The Hughesville girls wrestling team celebrate a win by Arianna Moore at 107 pounds against Sadie Wagner of Montgomery at Hughesville High School Thursday evening. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette
The atmosphere of the Hughesville High School gym was electric on Thursday night, as the Spartans hosted four separate wrestling matches within the span of two and a half hours. Amidst an exciting first season for its high school girls wrestling program, the home crowd showed its support.
Each win from either team was met with a roar from a gym packed with green and red. Each point was met with a similar response. And when the Lady Spartans secured their seventh dual victory of the season by defeating Montgomery, 36-21, it reached peaked volume.
“It’s nice for Hughesville to do this,” said Montgomery girls wrestling coach Jody Furman on the event. “It’s neat to see how the crowd supported us. There were people here that didn’t have a dog in the fight. They’re just here to watch.”
For Hughesville, it did most of its damage early. It earned two wins by decision, one by pin and two by forfeit to get out to a 24-0 lead out the gate.
Its two most successful wrestlers to start the season in freshman Julia Ritter (9-0) and sophomore Avery Puderbach (8-1) played a part in the run, with Ritter opening the contest with a win by decision and Puderbach pinning her opponent in 39 seconds. That marked Puderbach’s seventh win by fall of the season, fourth of which came in the first period.
Jade Hofer of Hughesville is held on her back by Briella Walk of Montgomery during their match at 138 pounds at Hughesville High School Thursday evening. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette
“Avery’s doing a great job,” said head coach Royce Eyer. “She’s getting a little more confidence in her abilities and what she’s capable of doing, so I’m looking forward to seeing more from her.”
Its other win on the night came by way of comeback.
After going down 3-0 late in the second period, freshman Ariahna Moore attributed a late escape in the same period before obtaining a second one early in the third off a reset. Despite facing a strong opponent in Sadie Wagner and narrowly avoiding a takedown by leg-wrap late in the final stanza, she was able to steal back the momentum and ultimately secured a late takedown of her own. That takedown ultimately won her the match.
“She’s been doing a lot with her conditioning and conditioning wins matches a lot of times,” said Eyer on Moore. “I feel like she was in better shape and that’s why she won.”
The Spartans almost had an even more absurd comeback later in the match as well. After going down 14-0 against a great opponent in Montgomery’s Briella Walk, sophomore Jade Hofer was able stack up points in the third and barely missed out on a pin near the end of the match. Though she lost by major decision, 15-7, Eyer was proud of her effort, especially considering it was her first match of the season.
Jade Hofer of Hughesville takes down Briella Walk of Montgomery during their match at 138 pounds at Hughesville High School Thursday evening. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette
“Jade missed some practice time and so she’s just getting back on the mat,” said Eyer. “She’s got huge potential, and she didn’t quit. And that’s what we want to see. She fought right to the very end.”
Even with those wins and the four that came by forfeit, Montgomery didn’t make it easy.
After going down 24-0, the Red Raiders secured back-to-back wins to narrow the gap. Emily Murphy pinned her opponent in the closing second of the first period of her match before Briella Walk won by major decision in the preceding match.
“Emily Murphy got us the fall, got us started,” said Furman. “She was a runner-up last year at states, fantastic wrestler. Puts a lot of time into it, so we’re really proud of her.”
Despite a rough third period, Walk gave herself leeway with incredible first and second ones, on top of playing sound defense to avoid losing her match late. Furman complimented her athleticism and grit, a testament to her potential as a freshman.
Briella Walk of Montgomery wins her match against Jade Hofer of Hughesville 138 pounds at Hughesville High School Thursday evening. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette
“That gymnastic background helps,” said Furman on Walk. “She’s got a lot of grit in her. Really, really proud of her. She kind of sets that tone in the room. She’s just a tough kid and she’s going to do very well in the sport as long as she stays committed.”
Malayna Beattie rounded out the wins for the Red Raiders, securing a pin in the last match of the contest. Although they came up short, Furman was proud of their overall performance.
“I really thought that overall, we matched up pretty well with them. I thought the matches that we had were good matches,” said Furman. “Those girls are going to continue to get better as they go head-to-head.”
For Hughesville, it hopes to continue building on its impressive 7-2 record and looks ahead to Matness at the MACC this weekend. The teams that faced off on Thursday are actually due to see each other against shortly, with Montgomery hosting said tournament.
“Our conditioning is coming around and they’re improving every week, so I’m excited to see where we’re at (on Saturday),” said Eyer. “I think we have a really solid core through the middle. There’ll be some challenges this weekend at Montgomery, so we’ll see how they do.”
Jayda Rodriguez of Hughesville tries to work out of the grasp of Malayna Beattie of Montgomery during their match at 192 pounds at Hughesville High School Thursday evening. Beattie won the match. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette
Hughesville 36, Montgomery 21
102: Julia Ritter (H) dec. Skylar Hunter, 2-0. 108: Ariahna Moore (H) dec. Sadie Wagner, 4-3. 114: Kayla Fabiano (H) won by forfeit. 120: Lilli Krause (H) won by forfeit. 126: Avery Purderbach (H) pinned McKenna Hakes, 0:39. 132: Emily Murphy (M) pinned Abbi Bowman, 1:59. 138: Briella Walk (M) maj. dec. Jade Hofer (H), 15-7*. 144: Alaina Hicks (H) won by forfeit. 150: Lexi Kurzana (H) won by forfeit. 157 MaKayla Ayers (M) won by forfeit. 172: Double forfeit. 192: Malayna Beattie (M) pinned Jayda Rodriguez, 2:30. 235: Double forfeit.
Arianna Moore of Hughesville takes down Sadie Wagner of Montgomery during their match at 107 pounds at Hughesville High School Thursday evening. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette
Julia Ritter of Hughesville gets Skylar Hunter of Montgomery to her back during their match at 102 pounds at Hughesville High School Thursday evening. Ritter won the match. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette
Malayna Beattie of Montgomery wins her match at 192 pounds against Jayda Rodriguez of Hughesville at Hughesville High School Thursday evening. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette
"crowd" - Google News
January 05, 2024 at 12:01PM
https://ift.tt/kmn2tKc
Hughesville girls wrestling outlasts Montgomery in front of packed home crowd - Williamsport Sun-Gazette
"crowd" - Google News
https://ift.tt/Rb61KP9
https://ift.tt/KJHeIkf
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Hughesville girls wrestling outlasts Montgomery in front of packed home crowd - Williamsport Sun-Gazette"
Post a Comment