By Ryan Mink
rmink@digitalsports.com
Paul VI senior 135-pounder Don Baumgart felt like everyone in the Good Counsel gym was against him.
Not everyone was, but there certainly were a lot of people against him. Baumgart had the entire Good Counsel student body yelling for him to be pinned in Wednesday’s mid-afternoon dual against the Falcons.
Baumgart had other plans. He pinned his opponent to start a stretch of six straight Paul VI pins that not only knocked out Good Counsel en route to a 43-27 Paul VI spoiler victory, but also silenced the boisterous crowd.
But the end of Baumgart’s match, the Falcons students were hushed. And by the end of the sixth straight Paul VI pin, capped off by 171-pounder Chuck Carlton, most of the Good Counsel students exited the Kane Center when given permission.
“They just wanted to intimidate us and have us lose our focus,†Baumgart said. “But I felt like we came out here and we shut them all up.â€
The dual was held during the latter school periods of the day at Good Counsel like an assembly, meaning the student body could attend. The gym was packed with fans raucously exploding after each Good Counsel takedown and especially after a win or pin.
“It was pretty crazy,†Baumgart said. “It made me very excited. I wanted to go out there and make them shut their mouths.â€
Paul VI freshman Conor Hughes opened the dual with a hotly-contested 5-1 decision over Good Counsel’s Scott Gargan, but Good Counsel’s Shane Arechiga wasted little time in notching a pin that sent the Falcon students into a tizzy.
The Panthers’ Stephen Jackey notched a major fall at 119 before Good Counsel rattled off two straight wins at 125 and 130 to take a 15-7 lead. Sophomore Jeff Byrnes pinned the Falcons’ Jon Nguyen in the first period.
“After I shot the double and lifted him up, just hearing everyone go nuts was a lot of fun,†Byrnes said.
But the party didn’t last long. Baumgart notched Paul VI’s first pin and Benen O’Brien followed with another pin with 30 seconds left in the second period to give the Panthers a 19-15 lead that it would never surrender.
“It’s definitely more exciting, but I mean at the same time if you mess up you have everyone yelling at you,†O’Brien said. “There’s more on the line.â€
Paul VI 145-pounder Ben Pfotenhauer (145) notched his pin as the buzzer ending the second period sounded, Charles Bull (152) pinned his opponent with 24 seconds remaining in the first period, Matt Carlstrom (160) pinned in the second period and Carlton also won by fall in the second period to give Paul VI a 43-15 lead.
Good Counsel’s upper-weights won the final three matches, but most of the Good Counsel students left and the remaining few were there to support heavyweight wrestler and football player Devin Gordon-Hamm, who didn’t disappoint by pinning his opponent with 54 seconds left in the third period.
But in the end, Paul VI took pride in being the event’s spoiler.
Paul VI has had a standout season already this season. The experienced Panthers lost to DeMatha by just two points in a dual earlier this season and have hopes of ending the Stags’ 23-year run atop the WCAC.
“We feel like when it’s WCACs we can come in and beat them and take first this year,†Baumgart said.
Processing your request, Please wait....
