Spring-Ford wins PAC firstplace showdown with OJR
UPPER PROVIDENCE >> They were recognized Wednesday evening for their contributions to the Spring-Ford High wrestling program.
In a gesture of reciprocation, the Rams’ senior grapplers honored their school by moving the team one step closer to a Pioneer Athletic Conference championship.
Members of the SpringFord Class of 2020 joined with their underclass mates to win over Owen J. Roberts, 39-32, on Senior/Parent Recognition Night. It was the satisfactory cap to a busy night on the mats, with youth and junior-varsity bouts staged prior to the main events.
“We knew it was a big night, and we had to get the job done,” Louis Carbajal, one of Spring-Ford’s senior honorees, said amidst a throng of teammates celebrating the Senior Night activities. “I’d
say we have a good class and team overall. We’re confident overall ... even though we started the season with a lot of injuries, we were confident.”
A dual match next Wednesday with Perkiomen Valley is all that stands between Spring-Ford and an outright PAC championship. A sweep of the Liberty Division ranks, coupled with a team championship in the recent PAC Individual Championships, will sew up the league honors.
Appropriately enough, a pairing of the Liberty Division’s lone unbeaten teams — they have a combined 22-3 record in dual matches — didn’t lack for drama. The final outcome wasn’t established until the next-to-last bout, where Jack McGill’s first-period pin at 152 gave the Rams (4-0) an insurmountable 39-27 lead.
“I’m glad it was settled the way it did, in duals,” SF head coach Tim Seislove said. “That’s the way it should be settled.”
And the Ram Nation faithful had its seniors to thank. Five of the night’s recognized grapplers saw action, and three scored pivotal victories.
Carbajal’s first-period pin at 220 reversed a narrow OJR lead to a 12-7 advantage that held up the rest of the way. Sean Brogan followed with another fall at 285, continuing a three-bout swing that put the Rams up 24-7, and Quinn Tobin scored another drop at 132 that gave his team breathing room prior to the neighboring rivals splitting the final four weights.
“We plug away, working in the room,” Tobin said. “Throughout the year we worked hard. That’s what it comes down to.”
Owen J, the PAC’s defending team champion coming into the night’s action, used a three-weight swing of its own to make it a twopoint (24-22) duel with five bouts left. Mason Karkoska’s 11-8 decision of Quinn Smith at 113, followed by Joshua Jackson’s 27-second pin at 120 and David Forrest’s third-period drop at 126, closed the Wildcats (31) on their hosts.
“It was a good one,” OJR head coach Steve DeRafelo said afterwards. “Duals often come down to swings, and there were a couple bonus points we left out there.”
Austin Boaman got Owen J. going with a 17-6 major decision in the 170-pound lid-lifter. Joey Milano, fresh off a championship showing in the Escape the Rock Tournament this past weekend, answered for Spring-Ford with a 59-second pin at 182 before Tommy Dempsey gritted out a 3-1 decision of Gavin Hartman at 195.
“We started at a good spot,” Seislove said. “A lot of seniors went out and did the job, scoring pins, battling, keeping some matches to a decision.”
The Rams’ initial swing was capped by Cole Smith scoring a first-period pin at 106. The Wildcats’ own swing cut down SpringFord’s 24-7 lead, but their finishing flourish of Antonio Petrucelli racking up a technical fall at the four-minute mark of 145 and Connor Quinn’s technical fall in the 160-pound finale could only close the final score. Quinn was returning to the lineup for the first time since being injured at the Rock Yard Duals on Jan. 4.
“They’re one of our biggest competitors,” Quinn said of Owen J. “Now we have to keep our minds and bodies right and get ready for the postseason.”
Spring-Ford, which benefited from Zach Needles’ 4-3 decision over Carver Leighton at 138 down the stretch, takes a decided head of steam into the next month’s action. It jumped into the District 1-AAA Duals tournament Thursday at West Chester Rustin — the goal a third straight qualification for the PIAA AAA Duals — after winning the PAC Championships and making a strong showing at the Escape the Rock Tournament.
“We still have a lot to accomplish,” Carbajal said. NOTES >> Tobin and Milano are closing in on the 100win mark for their scholastic careers. Following the lead of McGill — he reached the 100 plateau this past weekend at the Escape the Rock Tournament – Tobin and Milano are hovering around the 90-win level . ... Carbajal, whose post-graduation plans will have him enlisting in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves, credited the Spring-Ford coaching staff with helping prepare to face the physicality of military service. “He (Seislove) puts us through hard practices,” Carbajal said, “but he and the coaches treat everyone like family.” ... Another service-bound Ram senior is Gavin Hartman, who will be entering the United States Air Force.