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KINGSTON — Justin Hoyle wasn’t going to let anything bother him.
Not the pressure of taking the mat in the last bout of a tied dual in front of hundreds of people. And certainly not the fact that he’s a freshman.
The Wyoming Seminary 106-pounder just went out and completed his job.
Hoyle defeated Bergen Catholic’s Rich Halal by decision to lift the Blue Knights to a 25-22 victory over the Crusaders in a matchup of nationally-ranked high schools on Sunday afternoon.
“I was trying to zone everything out and not think about winning it or losing it for the team or all the people,” Hoyle said. “I just wanted to win it for myself and acted like I was at a normal tournament, just trying to get a win and advance, and not being in a dual match.”
With the score tied 22-22, Hoyle and Halal were scoreless after the first period and the tension all around the gym increased. Halal took a 1-0 advantage on an escape in the second period, but shortly after that, Hoyle used a four-point move to take a 4-1 lead as he hit a takedown and then two back points. He attempted the same move in the first period, but Halal got an escape instead.
“(In neutral) I was trying to do a step-over to get the pin, which is what coach (Scott) Green taught me,” Hoyle said. “And he sat out too hard for it so I just pancaked him.”
Hoyle added two more for a reversal in the third period before riding out Halal for more than a minute to secure the win for the Blue Knights, who are ranked second in the nation and needed the win badly after falling from their No. 1 ranking with a loss to current top-ranked team Blair Academy just one week prior.
“We’re really just trying to show that last week was a fluke and it should have never happened,” Hoyle said. “Blair’s a great team, so is Bergen but we had the best team and needed to get on top.”
The young Sem team got on top by winning eight of the 14 bouts against fourth-ranked Bergen. Five of those wins came from freshmen or sophomores
“When push comes to shove, a win is a win,” Green said. “We didn’t wrestle our best, but I think more than anything some of the freshmen and sophomores getting a win in a tight bout and feeling like they contributed after getting beat up at Blair last week, that’s the biggest takeaway from this is having them feel like they’re performing and part of the team.”
Sem freshman Benny Baker got the team off to a good start with a 5-3 win at 113 pounds when he recorded a takedown with 9 seconds remaining in sudden victory overtime to give Sem a 3-0 lead.
Sophomore Jack Davis followed with a dramatic win of his own at 120 picking up two points for a takedown with 15 seconds left in the third period to win 6-5 and give the Blue Knights a 6-0 lead.
Another sophomore Jake Hendricks gave Seminary a 12-7 lead with a decision at 145. Sem held a lead until the ninth match of the afternoon at 170 when Bergen’s Joe Grello pinned Mike Doggett to tie the score at 16-16. The teams countered wins by decision over the last five bouts being tied two more times.
Nick Reenan’s win at 182 gave Sem a 19-16 lead before Bergen’s Kevin Mulligan tied the score back up at 19-all with a decision.
Then came perhaps the biggest win of the day for the Blue Knights at 220 pounds. That’s when sophomore Dillon Ryan, who missed all of last season with a neck injury and being in a cervical collar, pulled off an overtime victory.
With the crowd chanting “Let’s go Dillon” Ryan tied the match at 1-1 in the third period with an escape. He then won the match in the third overtime with an escape for the 2-1 victory to give the Blue Knights a 22-19 lead.
“It’s been a frustrating year or two for him here, but to come back and contribute after a devastating injury like that it’s gotta feel good for him,” Green said. “And we know we’ve got a guy to fill those weights in a couple years.”
No. 2 Wyoming Seminary 25, No. 4 Bergen Catholic 22
106: Justin Hoyle (Sem) dec Rich Halal 6-1; 113: Benny Baker (Sem) dec Carmen Ferrante 5-3, OT; 120: Jack Davis (Sem) dec Gerard Angelo 6-5; 126: Nick Suriano (BC) maj dec Jake Riegel 13-4; 132: Trent Olson (Sem) dec Chris Foca 8-2; 138: Wade Unger (BC) dec Patrick Munn 3-1; 145: Jake Hendricks (Sem) dec Andrew Somple 6-5; 152: Brady Ford (BC) dec Will Verallis 5-2; 160: Mason Manville (Sem) maj dec Tony Asatrian 17-4; 170: Joe Grello (BC) pinned Mike Doggett 2:24; 182: Nick Reenan (Sem) dec Josh McKenzie 4-1; 195: Kevin Mulligan (BC) dec Christian Dietrich 8-6; 220: Dillon Ryan (Sem) dec Antonio Alfano 2-1, 3OT; 285: Danny DeLorenzi (BC) dec Will Hilliard 4-3
Note: Match started at 113 pounds
