After three forfeits started off last Wednesday's meet, freshman Tylor Stubbs (right) gave SCH its first win on the mat in the 126 lb. class. (Photo by Tom Utescher)

by Tom Utescher

Understaffed for last Wednesday's road meet at the Academy of the New Church, the Blue Devils of Springside Chestnut Hill Academy had to forfeit in four weight classes, while the host Lions forfeited twice.

This netted the Devils a deficit of 12 team points, but in the eight bouts decided out on the mat, SCH recorded five pins and won a sixth match by decision, overcoming ANC, 45-34.

The Blue Devils had opened the season with a narrow victory over Germantown Friends (41-36) in which senior middleweight Marco Goldberg logged his 100th victory as a varsity wrestler. Unfortunately for SCH, neither Goldberg nor his sophomore brother Aden were available for duty last Wednesday in Bryn Athyn.

Springside Chestnut Hill scored first in the meet, with sophomore Jack Sanderson accepting an ANC forfeit in the 106 lb. class. The Blue Devils then gave back those points and more, unable to fill the 112 and 120 lb. weight classes and dropping behind 12-6 in the team score.

The meet scoreboard then see-sawed back to the visitors thanks to a decision and a pin at 126 and 132.

With two takedowns and a near fall, SCH freshman Tylor Stubbs built up a 6-0 lead in points over the first two periods. With an escape in the third round, he came away with a 7-0 decision.

Senior Justin Moderski was next up at 132 lbs. Taken down early in the match and then receiving a point for a locking-hands penalty on his opponent, Moderski trailed 2-1 going into the second period. Starting down, he engineered an escape and then completed a takedown to assume the lead on points. Notching a pin with 23.7 seconds remaining in round two, he moved SCH ahead in the meet score, 15-12.

Once again, SCH forfeits quickly erased the visitors' lead, with New Church going unopposed in the 138 and 145 lb. weight classes. The visitors fell farther behind, 30-15, when the Lions notched their only pin of the afternoon, ending the 152 lb. contest late in the first period.

The Blue Devils' climb back into contention began with a 160 lb. match featuring Tylor Stubbs' brother Nelson, also a freshman. Takedowns, a reversal, and an escape came into play as Stubbs enjoyed a slight edge at the end of each of the first two periods, 4-3 and 6-5. This contest did not come down to the wire, though, as Stubbs started on top for the third round and proceeded to turn and eventually pin his rival with 10.8 seconds remaining.

In the 182 lb. bout, the referee is ready to proclaim a first-period pin for Blue Devils junior Tyler Guzik. (Photo by Tom Utescher)

In the 170 lb. class, sophomore R.J. Moore had a more substantial lead after two periods, a 7-2 advantage founded on takedowns and a near fall. He went up 11-3 in points before securing a pin a little more than halfway through the third frame. The Devils now trailed in the team total by just three points, 30-27.

Their deficit was erased altogether when junior 182 Tyler Guzik matted his man in 62 seconds. Next, a takedown by SCH senior Will Neverosky accounted for the only two points in the first period of the 195 lb. bout. Starting on the bottom, Neverosky reserved his opponent immediately at the start of the second round and got the pin with 1:37 still remaining in the period to spread the core to 39-30.

Pat Ferns, a 220 lb. Blue Devil senior, faced one of ANC's best wrestlers in Sean McCurdy, also a 12th-grader. Ferns registered the first takedown and led 2-1 after one round, but a productive second period sent McCurdy into the third with a 9-3 advantage. He then reversed to open up the eight-point gap necessary for a major decision.

Ferns almost got loose for a stand-up escape several times, but McCurdy managed to maintain control for the major, 11-3. The outcome of this clash would become a moot point when the Lions forfeited at 285 lbs. to Guzik's freshman brother, Grant, giving SCH an 11-point margin of victory at the end.

The event at ANC was actually a tri-meet of sorts; the third party, Phelps School, only had about half-a-dozen wrestlers on hand. There were only three official matches on the mat between Phelps and SCH, with the Blue Devils winning all three. Sanderson won by technical fall, while Tylor Stubbs and Moore both pinned their opponents.

This season, the older of the Guzik brothers is a team tri-captain for Springside Chestnut Hill, along with Marco Goldberg and Neverosky. In addition to Goldberg's 100th win at the start of the season, other highlights have included bronze-medal finishes for Ferns and Tyler Guzik at the expansive Germantown Academy tournament.

Ed Dingley is now in his fifth season as SCH head coach, and he's being assisted once again by Joe Aversa, a graduate of the old Chestnut Hill Academy. Also helping out is 2017 SCH grad Michael Spirito, whose brother T.J. is a junior on this year's team.