Hopewell Valley WrestlingThe Hopewell Valley Central High School wrestling team sent nine wrestlers to the District 17 tournament this month at Hunterdon Central, and left with mixed results.
By: Matt Nalbone
The tournament featured everyone in a must-win situation or his season was done. District 17 is considered one of the toughest in the state and possesses several powerhouse teams including the host team and North Hunterdon.
There were a few bright spots for the Bulldogs as they did have two wrestlers make it to the semifinals.
Joe Griffin had little trouble with his opponent from Notre Dame in the 125-pound weight class, as he dispatched him in only 27 seconds.
The results were similar for heavyweight Mike Williams, as he only needed 1:43 to pin his opponent from Notre Dame.
The semifinals were not as kind to Griffin, as the standout wrestler lost twice to end his season a little sooner than expected.
Williams, however, had a good day, finishing third advancing to the Region V tournament this past week.
He lost in the semis to the wrestler from Delaware Valley, 5-3, in overtime. Williams’ DelVal opponent went on to win the tournament.
Williams then had an impressive outing in the consolation round, pinning a Hunterdon Central wrestler in just over a minute.
Hopewell, which ended the season winning three-of-four matches, had a few Bulldogs wrestling in the pre-quarterfinals Friday, meaning they received a lower seed and had to win twice to advance.
Ryan Hamor started the day for HoVal with a win at 103, pinning his opponent in the third period. His reward was a wrestler from Hunterdon Central, who pinned him in less than a minute.
Will Randle and Nick Boczkowski also had to take part in the pre-quarterfinals, but didn’t make it out of that round.
In the quarterfinals, Hopewell had another four guys compete, but they all were defeated by tough opponents.
Cory Agin was pinned in the third round by a Voorhees wrestler at 112, and Tom Verbeyst lost 11-1 to a Delaware Valley opponent at 140. Brian Yaros’ year ended with a 12-4 loss to a local competitor from Lawrence and Pete Castiglione’s wrestling career ended with a loss to yet another Delaware Valley wrestler.
Hunterdon Central won the team competition 224.5 to 177.5 over North Hunterdon, with Del Val coming in third with 171 points. Hopewell finished in eighth with 28 points.
The future looks bright for the Bulldogs, who only lose one wrestler to graduation and should get a few back from injury to fill the holes in the line-up.