31 lead, Carbajal said: “I gotta put it away. We need this match. Keep finishing. Keep finishing.”

The junior capped off an evening in which Methacton bolted to an early advantage and then overcame Norristown late in order to prevail in the Pioneer Athletic Conference Liberty Division matchup.

“Norristown has always been a tough program to beat and to come out with a victory is nice,” said Warriors coach Brad Clark. “But we still have a lot of work to do.”

Things started off well for Methacton when Sam Rennie muscled his way to a 12-4 major decision over Elijah Levine at 138 pounds.

“Sam has been a workhorse for us,” Clark said. “He’s battled through adversity, and in the last couple of matches, he has come around. He’s pinning people now, and that’s a kid on our team that deserves a lot of credit.”

Methacton led by as many as 16 but the Eagles came back, leading 31-22 when Kenya Spence — trailing 5-1 — pinned Gabriel Move at 106, as the Norristown fans erupted.

But that would be it for the Eagles until 132, with the match already clinched by Methacton.

“At two of the weights, we needed bonus points,” Eagles coach Mark Harner said. “And we had a couple young kids that are on their way, and they were just giving up tech falls, but they got pinned at the last second.”

The Warriors led 34-31 going into the 126-pound bout, and then Carbajal did the rest.

“Ozzy’s a special kid,” Clark said. “He’s been working very hard over the course of the year, and finally coming out and wrestling pretty intense. He went out and did it for his team.”