The Elizabethtown College wrestling team took on McDaniel College for their home opener for the season on Nov. 8. Last season, the Blue Jays went on the road to Westminster, Maryland, defeating the Green Terror 31-15 led by falls from 184-class senior Ganon Smith and 133-class Febian Dawit.
Etown most recently had finished fourth in the Messiah College wrestling invitational to begin their season as Smith cleaned up the 184 pound weight class, finishing first overall with a 4-3 decision in the final. In the 197 pound class, graduate Will Davis finished second in the tournament and junior Justice Hockenberry finished third in the 165 pound class.
The Blue Jays began Alumni Night strong, with senior Deven Jackson beating the McDaniel wrestler by decision for the first three points for the team in the 125 pound weight class. The Green Terror reigned havoc over the Blue Jays, as their wrestler for the 133 pound weight class was able to find a pinfall and gain decision victories in the 141, 149 and 157 pound weight classes to give themselves a 19-3 lead.
McDaniel was awarded a team point deduction, reducing the lead slightly to 15 over the Blue Jays. However, with five classes remaining, the Blue Jays began to bounce back. Hockenberry brought team points to reduce the deficit, beating his opponent with a score of 21-9, winning by major decision after an impressive amount of takedowns to score him double digit points. The Green Terror battled back from the loss at 165 by finding another fall in the 174 class to increase the lead to 24-7.
Despite being down by 17, the Blue Jays were determined to make a comeback, and it was mathematically possible with three straight falls needed, tallying 18 total points. Smith was first of the final three wrestlers for Etown and in typical fashion, found a pin inside the second period giving the Blue Jays a much needed six team points in the 184-class.
Davis continued his strong start to the season by winning by fall in the second period in the 197-class, tallying 12 points between the two wrestlers, narrowing the deficit to only five points heading into the heavyweight matchup.
Sophomore heavyweight Sav Niewiadomy needed a pin to complete the historic comeback for the Blue Jays. Despite Niewiadomy’s various attempts to find a takedown and roll the McDaniel heavyweight into a pin, the Green Terror held on, forcing Etown to win on a decision. McDaniel defeated the Blue Jays with a final score of 24-22.
The Blue Jays will wrestle next at the Scotty Wood Invitational at Muhlenberg College on Nov. 22 and will come back for their home wrestling tournament on Dec. 6 for the Blue Jay Classic.
