It all came down to Cam Jordan. ConVal’s 126-pounder was last to the mat against Newport Saturday morning, and as long as he didn’t get pinned, the Cougars could escape with a team win against the tough Tigers.
“I was doing the math in my head,” Jordan said, “and I thought, ‘Okay, this is on me.’ My teammate [Trace Borozinski] looked at me and said ‘Hey Cam – no pressure!’”
Jordan took that pressure and exerted it on Newport’s Eric Wilkinson, the meet hanging in the balance.
“He was good on his feet,” Jordan said. “I knew that if I waited it out I could put him on his back, which happened…I was just trying to hold him down because I knew if he got on top we could lose the meet.”
At the 2:53 mark of the second period, Jordan rolled Wilkinson over for a pinfall to give ConVal a 42-30 team win, to the delight of the Cougars’ first-year head coach Abe Ewing.
“He’s been hitting a little bit of a streak lately, working out some of his funk,” Ewing said, “and it was nice to see him go out, throw legs and really take it to someone and get a pin.”
Jordan’s pin capped off a gutsy performance by the Cougars, who were shorthanded due to injuries and an illness that eliminated a few from the lineup and left those who remained at less than 100 percent.
Kenny Conway kicked things off with a pinfall deep in the third period over Jordan Warburton at 138 lbs.
“I tried to stack him up at the beginning but he was pretty strong,” Conway said, “so I just started to tire him out because I have a lot of endurance.”
Sure enough, Conway made Warburton work, staying calm and focused until the opportunity arose and it was time to strike.
“It’s all about the little things,” Conway said. “Having the right timing. You have to slow down. You can’t rush pins. Pins, you have to be smart, you have to be perfect.”
The Cougars were missing their freshman ace Chris Robbins at 145 lbs. Robbins, who’s had a breakout year, most recently winning his class at last weekend’s tournament in Vergennes, was out sick, and so Ewing sent Casey Lustenberger out to wrestle up against Newport’s Mike Wilkinson. Lustenberger was pinned in the first period, but Ewing said it was valuable experience.
“He went out and gave everything he had,” Ewing said, “which was huge for him as a first-year wrestler to go out there and wrestle for his team, that’s important stuff.”
Ethan Earle, back after missing most of January with a shoulder injury, picked up a lightning-quick pin over Hayden Patenaude at 182 lbs.
“I’m expecting big things from him down the stretch,” Ewing said.
The rest of ConVal’s wins were by forfeit; Tyler Sullivan (106 lbs.) fell to Anson Ritondo by pin, Andrew Nielsen (160 lbs.) fell by pin to Marius Edwards, and Evan Shippee (152 lbs.) lost to Newport’s star Josh Sharron – younger brother of Tiger head coach Zakk Sharron – by pin.
“[Zakk] Sharron does a good job with those kids,” Ewing said, “making them good, solid, technical wrestlers and it’s nice to sneak out a couple wins on them.”
ConVal’s next meet is Wednesday at Plymouth.