The action at the District 1-AAA West Tournament was worth the price of admission.
If tickets were available to watch Boyertown practice, there might just be a line out the door.
Jordan Wertz vs. Jordan Wood makes for quite the marquee matchup.
It’s a match waged every day. And both are the better for it.
Senior Wertz and sophomore Wood were two major reasons why Saturday’s tournament at Spring-Ford was one to watch, thanks largely to the Bears upperweights’ dominance.
Wertz worked wonders through the 195-pound bracket with a pair of pins before scoring a technical fall of Penncrest’s Austin Jacque in the final to claim the gold medal, and win his 99th career match.
Wood, for his part, was equally dominant, rolling up three first-period pins and the Outstanding Wrestler Award in the process.
While Wood continues to look every bit the part of the freshman who took home state silver a year ago, Wertz’s turn atop the podium seemed to feel a bit sweeter than his teammate’s.
A year ago, there was no place on that podium for Wertz.
“I was predicted to go to states and maybe place and I lost one match here (in the District 1-AAA West Tournament), and it got in my head and then I lost to a kid I beat 9-0 the week before,’ Wertz said.
With his focus reinvested on improving and moving beyond the consolation semifinals departure of 2013, Wertz (44-3) showed no signs of any such disappointment this time around.
And now he gets to keep working toward the many goals he’s still hoping to accomplish.
“It feels great,’ Wertz said of winning the 195-pound crown. “One thing I really wanted to get here was my 100th win, but it turned out that I only got two wins last week (in the PAC-10 Championships) so I have to wait until next week. But it’s great knowing that I did better than I did last year and I have the chance to keep moving forward and have the chance to go to states.’
Wood certainly doesn’t mind having his practice partner continue on the journey toward Hershey.
“Since last year, every day, we’ve been pushing each other in the room,’ Wood said. “He pushes me as good as anyone else. He’s the real deal so I’m really excited he’s doing big things this year.’
Their practice room competition is nothing new.
“We battle in practice. We get in fights, we go at each other trying to make each other better every single day,’ Wertz said.
Not that kind of fight though.
“We’ve been best friends since we were 10 years old,’ Wertz said. “He’d be on my team in junior high for one or two years and we’ve helped each other as much as possible. Being together really created a bond and we know what to help each other with to take on the mat.’
It’s two teammates and friends’ willingness to work harder than the competition that has them at the forefront of Boyertown’s brilliant season that has featured PAC-10 and District 1 championships and a trip to the PIAA Tournament.
“Skill and conditioning. We go hard, two minutes, if we’re not tired yet we keep going,’ Wood said of their practice sessions. “Once we get tired we keep going until we’re just exhausted.’
Wood has gone largely untested through the first two tournaments of the postseason, even eliciting a light moment in the final when Pottstown’s Josh Slody raised his arms with a smile to his cheering section upon introduction, sensing what was to come. It came 1:08 later. Yet, Wood’s focus isn’t wavering.
“It’s pretty exciting to win (the title), but I have to look at every match the same. Take every match one at a time, whether it’s the state finals or a JV tournament,’ he said. “(Returning to the state final is) the main goal but right now I just want to win that next match.’
Wood, who boosted his season record to an unblemished 36-0, has talked about wanting to ‘ dominate’ an opponent, not just coming away with close wins.
Wertz shares the same mantra, and is now executing it, too.
“I try to go as hard as I can every day in practice. I know I can beat these kids but one of my main things was to dominate any time I wrestle,’ he said. “That’s what I’ve been trying to do. I’m trying to not only win, but win by more than one or two points.’
He’s even managed to do that being elevated all the way from 195 to 285 on more than one occasion during the dual meet season.
“When coach comes up to me and says we need you to go up to heavyweight, we need you to weigh in over 197, you’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do for the team because I know it will help us in the long run,’ Wertz said.
Wertz nor Wood needs worry about that any longer. Not that it was a problem, considering Wertz went 3-0 and Wood 8-0 at heavyweight this season.
Now they get to pick on people their own size.
Or each other as the case may be — elevating each other’s level every step of the way.
