Methacton earns 7 pins in win over Wissahickon

WORCESTER >> A late takedown had Brody Borkowski trailing after the opening period of his 172-pound match against Wissahickon’s Nathanael Chez Wednesday night.

“He caught me off guard there,” the Methacton wrestling senior said. “He tried a couple times before that, I knew it was coming a little bit but it was hard for me to stop it, it was a good shot.”

But Borkowski reset in the second, pulling level with a reverse then taking control of the contest and securing a win with a pin at 3:28.

“You really got to put it behind you and go at it like it’s a new match, new period,’ he said.

Borkowski’s pin was the Warriors’ sixth of the dual meet with the visiting Trojans as Methacton ended the nonleague contest with seven falls in the 12 contested matches in earning a 54-10 victory.  

“Tonight, I really did feel great, I feel we really came out there with some confidence,” Borkowski said. “And all these younger guys on the team are really stepping it up for us. We only have three seniors so it’s tough to really take charge but we really came out swinging tonight, I liked it.”

In their first meeting since the 2014-2015 season, the teams split the first two matches, each earning a decision but beginning at 120 Wissahickon collected four consecutive pins – senior Joseph’s Gregory win by fall in 2:58 at 138 putting the Warriors up 27-3.

The Trojans’ DJ Adriaanse snapped the run with his major decision victory at 145 but Methacton proceeded to win the next five, three by fall before Wissahickon’s Ryan Lee took 285 in the tiebreaker round with a 2-1 decision.

“I think overall it was actually a good match,” Trojans coach Anthony Stagliano said. “And I wasn’t displeased with how we wrestled, especially the beginning of the match, the first five or six matches.”

Wissahickon’s night got off to an inopportune start prior to the meet with a number of a wrestler checking in overweight, which Stagliano chalked up to the possibility of the Trojans’ scale needing an adjustment.

“We got here and I we had about 10 guys overweight,” Stagliano said. “I think we have to check our scale because I saw the guys, DJ had to move up from 38 to 45, he was on weight at our school, he got here he was like 1.8 over and it was like all the way through the lineup. I’m like what the hell’s going on.

“We tested their scale, I think it’s our scale so I got to correct it because I don’t know if it would of made a difference in the score but I think we could of won one or two more matches maybe with the matchups.”

For the Warriors, Borkowski, who usually competes at 152 and 160, bumped up to 172 and after trailing 2-0 at the end of the first period, powered up to his knees and spun around to pick up a reversal in the second. Borkowski tried for a pin near the mat’s edge, could not full secure it but reset a bit further inside the circle and got the fall.

“I hit a pretty nice switch and then ducked under his leg there then I got the bar on him right away, which really helped out cause when you get a bar on somebody it really holds them down there,” Borkowski said. “I had to drag him inbounds have the area to pin him. I was pinning him over then kind of lost it so I had to reach back and grab him and then I had to really hold on there.”

Methacton next wrestles Saturday at the Spartan Duals at Springfield-Montco. Wissahickon hosts Springfield in an SOL nondivision matchup 7 p.m. Wednesday.

“We kind of got rid of wrestling them for a few reasons but really respect (Methacton coach) Mark Harner,” Stagliano said. “We go back a long way and wanted to start the rivalry again with Mark cause I respect him, I think he’s a great coach.”

Borkowski, who also plays football and lacrosse, went 24-13 as a sophomore and just missed out on regionals, losing via tiebreak in the District 1-3A North consolation semifinals in finishing fifth at 145. He made districts again as a junior at 160 and finished 6-5 in the COVID-19 shortened season.

“Football and lacrosse we had normal seasons this year and last year we had a normal season with lacrosse so that definitely helped,” Borkowski said. “And you just really got to go harder in practice and push yourself cause that’s the only person that’s holding you back is yourself.”

Methacton’s Ryan Hayes opened the dual meet with a 6-2 decision at 106. Wissahickon tied things 3-3 after a Julian Memis 5-1 decision at 113 but sophomore Axaviar Damavandi put the Warriors up for good with his pin in 60 seconds at 120.

Falls by fellow sophomores Joseph Simko at 126 and Ryan Bove at 132 followed extended Methacton’s lead to 21-3.

“We do have some younger, promising kids so we got to just grow them even more cause high school’s a whole different game,” Borkowski said.

Gregory made it four pins in a row for Methacton at 138 but senior Adriaanse stopped the run, getting Wissahickon to within 27-7 as he claimed a 13-3 major decision at 145.

“He’s a good wrestler,” said Stagliano of Adriaanse, a two-time district qualifier. “When I say he’s a good wrestler, he knows what he needs to do when he needs to do it.”

Methacton, however, got pins from Matt Shumaker at 152 and Borkowski at 172 with a forfeit in between at 160 to push its advantage to 45-7.

Isaiah People made it 48-7 with a late takedown in the third period to earn a 6-5 decision at 189. Joshua Cancro recorded the Warriors’ last and fast pin, getting the fall at 215 in 29 seconds.

Lee gave Wissahickon a third win at 285, taking the night’s final match with a point in the first tiebreaker session then held on the following 30-second period for a 2-1 decision.

Methacton 54, Wissahickon 10
106: Ryan Hayes (M) dec. Matt Labroli (W) 6-2.
113: Julian Memis (W) dec. Joshua Retzlaff (M) 5-1.
120: Axaviar Damavandi (M) pinned Martin Vandergrift (W) 1:00.
126: Joseph Simko (M) pinned Justin Miller (W) 3:24.
132: Ryan Bove (M) pinned Ethan Terrenzio (W) 2:20.
138: Joe Gregory (M) pinned Michael Ross (W) 2:58.
145: DJ Adriaanse (W) maj. dec. Grant Baker (M) 13-3.
152: Matt Shumaker (M) pinned Charlies Jones (W) 2:44.
160: Levi Borkowski (M) win by forfeit.
172: Brody Borkowski (M) pinned Nathanael Chez (W) 3:28.
189: Isaiah Peoples (M) dec. Evan Prestipino (W) 6-5.
215: Joshua Cancro (M) pinned Tyler Prince W) 0:29.
285: Ryan Lee (W) dec. Damian Moser 2-1 (TB).