Wrestling
Parrish Breaks School Pin-Fall Record; Spartans Fight Back
Wrestler Joe Parrish came into Thursday one away from breaking Homestead’s all-time pin-fall record…on Thursday…Parrish and the Spartans took on Snider on the mat
By the time Parrish got to the mat…the Panthers had built a 31-21 lead…Brady Ester beat Giovanni Arsini in the 120 class…Beau Humphrey pinned Brian Waltz in 126…and Jacob Kreager pinned Tyler Burris…to put Snider up 10
After Kreager’s pin…Parrish took on Tavian Rucklos in the 170 weight class…and Parrish would get the pin…the 69th pin-fall of his career…he now holds the school pins record
Nathan DeVaux: Head Coach: Seventh Season: “Joe’s had his eye on this, you know. It’s a great example of a guy setting a clear goal, and doing everything that he can to get to that point and make it happen. So it’s always fulfilling as a coach to see a kid who works hard also get the pay-off, and he got that tonight. And it’s a big moment for us. We’ve coached Joe for four years. So it’s something we all get to be involved in and celebrate together.
But after that…the Spartans needed the last couple wrestlers…to help them fight back…in the next match, Nolan Scott…normally a 170 wrestler…pins Jonathan McCullough in the 182 match…to give Homestead the 33-31 lead
In the 195 class…Matt Mills gets the takedown against Thomas Schwartz…Mills beat Schwartz to put Homestead up by five
And to seal the deal…220 wrestler Carter Hull…pins Kenneth Ware…that gives Homestead a 42-31 win…a great team comeback for the Spartans.
DeVaux: We continue to preach; wrestling is a sport that can flip on its head in a moment. And so it’s just a matter of each guy executing the game plan, not worrying about the team score, but worrying about the team-score, but just taking care of your individual assignment. If we do that, the guys know that the end result will take care of itself, so they stayed focused and locked in, and some other guys picked up the slack where we really needed them to.
The meet was particularly special for Spartans’ head coach Nathan DeVaux…he graduated from Snider in 2004
DeVaux: Coming back in this gym, it’s a family reunion. We know that they’re gonna fight. That’s the way I was taught to wrestle when I was here. And it’s what I’ve implemented in our room. So right now the Homestead wrestling team is really a Snider by-product. We knew coming in here tonight, it was gonna be a battle, that we’d have 14 guys on each side looking to fight and find a way to win. I just enjoyed being in this gym with that environment with kids that are just going out to battle with one another.
This is Thad Goff for Summit City Sports…Homestead’s next meet is the New Haven Invitational on Saturday…and Snider is back in action on Tuesday against Carroll
