RallyNorth.net

Concord overpowers hurting Pinkerton

Friday, February, 01 By Ryan Lambert
Staff writer

Having James Herlihy, one of the top wrestlers in the state, out with an injury was what ultimately beat Pinkerton last night.

Concord tore through the heavier weight classes and opened the meet with a huge lead, and the hole was too deep for the Astros to climb out of. In a matchup between arguably the second- and third-best teams in New Hampshire, Pinkerton ultimately fell to Concord, 41-30. Despite the loss, Astros coach Ken Najem was encouraged.

"On paper, we weren't going to touch them, but we wrestled well at the end," he said. "Our weaker weight classes went first and it looked like we weren't going to do much, but as soon as the core of our lineup of more experienced wrestlers hit the mat, we were all right. We were only like one match away."

Without the 125-pound Herlihy, Pinkerton lost six points to a pin by Concord's Denzil Garvey. Herlihy, who won his weight class the Concord tournament last weekend despite the presence of Concord and Vermont power Mt. Anthony, was held out as a precaution. Had those six points swung the other way, and they likely would have, Pinkerton would have won. Such is life in the grueling Division 1 schedule.

"That would have made a difference," said Najem. "It might have made a nine-point swing, or even 12. You get banged up, everyone gets banged up. A little bit of luck plays into a lot of meets too."

After facing a 28-0 deficit, freshman 112-pounder David Owens was dominant in his match with Robert Schartner, and won by pin at 3:02. The win put Pinkerton down 28-6.

"He's placed a lot, in a lot of tournaments," said Najem. "I don't even know if he's lost to a kid in New Hampshire yet. He's lost to some New England place-winners, but as a freshman, he's outstanding. You can count on him for a win 99 percent of the time. The future's bright for him."

Concord won three more matches before the Astros got to the heart of their lineup.

Colin Crowell, who missed Saturday's meet and most of this week's practices with an illness, won a 5-4 decision, and Corey Beck ground out a win by fall in 5:20 against John Meadows, who had bested Beck earlier this year.

"I wrestled him before and he beat me 6-0, so I really wanted to beat him," said Beck. "I was amped and I was ready. I knew I could shoot on him, and I knew if he shot on me I could go right behind him because he's not that strong."

In the final three matches, Stephen Lord and Ian Beck won by pin and Dylan Burke won by decision.

"This team, basically, we have a few elite wrestlers, I'd say," noted Najem. "They're a big part against the better teams like Concord and Timberlane, because I can't match my last six against their last six. That's where you're going down, but we're a team and we work as a team. We know this going in."

Beck was glad that the Astros were able to come back to make the score respectable, but was ultimately disappointed with the loss.

"We were just one match away," he said. "We almost had it. Almost. We'll have to get them next year."