On Wednesday, December 23, the men’s varsity wrestling team was victorious in the eighth annual Battle of Bel Air against the Bel Air Bobcats, winning by a score of 39-28.

One of the highlights on the wrestling schedule every year, the Battle of Bel Air is the infamous rivalry match between the two geographically closest high schools in the town of Bel Air.  JC’s victory this year tied the teams 4-4 for the series over the past eight years.

In 2008, the Patriots fell to the Bobcats after a late tech fall cost them the close match.

“[Bel Air] got the bad luck this year,” coach Keith Watson said of his team’s victory.

Watson went on to say that the team’s ability to record more bonus points and pins were the key contributing factor in the win.  “We were ready for them, ready to go, and got some good matchups,” said Watson.

Junior Joe Vitucci said that the team “really wanted to win.”  He cites the team’s mental state as another key factor in the win.  “We had more mindset in winning it,” Vitucci said.

Junior Mat Miller said, “I feel amazing, ecstatic.  I couldn’t ask for a better win than this. Everybody did their jobs.”

In regards to any improvements the team needs to achieve, Watson said, “We need to get stronger and bigger.”

However, Watson maintains a confident outlook for the future of the team. “We are very young and we only have three seniors, so we’re looking good,” he said.  Many of the weight classes have solid competitors, making the team a “tough bunch” that Watson has high hopes for.  “Once you get that ball of steam rolling, you can’t stop it,” he said. “It’s like a train coming at you, and you can’t get out of the way in times.”

Watson is already looking forward to the next Battle of Bel Air.  He said, “I love it, I’m happy with it, and let’s do it again next year.”

Erin Hanratty can be reached for comment at [email protected]

Match Play-by-Play

145 – Bel Air senior Justin Lorber had the first takedown and scored two back points on Patriots freshman Dale Harris, with 1:17 left in the first period. Lorber scored again in the second, bringing the score to 6-0. After a Harris escape, Lorber got another takedown and pinned Harris with 56 seconds to go in the period.

152 – Junior Sam Owens took the mat against senior Justus Eapen of the Bobcats, who scored a takedown and two back points with 30 seconds to go in the first period. Twelve seconds later, Owens scored two points on a reversal. At the start of the second, Owens scored two back points but  pinned his opponent with 1:03 to go.

160 – Miller scored the only points of the match, with a takedown of Bel Air senior Phil Alexander with 1:44 left in the first before pinning Alexander with 1:19 to go.

171 – Senior Will Puhl scored first with a single leg takedown with three seconds left in the first period against Bobcat senior Blake Calligaro. Calligaro tied the match with a reversal with 1:34 to go in the second period and took the lead, scoring three back points. Puhl scored again on an escape with 30 seconds left. To start the third period, with 1:50 to go, Puhl scored two on a reversal, once again tying the match. Calligaro got a neutral point 20 seconds later, and Puhl pulled ahead with 50 seconds left, with another takedown. Puhl won a minor victory, 7-6.

189 – Bel Air junior Tom Kuegler got an early takedown against junior Kyle Miele, who got an escape with 55 seconds left in the first period. Kuegler scored two more points on another takedown to close out the first period. Kuegler, again, scored first to start the second period, with the early escape. He scored the final points of the match, a takedown with 1:28 to go, and would pin Miele with 24 seconds left on the clock.

215 – Bel Air senior Mike Marianetti scored first against senior Stephen St. Clair with a takedown with 1:45 to go in the first period. St. Clair tied the match, scoring two points on a reversal with 1:08 left in the first. Marianetti took the late lead with an escape with four seconds remaining. St. Clair scored the only points of the second period, with a reversal with 1:35 left. The match was halted for an injury timeout with 1:03 to go in the third period after Marianetti developed a nose bleed. He came back, and took down St. Clair with 47 seconds on the clock. St. Clair scored on an escape 23 seconds later, and took down Marianetti as time expired, sealing a minor victory for the Patriots, 7-5.

285 – Junior Rob Clingerman faced off against Bel Air senior Justin Cole and was taken down within the first ten seconds of the match and pinned with 1:32 left in the first.

103 – Bel Air Sophomore Jeffrey Taylor gained two points off a takedown of freshman Devin Davis with 1:03 in the first. He got the early second period takedown. Davis was given a neutral point after the period ended, bringing the score to 4-1 in favor of Taylor. Taylor got another takedown to start the third, with 1:48 left, and Davis scored on a quick escape. Taylor scored three more takedowns, and Davis got an additional neutral point and escape to the end the match, with a major victory for the Bobcats, 12-4.

112 – Freshman Scott Strappelli scored the only points of the match, a takedown with 1:13 left in the period. He pinned Bobcat sophomore Steve McCallin with 37 seconds on the clock.

119 – Junior Lance Waters got a takedown and pinned Bel Air junior Darin Reagan, finishing off his opponent with less than ten seconds left in the first.

125 – Freshman George Weber took down Bel Air senior Brett Sikorski early in the first, scoring two back points before pinning Sikorski with 1:24 to go.

130 – With “Remember the Name” blaring through the speakers, junior Dan Froehlich took the mat against Bel Air senior Dante Leoni. Froehlich scored the first takedown 20 seconds into the match. At the start of the second period, Froehlich scored on a reversal. The Bobcats called an injury timeout for Leoni, who was hampered by a collarbone injury throughout the match. Leoni chose to start in the neutral position to begin the third period, but Froehlich scored again, making it 5-2. With a minute left in the match, Froehlich got another takedown. Leoni brought the match to its final score of 7-3, after getting a point because of a technical called on Froehlich. Froehlich’s match sealed the victory for the Patriots, making it numerically impossible for the Bobcats to catch up.

135- Senior captain Sam Chell took on Bobcat junior Steven Cross. Cross scored on a reversal with 1:52 left in the second period, after a scoreless first. Chell’s only point came in the third, after Cross got called for stalling, with the match ending in a 2-1 victory for Cross.

140- The final match of the evening pitted Vitucci against Bel Air senior Anton Lawhon. Vitucci scored the first takedown early in the first, although Lawhon got an escape with 24 seconds left in the period. Lawhon only scored the final points of the match, a reversal with 1:37 on the clock in the second.

Final score: Patriots 39, Bobcats 28

Kate Froehlich can be reached for comment at [email protected].

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