Judge puts Spring-Ford on backs in finals

ABINGTON » Tim Seislove could only look toward the rafters and smile.

His Spring-Ford High wrestling team had just lost to Father Judge, 48-25, in the finals of the Ghost Town Duals at Abington High School, and Seislove, never a coach given to histrionics, was as calm as if he’d just stepped out into the sunshine on a 75-degree day.

The Rams gave up seven pins to the champs, and Seislove was grinning over what could have been.

“Our kids just didn’t stay off their backs,” the coach said as the Crusaders posed for a victory photo right in front of him. “In the finals match we just gave up too many pins. They have some tough kids and we didn’t stay off our backs.”

It was a good day for the two Philadelphia-based schools at the tourney as, along with Judge’s tournament win Northeast High finished third in the final team standings.

But the focus was on the Crusaders, who bested Pennsbury, Upper Darby, Upper Moreland and Wissahickon before dispatching SpringFord.

“They’re very good, they’re not weak anywhere,” said HatboroHorsham’s Glenn Kaiser. “They’ve done their homework, they have a

solid team and they’re going to be tough to beat in District 12.

“You saw it today, they just wrestle hard for six minutes, and with the talent they have that’s a winning combination.”

Spring-Ford got off to a quick start, using wins by Brandon Meredith and Dirk Nugent, among others, to best both Penncrest and Hatboro-Horsham, then easily dispatched Abington and Northeast to reach the finals.

But once there, the Rams were bludgeoned by the Crusaders, who got falls from seven different wrestlers to earn the easy win and the

team title.

“We’re just trying to get healthy and get better,” Seislove said. “And we have to get everybody where they need to be.

“Hopefully, we’ll get it done after Christmas.”