BALLSTON PINS SHEN
Lightweights pull their weight late in match to secure Scotties win
BALLSTON SPA, N.Y. » It wasn’t a surprise that Wednesday’s dual meet between the Suburban Council North’s undefeated powerhouses would come down to the final matches or that the two top-ranked state teams would see the lighter weights decide the final outcome.
What made Ballston Spa’s 37-35 win over visiting Shenendehowa exciting was the chance for the fans in the packed gymnasium to see the Scotties preserve the victory on two separate occasions.
When Ballston Spa freshman Nick Palso pinned Shenendehowa’s Brice Anderson in the closing seconds of the second period that secured the Scotties eight win on the night and in the long run the night’s contest.
With the match starting at 126 pounds and then rolling back through to the lightweights to close out the night, if the contest ended tied on the scoreboard, the first tie-breaking criteria is matches won.
“I knew I had to get a pin because their 120 was good, but our 120 was good too and I knew I had to get a pin,” 106-pound Ballston Spa freshman Nick Palso said. “There was a lot of pressure.”
Palso had experience against Shenendehowa’s Brice Anderson, earning a major decision and a technical pin fall (15-point decision) in previous matches, but on Wednesday Anderson wasn’t about to go so easily.
Palso put up six quick points in the first period with a takedown and two back points before taking Anderson down again to the mat after an escape with 1:06 left.
With the 6-2 lead to start the second period Anderson escaped from under Palso and that’s when the Ballston Spa freshman made his move.
“His position on his feet was
not that good and his head was there, so I just decided to throw him and I got his head and arm,” Palso said.
He was able to get Anderson onto his back and then apply pressure for his opponent’s blades to touch the mat and secure the pin and the match for Ballston Spa.
For the casual spectator after Ballston Spa handed Shenendehowa a forfeit at 113-pounds the scoreboard reflected a 37- 31 score in favor of the Scotties and the night’s finale between Shenendehowa’s Mike Dimonda and Ballston Spa’s Chris Grace appeared to become the decisive match between the two Saratoga County competitors.
Grace stood his ground, or rather, stayed upright on the mat, determined to not cause confusion among the friends, family and fans in the stands and held off Dimonda for the full six minutes, giving up eight points in the match and along with it four team points, but allowing everyone to see that the Scotties once again topped the Plainsmen in their home gym.
“It’s very hard and I just wanted to give up the least amount of points for the team and just follow through with the win,” Chris Grace said. “Coach talked to me about it, he was ‘ Whatever you do, don’t get pinned and hopefully we win it.”
To add pressure to the freshman’s final, he was pinned by Dimonda during Saturday’s Saratoga Invitational in 39 seconds in the wrestle backs.
“He got me in a cradle and I just got pinned (on Saturday),” Grace said.
On Wednesday Grace fought through Dimonda’s grasp and held on for the 8- 0 decision and the four points only brought the Plainsmen closer on the scoreboard, but for the Scotties it secured a clearly visible win to all in the Ballston Spa gymnasium.
“Mike Dimonda wrestled the kid a week ago, had a better result against him, but the kid knew what he was doing,” Shenendehowa Coach Rob Weeks said. “The kid knew not to get pinned. It’s a strategy that some kids are better at than others and that kid wrestled tough to get majored (major decision).
“I had four matches that I thought could go either way. Two of them went the way I wanted them to and two of them didn’t. It was an 8-7 dual. I told the team yesterday it was going to be an 8-7 dual, the problem is they won the eight and we won the seven.”
The season isn’t over and the two squads already have a re-match on the books, the opening round of the Section II dual meet state qualifier will be held at Ballston Spa Tuesday, Jan. 16 with Averill Park facing Columbia sideby-side in the elimination round. The winners will then meet again at Ballston Spa on Jan. 23 to determine Section II’s representative to the first- ever New York State dual meet championships in Syracuse.
Ballston Spa Coach Harvey Staulters wasn’t going to let Tuesday’s success get in the way of slowing down in the Scotties wrestling room.
“We never do assume, we just do our work in the practice room,” Harvey Staulters said. “They’ve really been working well. I haven’t had to work too hard with them.
“I’ve got a good group of seniors and because of that leadership they know how to work, how to drill and we don’t have to go a long time either, just get the work done and then we can move on.”