By By KEVIN TRAVIS, Sports Editor
Marquin Hill showed why he’s one of the top wrestlers in the state. Despite wrestling with an illness, the senior was able to knock off South Central’s Nick Sumeral, 6-2, in Tuesday’s heavyweight and highly-anticipated match.
Hill (15-1), fresh off winning a championship in the Beast of the East tournament, got a late takedown on the previously unbeaten Sumeral (11-1), which led to his victory.
“I knew it was going to be really hard because we’re both ranked in the top three in the state,” Hill said. “I’m sick tonight and I was just hoping to pull it off, and I did. I just knew I had to wrestle smart.”
That was one of the few highlights for the young Pam Pack grapplers (3-6, 0-2) in a 43-21 loss to the undefeated Falcons (12-0, 2-0) in this Coastal Conference match.
“It wasn’t a bad match,” Washington coach Danny Riggs said. “A lot of the guys didn’t give up bonus points and kept fighting.
“What’s really hurting us right now is mat smarts, knowing what to do in certain situations. That just comes with experience and getting more mat time.”
Daniel Garcia (11-2) gave Washington a quick 6-0 lead when he pinned Otis Brinkley (9-3) in 2:44 during the 119-pound match.
Colton Roberts (12-0) tied the match for the Falcons when he pinned Gregory Squires (1-7) in 1:06 at 125 pounds.
Matthew Hall (7-3) won by forfeit at 130 pounds, giving South Central a 12-6 advantage. That started a string of six straight victories for South Central.
Luis Sanchez (7-4) posted a 5-3 decision over Michael Gardner (6-10) at 135 pounds, Chandler Butler (5-4) posted a 9-3 decision over Brandon Price (4-8) at 140 pounds, Kevin Farrington (6-1) took a 12-7 decision over Ned Batts (0-5) at 145 pounds, Josh Ward (10-0) recorded a 13-0 major decision over John Campbell (4-9) at 152 pounds and Robbie Reynolds (11-1) pinned John Rodman (2-5) at 160 pounds to end the run, which gave the Falcons a 31-6 advantage.
Justin “Weasel” Moore (13-0), who won a championship at the Beast of the East tournament, stopped the streak with a forfeit win at 171 pounds. The win gave the senior a 138-17 overall record, moving within two wins of passing Gerald Lawrence (139-13) and becoming Washington’s all-time win leader.
South Central’s Antony Pope (9-1) followed with a 3-1 decision over Malik Moore (6-8) at 189 pounds, while Darian Gunter (1-0) posted a 10-6 decision over Scott Baytala (0-2) at 215 pounds for a 37-12 advantage.
After Hill’s win at 285 pounds, Seth Derner (2-5) won by forfeit at 103 pounds to make it 37-21.
Daron Jackson (9-3) pinned David Giordano (3-11) in 1:53 at 112 pounds to cap the match.
Washington will participate in the Milt Sherman Duals at D.H. Conley on Saturday.
“We’re just looking for the kids to keep improving,” Riggs said. “We need to get the younger guys some more mat time.”