No matter how small the graduating class is, there is nothing quite like senior night. The Berkshire Badgers’ wrestling team dominated Villa Angela-St. Joseph 63-12 but lost 45-33 to Southeast on senior night last Thursday evening in Burton.
“Villa Angela-St. Joseph was a good start-up match for us,” said Coach Dave Malkus. “Guys did not get the warm-up they needed but were able to gut some wins out. When it came to Southeast, they are well-coached, know their positions and know the positions they succeed in and with us, it was the exact opposite. We did not get into the positions we needed.”
In the first match against the Vikings, the Badgers faced a short-handed Villa Angela-St. Joseph squad, which only had six wrestlers eligible to compete and they won seven matches on forfeits, and held an 18-0 lead by the time both squads could field eligible wrestlers for a match.
The programs only wrestled in five matches in the opening dual and Berkshire went 4-1, beginning with 126-pound freshman Caden Klingman overpowering junior Mekhi Davenport 12-4 to clinch that Badgers’ first victory, extending their lead to 21-0.
132-pound sophomore Ashton Eckard kept the momentum going when he pinned Dean Masotya with 20 seconds remaining the second period, junior Charlie Dixon was pinned by senior Amani Powher at the 21 second mark of the first period of the 138-pound bout, 157-pound junior Dan Novak pinned junior Xavier Whatley with 11 seconds left in the first period and sophomore Danny Tiller dominated junior Darnell Randle, winning by a 20-5 technical fall in the 175-pound match.
With only two seniors and five returnees from last year’s squad, Malkus acknowledged that this is the youngest team he can recall Berkshire having in a long time.
“Our young guys have really picked it up this year and we have tried to put them in positions with the schedule to do well and our upper classmen and veterans have done what they needed to do to get in better position mentally than in years’ past,” the first-year coach added.
In Berkshire’s second dual match, Southeast beat the Badgers by winning five of eight matches.
“Southeast has a really good team,” said 113-pound senior Colin Hering. “They have almost a full line-up and almost all of their competitors go out there and try their hardest just like us.”
Berkshire had to forfeit two matches, giving the Pirates a 14-point cushion and wrestled in some competitive matches but the Southeast wrestlers ultimately prevailed.
The Pirates scored first when 120-pound sophomore Dominic Kemble pinned freshman Scott Wendl with 1:28 remaining the second period, followed by Klingman evening the score at 6-6 when he pinned freshman Treyton Follen at the four second mark of the second period, but the Pirates responded by winning the next three matches.
Eckard was pinned by freshman Jack Corll with 37 seconds remaining in the first period of the 132-pound bout, Dixon dropped the 138-pound match by losing 9-7 in sudden death overtime against junior Deian Longgood and freshman Chris Buyea-McDonald was pinned by freshman Lucas Willett with six second left in the first period of the 144-pound bout, pushing the Pirates’ lead to 21-6.
According to Malkus, the tide turned in the Pirates’ favor when Longgood snatched victory in the final seconds of the 138-pound match.
150-pound senior Alex Mun won the Badgers’ second match of the dual when a physical battle resulted in freshman Korbin Klatka forfeiting the match after he suffered an injury when Munn scored a takedown in in the second period, trimming Southeast’s advantage to 21-12.
Novak lost the 165-pound match when he was pinned by freshman Bruce Nelson with 1:27 remaining in the second period but junior Preston Garling helped Berkshire rebound by pinning sophomore Landon Durstine with 58 seconds remaining in the third period.
The teams traded forfeits in the heavyweights with Southeast not having s 215-pounder eligible and the Badgers missing their 285-pounder, leaving the Pirates with a 39-30 lead.
106-pound sophomore Braeden Martin secured the victory when he pinned freshman Danny Auth at the 1:07 mark of the third period but Hering ended the night on a high by defeating junior Cameron Dye 6-3 in his last dual match of his varsity career.
Scoring an escape at the beginning of the third period sealed the victory for the Badgers’ senior. “That is a match-changer,” he said. “Everyone always said that bottom is an attitude, and it really is. You have to get your points when you can.”
Being the lone returning state qualifier, Hering is taking nothing for granted in his senior year.
“There are a lot of emotions,” he noted. “I watched a lot of seniors do the same thing before me and thought I can’t wait for that to be me but now that I am here it is kind of sad, but I have enjoyed it and had a good time.”
The Badgers will gear up for the Ohio High School Athletic Association Division III postseason when the sectional tournament begins on Feb. 24.
