Packers take down Rochester Century
Published 6:57 am Friday, December 18, 2009
It was a good night to be a Packer fan Thursday at Ove Berven Gym.
Senior 189 pounder Michael Hirsch scored his 100th victory in a forfeit.
Alex Amrich clinched an 8-6 win in overtime at the 125-pound weight class, and at 275 pounds, Thomas Herrera came from behind to beat his opponent 11-2.
Oh, and Austin (1-2) topped Rochester Century (0-7) for the first time in four years, 49-21.
“I feel pretty good about the way our kids wrestled tonight,” said Austin wrestling coach Bill Kinney. “We’re always looking for a little more, but I’m very pleased, we’re making good progress.”
After losses to two state powerhouses, the Packers scored their first win of the season Thursday in decisive fashion.
A forfeit at 103 pounds made it 6-0 Packers, before Brennen Russell’s 4-2 nail-biting win at 112 pounds gave Austin a 9-0 cushion.
A Century win at 119 made it 9-3 Austin, but the Packers would cruise from there.
At 125 pounds, Amrich scored a thrilling take down in that overtime to put the home crowd in a frenzy and the Packers up 12-3.
Austin then followed with wins from Dylan Diekmann at 130 pounds; a C.J. Kirchhoff pin at 135; Century forfeits at 140 and 145; and a Bryce Zahradnik pin at 152 to go up 39-9.
The Panthers then countered with pins of its own at 160 and 171, before Hirsch scored his 100th victory at 189 in what was the fourth Century forfeit.
Hirsch said he would have preferred to have wrestled, but that he’ll take the win anyway.
“It would have been nice, but this is just as good,” he said. “I have more matches.”
Rochester countered with a pin at 215, before Herrera stuck the 11-2 win to close the deal.