McHenry, MD – The late physicist Stephen Hawking helped popularize the phrase, "Showing up is half the battle." Garrett College's wrestling team operationalized that phrase in Saturday's 39-15 win over Patrick Henry (VA) Community College.
GC and the visiting Patriots split four matches, but the Lakers claimed five other weight classes by forfeit. Ethan Doctor's pin at 174 pounds, Elijah Hunter's 3-1 victory over Tony Ray at 197, and the five forfeits paved the way for a 39-15 Laker victory.
Garrett College used the win to finish its dual-meet season with a 2-4 record.
"It was good to be at home wrestling again," said GC head coach John Chambers, whose squad celebrated Sophomore Day prior to the match. "We're very young, don't have a lot of match experience, but they're getting so much better. Our freshmen are really improving."
Doctor made short work of Jake Knight, pinning the Patriot freshman in 68 seconds.
"I was just trusting my shots," said Doctor, who took down Knight 22 seconds into the match and then worked deliberately for the pin. "When I got him down, I made sure to keep the pressure on and use my strength."
Hunter's victory, on the other hand, took the full three periods.
After a scoreless first period, Ray escaped with nine seconds left in the second period to take a 1-0 lead. Hunter, starting the third period from the down position, needed just four seconds to execute an escape that tied the match.
The match stayed deadlocked at 1-1 until Hunter executed a go-ahead takedown with 31 seconds remaining. Hunter then rode out the match to claim the win.
"I was just thinking, 'Stay in a good stance and look for my shot,' " said Hunter.
PHCC's Josh Wright wore down Laker Zach Schoch, 5-1, at 184 pounds.
After a scoreless first period, Wright executed an escape and then took a 3-0 lead via a takedown with 13 seconds remaining in the second. Schoch used a third-period penalty point to pull within 3-1, but Wright responded with a takedown to regain control of the match.
Jaheim Johnson earned Patrick Henry's other win by pinning Connor Saladin in 2:04 at 285 pounds.
The Lakers, reigning Gulf Atlantic District co-champions, will participate in the Whizzer Open (Dearborn, MI) next weekend before defending their district title on February 18th.
The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) championships are scheduled for March 3-4 in Council Bluffs, IA.
Notes: Sophomores Hunter, Saladin, and Paxton Wertz – who each earned NJCAA national tournament berths last year – were honored on Sophomore Day prior to the match.
Hunter claimed an individual title while Saladin and Wertz each finished third in their respective weight classes at last year's Gulf Atlantic championships.
Hunter and Wertz are also two-time National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Scholar All-Americans.
