Sogo keeps rolling as GFS overcomes Kangaroos

Posted 1/18/17

by Tom Utescher With two more weight classes to go, Germantown Friends School senior heavyweight Tunde Sogo pinned his Abington Friends opponent to move the Tigers ahead in their Friends Schools …

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Sogo keeps rolling as GFS overcomes Kangaroos

Posted

by Tom Utescher

With two more weight classes to go, Germantown Friends School senior heavyweight Tunde Sogo pinned his Abington Friends opponent to move the Tigers ahead in their Friends Schools League dual meet opener last Wednesday.

The team score remained at 36-34 as neither school sent out a wrestler in the 106 lb. category, then GFS freshman Javier Carmona accepted an Abington forfeit at 113 lbs. to seal a 42-34 victory for the host Tigers.

Both Germantown and the AFS Kangaroos have vacancies at some weights to begin with, and a number of their available wrestlers just didn't line up with one another in other classes. Only three matches actually took place; Sogo winning one for the home team and the 'Roos earning a pin at 132 lbs. and a major decision at 152.

Sogo remained undefeated for the season, and as first-year GFS head coach Paul Hammond pointed out, "He's pinned 16 of his opponents, and he has four forfeits. His confidence is high, and he looks like a man amongst boys right now."

Sogo has won five tournament championships, most recently at the Church Farm School Invitational on January 7. At the same tournament, Carmona and fellow freshman Ben Egner (120 lbs.) placed second for GFS, while junior Quincy Henderson was third at 220 lbs. and freshman Liem Kleitz was fourth at 132.

In dual meets, Germantown Friends had a 3-8 record coming into last Wednesday's FSL debut. Abington arrived with a 1-5 mark and had already wrestled one league meet, defeating George School.

The starting weight was 120 lbs., and the Tigers quickly took a 12-0 lead in the team score as the Kangaroos forfeited to first to Cormona and then to Egner at 126. Before long, though, Abington was ahead 18-12. Kangaroos sophomore Jack Balick pinned Liem Kleitz with 1:03 remaining in the first period of the 132-pound bout, and then GFS forfeited in the 138 and 145 lb. weight classes.

Spectators were pleased to see that each team had a 152 lb. entry. After a takedown near the middle of the opening period, AFS senior Mike Sadowski turned the Tigers' Elijah Lachman, but the GFS freshman fought off a pin for half-a-minute. The match went the distance, but although Lachman scored some escape points, Sadowski earned a 16-2 major decision that spread the meet score to 22-12.

The Tigers moved ahead 24-22 as their guests forfeited to Aidan Kleitz (Liem's twin brother) at 160 lbs. and to junior Ishmael Bynum at 170. AFS then leapfrogged into the lead again, sending out its wrestlers at 182 and 195 lbs. to collect forfeits from Germantown Friends. The home team trimmed its deficit to four points, 30-34, when Henderson went unopposed in the 220 lb. spot.

Next up was the 285 lb. contest, and with a double forfeit due at 106 lbs. and an Abington no-show expected at the final weight (113), all that the Tigers' imposing Sogo had to do was win by any means to assure a team victory.

Fellow senior Isaiah McNair of AFS provided more resistance than many of Sogo's rivals this season, but after a close 2-1 opening round, three back points helped the top Tiger take an 8-1 lead into the third period. From a neutral (standing) start, Sogo scored a takedown a little over 20 seconds in, and then he pinned McNair exactly halfway through the final frame.

All that remained was for Carmona to accept a final Abington forfeit at 113 lbs. to lock in the team tally at 42-34.

Although Sogo began wrestling at GFS in the seventh grade, he's made significant strides toward the end of his high school career according to Coach Hammond, who was an assistant coach with the team prior to taking over the top job this season.

"He has a good mat sense now; he knows where he's at and he has a lot of takedowns for a heavyweight," the Tigers' mentor pointed out. "When other guys shoot for a takedown, he's sprawling and getting his legs and hips back, which we didn't see a lot last year. He's sponged on to what we say and he's right on board with the program we're trying to create here."

Commenting on one of Sogo's personal attributes, Hammond noted, "He's one of the most polite kids I've ever coached. I remember when I first started to work with him I was showing him some moves, and he would thank me after each little thing I taught him. I told him, that's okay, you can just thank me at the end of practice."

Although only three bouts took place in last Wednesday's official varsity meet, it was preceded by a middle school competition between the two schools and was followed by some exhibition matches.

"I'm glad we were able to get a number of other kids out there," Hammond said. "We have some good talent in the middle school this year, with seven or eight kids who really have some potential."

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