Suffolk News-Herald

Seven Suffolk seniors said sayonara to their wrestling careers Thursday night at Nansemond River (NR), as Warriors Nathan Martie, Prince Nelson, Brandon Aston, Brian Hawk and Chris Suarez won their farewell matches in NR’s 42-18 victory over crosstown rival Lakeland. Cavaliers Camden Zemp and Thomas Harper also said goodbye with wins.

Nelson got things started for NR by holding off Mark Verschneider 12-8 in the 145 class. Verschneider scored a quick takedown, but Nelson escaped and scored one of his own for a 3-2 lead. Verschneider grabbed Nelson’s leg and backed him up, eventually knocking Nelson onto his backside. Nelson flipped over onto his stomach and Verschneider landed on his back for the takedown, ending the first period up 4-3.

The Cavalier started the second period on top, but Nelson escaped in 20 seconds and took him down for a 6-4 lead. Nelson was penalized a point for locking his hands, and Verschneider scored an escape to tie the score. The wrestlers locked arms, and Verschneider grabbed Nelson in a headlock and yanked him down for an 8-6 advantage.

Nelson again opened the period by escaping, then tossed Verschneider onto his back for a near-pin that notched him a 10-7 lead. He grabbed Verschneider in a headlock, but the Cavalier escaped to get within a takedown with 20 seconds to go. They again locked arms, and Nelson maneuvered Verschneider back to his stomach to ice the match.

Aston didn’t have a much easier time with Tim Dugan, defeating the 152-pounder 10-6. Aston built a 10-2 lead with a minute left in the second period, but Dugan took him down just inside the ring, and scored a go-behind with 1:15 to go before Aston managed to stay on his stomach for the remainder.

Hawk grabbed a takedown 45 seconds into his 160 match with Kyle Gilbertson, but the Cavalier kept him from scoring again for the rest of the period. Hawk started the second period on top, grabbed Gilbertson in a headlock, and hauled him onto his back for NR’s first pin. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty knocked a point off the Warriors’ score, leaving them up, 11-0.

Rather than take a forfeit victory in the 171 match, Ben Streetman moved up to battle Lakeland’s Kelly Sims in 189 competition. Sims defeated him 7-0, cutting the lead to 11-3

NR’s Jason Brown took down Eric Shildt in the 215 match and nearly pinned him for a 5-0 lead in 30 seconds. Shildt escaped, and the wrestlers locked arms. Brown pushed forward and fell on top of his opponent for a pin in 1:06.

Disaster struck for NR’s Dustin Dowell in the heavyweight match. After Harper ended the first period ahead 5-0, he took Dowell down with 1:14 to go. Dowell fought his way out and got to his feet near the left side of the ring. Harper leapt at him, and Dowell reached down to attempt to tackle him. As he did so, Harper crashed into his left leg, catching it at a bad angle. Dowell, who started the season late after breaking his ankle during football season, had to default the match. Harper said he hadn’t meant to hurt Dowell, and hoped that he recovered quickly.

Back at the start of the weight classes, Tony Bullock defeated Lakeland’s Aaron Darden 16-8. After Darden took Bullock down for a 6-4 lead with 1:25 left in the second period, Bullock escaped and took him down with a minute to go. A near-pin gave him a 10-6 lead, and two more the match, and the team a 21-9 lead.

The first period of the 112 match ended in a 4-4 tie, but NR’s Tommy De Triquet escaped from T.J. Satchell and took him down twice for a 9-4 lead with 1:08 to go. Satchell escaped, but De Triquet took him down again with 46 seconds to go, and held him down for a pin 22 seconds later.

Jon Kleps was forfeited the 119 match, and Martie got a free win at 125, but Cavalier C.J. Gregory scored an upset win over Ryan Linton in 130 competition. Trailing 10-3 and held on his back with a minute to go. Gregory headlocked Linton, pushed himself off of his back, and crashed down on his opponent, scoring his team’s only pinfall with 34 seconds to go.

&uot;He was leaning too much,&uot; Gregory said. &uot;I thought, ‘Use your power and ability for the team!’ and rolled him back. There was no way I was ever going to give up.&uot;

Zemp’s 135 match with Brent Christie came down to the wire. Each wrestler scored two takedowns in the first 1:18, and an escape put Zemp up 5-4.

Christie got him down with a second left to go ahead 6-5 and scored another takedown to extend his lead to three.

Zemp reversed a takedown to get back within one as the period ended, and started the third on the bottom.

He took Christie down, and the wrestlers fell out of the ring. Each wrestler scored a takedown, and Christie escaped to tie the score at 11 with :19 on the clock. The wrestlers locked arms, and Christie pushed forward, nearly forcing Zemp onto his back. At the last second, Zemp hurled himself forward, and Christie fell onto his back, giving Zemp the win. Suarez ended the meet by defeating Colt Eason 6-3.

Lakeland heads to Norfolk today for the two-day Lake Taylor Tournament, while the Warriors return to action Saturday at the Hermitage (Richmond) tournament.