Although Blue Devils freshman R.J. Moore (left) scored a takedown at the start of the 170 lb. bout, Patriots sophomore Brian Kelley prevailed by pin later on. (Photo by Tom Utescher)

by Tom Utescher

For their last contest of the Inter-Ac League dual meet season, the wrestling teams from host Germantown Academy and visiting Springside Chestnut Hill Academy agreed to begin last Tuesday’s event at the traditional starting weight of 106 lbs.

The result was that the visiting Blue Devils fell far behind GA in the team scoring very quickly.

In a 106 lb. bout between two freshmen, the Patriots’ Jake Wezner took a 2-1 advantage into the third round, then pinned visitor Jack Sanderson in the middle of the final period. That outcome would be followed by four forfeits by SCH that helped get Germantown out to a 30-0 lead en route to a 64-18 victory.

GA would notch five pins and a major decision, while giving back to SCH 12 forfeit points at the end in the 225 and 285 lb. weight classes. The Blue Devils’ lone win in competition was a pin by sophomore Tyler Guzik at 160 lbs. In addition to vacancies in the line-up, Springside Chestnut Hill had been forced to replace injured veterans with less experienced wrestlers at several weights.

Germantown Academy finished up the league duals with a 4-1 record, bowing only to powerful Malvern Prep. That record was reversed for the SCH Blue Devils in the Inter-Ac, with their win coming against Haverford School and one of the losses featuring just a three-point margin of victory for Episcopal Academy.

Before Tuesday’s action got underway, GA honored its lone senior, 132 lb. Mark Fasciocco. A four-year varsity wrestler for the Patriots, he will continue his career on the mat at Washington & Lee University in Virginia.

After the initial GA win by Wezner, Fasciocco was last in line to accept the four consecutive forfeits offered up by the visitors. Before him came sophomore Jamie McGrath (113 lbs.), junior Chris Kim (120) and sophomore Christian Colman (126).

After the string of forfeits, GA’s sophomore 138-pounder, Luke Duthie, went out to wrestle SCH senior Simon Kioko, who is most often positioned at 126 lbs. Kioko survived several precarious near-fall situations, but Duthie secured a major decision on points, 13-2.

SCH senior Kieron Cook held on until the third period, but eventually was pinned by GA freshman Brendan Donnelly in the 152 lb. match. (Photo by Tom Utescher)

The 145 lb. contest lasted 55 seconds, with the Patriots’ Brian Allen ending it by pinning fellow freshman Andrew Topping to give GA a 40-0 lead in the team score.

Although Blue Devils senior Kieron Cook did not score in his 152 lb. encounter with GA ninth grader Brendan Donnelly, he almost made the match go the distance. Donnelly led 9-0 after two periods and was on the verge of a technical fall when he got the pin instead with 13 seconds left in the third.

At 160, GA junior Deon Savage and SCH sophomore Tyler Guzik each seemed on the verge of a takedown at various times during the opening period, but round one ended at 0-0. In the second, an escape and takedown had Savage ahead 3-0 early, then Guzik reversed and pinned with 52 seconds left to post the visitors’ first points of the day, and the only ones earned on the mat.

Blue Devils freshman R.J. Moore started out with a takedown at 170 lbs., then the momentum switched to sophomore Brian Kelley of the Patriots, who led 6-2 after the first period. Off of a neutral start in the second, Kelley scored an early takedown and then eventually pinned a stubborn Moore with 23 ticks remaining in the round.

Two takedowns and a pair of back points were recorded by GA junior Wyatt Hare in the first period at 182, while visiting senior Joe McDertmott picked up an escape point in the middle to make it 6-1 going into the second. With a standing start in round two, Hare needed only 29 seconds to go from a takedown to a successful pinning combination.

The 195-pounders, sophomore Harrison Levans for Germantown and junior Will Neverosky for Springside Chestnut Hill, stalked one another to a 0-0 stalemate in the first period. Beginning in the superior position as the wrestlers finally got down on the mat, Levans kept control until he got a pin with 21 seconds left in the second round, raising the team score to 64-6.

That completed the scoring for the home team, while SCH would wind up with 18 points after GA forfeited to sophomore Pat Ferns at 225 lbs. and to freshman Mac Levin at 285.