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By Alex Frazier
Dave Irwin said it was all in the state of mind.
The Norristown 119-pounder knew all day long that there was a distinct possibility that he would face Upper Moreland’s state place winner Tim Santry in Wednesday night’s showdown for the American Conference title.
“We go back a while,” said Irwin. “He used to wrestle at my grandpop’s wrestling club. I used to beat him when I was younger, and the last time we wrestled he beat me.”
In one of the premier bouts of the night, Irwin delivered the knockout punch to the Golden Bears by decking Santry in 1:18.
Norristown went on to win two of the next three matches to defeat Upper Moreland, 47-27.
Both teams entered the final match of the season 6-0 in the league.
It was the Eagles’ first league title since 2004 when they defeated Council Rock South in the final meet of the season to force a three-way tie with Quakertown for the Continental Conference title.
The championship was particularly gratifying for Norristown, which was making its debut in the American Conference.
“I don’t know where these guys came from,” said Irwin. “They got real good over the past couple of years. They came out of nowhere. They surprised everyone. All the talk was about Upper Moreland all year that they were the top team in District One, and we were never mentioned, ever. I guess we’ll be mentioned now.”
Santry took an early lead when he countered an Irwin shot for a takedown, but Irwin quickly granbied free and hit Santry with a lethal headlock.
“My mentality coming in was I was going to pin him,” said Irwin. “That’s what I wanted to do, and I did it. He got that nice takedown. I was shooting for the wrong leg, and he took me down. I knew I could escape, though. Until this day I’ve been wanting to wrestle him. I’ll see him again.
“It surprised me when he came running out, but I was ready to wrestle him, and that’s what it came down to. I think my state of mind was better than his.”
Irwin even took extra practice to prepare for the eventuality.
“Right after school, I went and drilled all my stuff for a good 30 minutes,” he said.
The Irwin-Santry matchup would not have happened had not a few other things occurred.
The key bouts, according to Norristown coach Mark Harner, came at 145 and 152. At 145 Stephen Parker faced Mark Poderis, who had beaten him 8-4 at the Southeast Classic.
In the second bout of the night, Parker avenged that loss when he countered Poderis’ takedown attempt late in the bout and survived a 6-4 decision.
“Coming into this match, we had to win every tossup,” said Harner, “so that meant we had to win 145 and 152.”
Joe Kent then majored Max Agasar to give the Eagles a 13-0 lead.
Norristown also got the matchup it wanted at 160 and 171. Upper Moreland sent John Bolich out on the mat and the Eagles countered with Larry Gordon. The freshman wasn’t going to win that matchup, but he did an excellent job of fighting off his back to yield only a major decision.
“We wanted to keep the match close, so we put the better one against Larry,” said Joe Pierce, who came on at 171 to pin Bolich’s younger brother Dan with six seconds left.
“They thought I would have a better chance against the younger one,” said Pierce. “They wanted the pin. Coach Mark knew I could pin.”
Pierce had taken Bolich down in the third period and snapped him back on a sit out for the fall.
“We had to go in there with our heads up,” said Pierce. “We knew we could beat them.”
Matt Grill saved the Eagles a point and nearly two at 189. The Bears’ James Nicholson was putting on a takedown clinic. When he let Grill up near the end of the match to make it 23-9, Grill almost eluded Nicholson for the last 18 seconds, but Nicholson managed to get the takedown as the final buzzer sounded to earn the tech fall.
By the time Irwin stepped on the mat, Upper Moreland had closed the gap to 29-21, but the Bears couldn’t afford to duck Irwin and move Santry to 125.
“Going in I thought Santry would win that match,” said Upper Moreland coach Stefan Muller. “Irwin deserves credit. He did a good job. Had we won one of those three matches (145, 152, 171) early, it would have played a little bit different. At that point I had to gamble.”
Harner knew that it was key to win two of the three matches from 112 to 125. After Upper Moreland’s Jake Ellis pinned Tyree Gardner at 112, that meant Irwin and Charles McLean had to win—and they both pinned.
Ben Lowery tossed in another fall at 130 before Upper Moreland’s Will Dill closed out the match by pinning Ricky Santiago.
For the Bears, who were wrestling in the biggest match of their careers in front on an estimated crowd of 300 people, the loss was disappointing, especially since they have never won an SOL wrestling championship.
“We had a lot of people come out from the community for a team that had seven guys three years ago,” said Muller. “I don’t want anything taken away from our guys. They’ve had a great season. They’ve turned heads and surprised a lot of people. Tonight wasn’t our night. Norristown was a better team tonight.”
Norristown 47, Upper Moreland 27
140—Brandon Parker (N) pinned Julien Dinerstien, 2:47
145—Stephen Parker (N) dec. Mark Poderis, 6-4
152—Joe Kent (N) major dec. Max Agasar, 12-4
160—John Bolich (UM) major dec. Larry Gordon, 10-0
171—Joe Pierce (N) pinned Dan Bolich, 5:54
189—James Nicholson (UM) tech fall Matt Grill, 25-9
215—Ryan Kratz (N) major dec. Lance Cobbs, 11-0
285—Marcus Robbins (N) pinned Sebastian Medina, :17
103—Zach Lyall (UM) pinned Brandon Semon, :36
112—Jake Ellis (UM) pinned Tyree Gardner, 5:39
119—Dave Irwin (N) pinned Tim Santry, 1:18
125—Charles McLean (N) pinned Dennis Mucerino, 1:02
130—Ben Lowery (N) pinned Paul Scott, :37
135—Will Dill (UM) pinned Ricky Santiago, 3:12
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