Bethlehem Catholic’s Mayer has 1 golden chance remaining
Matt Mayer wakes up every morning with one thought.
“I remember last year I left the Giant Center in tears,” the Bethlehem Catholic senior said.
Mayer was a two-time fourth-place finisher in 2018 and ’19 before walking out last March empty-handed with a heavy heart.
The Duke-bound Mayer waited until the tears dried up before writing a plan on the board on the back of his bedroom door: ‘Last shot.’
Mayer also charted every
match he lost last season, why he lost them and his 2021 goals.
“The biggest thing on that is state champion,” he said.
Mayer is three wins away from a PIAA championship at 132 pounds. His final high school journey starts Friday with a quarterfinal match against Bellefonte junior Jude Swisher (23-2), who was fourth last year at 126.
It is a loaded bracket. A potential semifinal looms against state No. 1 Dylan Chappell of Seneca Valley (35-2), a two-time state runner-up with 162 career victories.
But Bethlehem Catholic coach Jeff Karam said Mayer’s frame of mind is all that matters.
“Matt is one of the most talented kids I’ve ever coached,” said Karam, who has coached 17 state champions. “It’s a matter of him putting it all together.
“I don’t think there’s a guy who could touch him if he would just wrestle six minutes.”
That was never more evident than last Saturday’s Class 3A East Super Regional final against Coatesville unbeaten Nathan Lucier. Mayer led 9-3 early in the third period but gave up three takedowns in the last 54 seconds — including one with two back points just before the buzzer to lose 13-11.
The Golden Hawk had numerous stoppages for blood pouring from above his right eye. It was the latest of several physical obstacles since October.
Gall bladder surgery slowed him down for a couple of weeks before the start of regular-season practice, then it was a shoulder injury a few weeks into workouts.
Mayer first suffered a gash over his right eye during an early February practice with teammate and fellow state medalist Evan Gleason.
The injury bled for two days before Mayer got stitched up. It finally healed the week leading into super regionals, only to happen all over again.
The Golden Hawk’s right knee went numb in the super regional semifinal.
“The way my body has been acting,” Mayer said, “any little thing makes me go into panic mode. That’s the thing that I have to refuse to let into my psyche.”
Mayer was distraught last summer, having to sit on the 2020 state tournament failure while the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions included gym and high school wrestling room closures.
That left time to dwell on what happened, so he reached out to 2020 Bethlehem Catholic graduates and PIAA champions Kenny Herrmann and Cole Handlovic for perspective and guidance.
They told Mayer that his 2020 state performance was not going to define his career.
“They told me, ‘Dude, you have extreme potential,’ ” Mayer recalled. “They said that I couldn’t let that go to waste because of one tournament.
“They talked about the longterm aspect of wrestling, that now I had a reason to go much harder until I get that next shot.”
Herrmann and Handlovic spoke from experience.
They fell short of their state title dreams in previous seasons but made sure they left nothing to chance as seniors. Herrmann was a three-time state medalist before finally capturing gold as a senior with 1-0 win in the 132-pound final. Handlovic followed with a 3-2 decision at 145.
Mayer trained and drilled every chance he got when pandemic restrictions eased. Injuries aside, he has the physical tools to win a gold medal.
Mayer is working to get past the mental challenges that have hindered him during his career. Part of those obstacles include getting past the physical pain and the hesitation brought on by the blood of battle.
“Every time you shoot,” Mayer said, “you check your eye to make sure you’re not bleeding.”
Karam often has reminded Mayer what is possible and what it takes. Last Saturday’s super regional provided the latest teaching moment.
“There is a situation in a match when you start to coast,” Karam said, “but it can’t be three minutes into the match.
“That match hurt from a coach’s perspective because he was up 9-3 and he was like, ‘I’ve got this.’ You can’t do that. These guys here are good. [Lucier] was state-ranked.
“It was something to build on, but we’re running out of time. I do think Matt Mayer can win a state title. He has to put it all together.
“He can’t go into shutdown mode. Matt gets that mental block sometimes. He’s got to break that.”