MORGANTOWN – Senior Night is something every senior in any sport looks forward to. It’s a chance to cap your career on your home court, field, floor, or mat positively and to create lasting memories within the program’s history.
But sometimes, even on Senior Night, the hero may not be a senior or even an upperclassman, as was the case when the No. 1-ranked Hawks welcomed Bethel Park (Pa.) for Senior Night and came away with a 38-30 victory in a highly competitive dual.
“Bethel Park is a great program, and they wrestled hard tonight,” UHS head coach Ken Maisel said. “I thought we could’ve been more aggressive early in our matches. We didn’t really go and attack the way you’re used to seeing. But it was an exciting dual, and I’m happy for our kids and Austin with how he finished that last match. He’s a kid who comes to practice and shows up daily to get better.”
UHS and Bethel Park entered the night’s final bout (106 pounds), with the Hawks leading 32-30. The winner of the final match would seal the victory for their team.
UHS freshman Austin Hummel and Bethel Park junior Alex Nikiforov stepped to the mat for their teams, whose wrestlers had all stood and lined up shoulder-to-shoulder on their respective sides of the mat to cheer on their teammates.
Nikiforov quickly took advantage in the match by earning multiple takedowns, and it seemed that Hummell was outmatched at first.
“When I walked out for the match, I was feeling some nerves,” Hummel said. “Knowing everyone was counting on me caused me to overthink a bit at the start of the match. I just needed to calm down and let the match come to me.”
Hummel then rallied, fighting back to his feet and allowing himself to make something happen as the two wrestlers returned to a neutral stance.
Nikiforov executed another successful attack and nearly pinned Hummel. Just as the UHS freshman seemed to be bested, he caught his opponent (and everyone watching) off guard with a reversal that flipped control in his favor, sending the Hawks bench and the home crowd into a frenzy.
Nikiforov refused to go away, but Hummel eventually put his opponent’s shoulders to the mat, earning the pin and winning the dual for the Hawks.
Hummel, who may be one of the smallest wrestlers on the roster, was bombarded by his teammates and lifted into the air, his name echoing throughout the gymnasium.
“At my old school, I only had four matches before getting injured,” Hummel said. “It feels great having that moment with my teammates. If I keep working hard, I can use this to build on going forward.”
UHS won eight of the 14 matches in the dual. Bethel Park led 24-3 before the Hawks rallied, eventually winning with Hummel’s pinfall victory.
Senior Brock Kehler improved to 19-0 with a pin in the first round at 285 pounds. Pepper Martin (113), Carter Pauley (150), Rider Ludrosky (157), Brody Kehler (165), Emerson Murphy (175), and Jackson Pate (215) also earned victories for the Hawks, who remained undefeated at 8-0 for the campaign.
“Honestly, we didn’t wrestle our best, but the resiliency is great to see,” Maisel said. “I think the biggest thing for us to take away is the importance of being aggressive in our matches. We need to be the ones to dictate the pace. We have our toughest matches ahead of us and will continue to work hard to get better.”
The Hawks will prepare for the OVAC tournament in Wheeling next weekend, January 17-18.
