Freedom wrestling team shows grit in third-place finish at Virginia Duals

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Jan
13

http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/sports/index.ssf/2014/01/freedom_high_school_wrestling_1.html

As the saying goes: They were down but not out.

Throughout Freedom High School‘s third-place dual meet with Eastern View (Va.) in the American Division of the Virginia Duals this weekend, the Patriots trailed but never lost hope before coming out with a 34-27 win.

“Even when we were in a hole against Eastern View the second time, they were still positive and determined to grind it out to get the win,” said Freedom coach Brandon Hall. “We knew that in order to get the win, we were going to have to go hard the entire time.”

Eastern View’s 34-32 quarterfinal victory was responsible for sending Freedom to the consolation bracket on Day 1 of the duals.

In that first matchup, Eastern View’s Bryce Willems pinned Freedom sophomore Jake Rugis in 2:29, which put victory out of reach for the Patriots despite Josh Newhart’s first-period pin over Dion Rector to close out the match.

“He was incredibly upset and disappointed after getting pinned in the first match against (Willems),” said Hall about his 220-pound sophomore. “He was winning 5-0 at the end of the first period and chose down (position) in the second and the kid hit him with a spiral ride and pulled his arm and then had him on his back and pinned him. He was upset after that and I told him it’s not what you did it’s about how you respond to it.”

Rugis responded with an outstanding effort when he got to face Willems again. Going into 220, the Pates had closed the gap and trailed 27-22. Willems and Rugis found themselves tied when Willems was forced to take his second injury timeout and eventually had to injury default, which gave Freedom a 28-27 lead.

Earning their first true lead of the bout was nice from Freedom’s standpoint but Newhart and Rector were still waiting to cap off the match. Newhart ended by pinning Rector again. This time the fall came in 55 seconds, giving Freedom the 34-27 victory and some revenge to go along with the third-place finish.

“After losing that first match, they were really disappointed,” Hall said. “But on the second day they came back really focused and stepped it up.”

The disappointment certainly helped the Patriots step it up on Day 2. Following the loss, the Patriots came back to defeat St. Mark’s (Del.) 41-28, Kellam (Va.) 51-18 and Princess Anne (Va.) 30-29.

Rugis pinned Nick Workman to close out Princess Anne and advance Freedom to the third-place match.

Needless to say, Rugis was the key piece of the puzzle for Hall over the weekend. Freedom also had some other key differences from the first match to the second with Eastern View, and each had a considerable impact on the outcome even though not all of them were in favor of the Patriots.

“They won the flip and had control of the bouts in that second one,” Hall said. “The first match we won the flip and had the control but I guess them winning was good because the match went in our favor. It was all about the matchups.”

The matchups certainly helped Freedom, which also had adopted a new attitude for the second day of competition.

“I was extremely proud of their focus on the second day,” Hall said. “They gave a great effort, especially on the second day with winning four straight matches. I am very proud of how they did.”