By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – Nobody is tougher than a wrestling senior. They’ve been through the most difficult sport, they’ve been hardened by injuries and pain, spilled a little blood and left pounds of sweat all over the mats. Even with all the emotions of a farewell, there’s no way a tear was going to drip loose on Senior Night.
Bedford North Lawrence’s senior foursome went through the wars. Two of them didn’t survive this final year, suffering season-ending injuries. One of them ended up looking like the fife player in the famous Spirit of ‘76 painting, all bandaged up but marching on. But they still went out as winners, as the Stars posted a 29-18 victory over North Knox to cap Thursday night’s celebration.
Jorj Filler was the lone BNL senior to record a win in his final appearance in BNL Fieldhouse, but his younger counterparts delivered some key victories. He joined Connor Roberts, Jaxon Powell and Austin Clark in the upperclass honor guard.
“It was bittersweet,” Filler said. “In the past, it was nice to see my teammates do this, and it was emotional to miss them. This year it was my role as a senior to step up, and I’ve enjoyed that a lot. I didn’t want to end on a loss. Once we got on the mat, all that stuff went away.”
Filler didn’t mess around, pinning North Knox’s Caden Lee in only 35 seconds at 126 pounds. Roberts, the other senior in action, went the distance and little extra, falling by a pin 33 seconds into overtime after he battled Grayson Conrad to a thrilling 8-8 deadlock in regulation time.
Roberts looked like he was auditioning for a role in The Mummy after suffering a scratch on his cheek early in the match at 215, and he required a full face wrap of tape to stop the bleeding. He scored a huge takedown for an 8-6 lead with 30 seconds left, but Grayson scored a penalty point and an escape to pull even, then got the pin.
That match epitomized the toughness, physically and mentally, that all four seniors discussed as the key life-lesson learning point in their careers.
“It’s by far the hardest sport I’ve ever done,” Roberts said. “The brotherhood is really good. I’ve never been in a sport where everyone was as much of a family. It really teaches you how to be mentally tough.”
Powell, who got off to a great start this season before suffering a broken wrist at Bloomington South, and Clark (who battled a knee injury before bowing out), agreed.
“This sport is the hardest thing I’ve done in my life,” Powell said. “It’s taught me that I can definitely get through a lot. I remember my first seventh-grade practice. We had to run a mile – as a warm-up. That’s something I had never done before.”
“The sport gets you mentally tough,” Clark added. “It’s obviously physically tough, but it’s really on your mental health to not quit, no matter what. You’re getting hurt and you have to keep going. If you can wrestle, you can do just about anything.”
“You can do anything you put your mind to,” Filler concurred. “There are so many times I wanted to quit or walk out of a practice, but at the end of the day, looking back, you don’t remember that stuff.”
The Stars will remember this as a winning night because of mat wins by Ethan Stancombe (pinning Jake Phipps in 55 seconds at 165) and Junior Arellano (overpowering Ely Kirk by a 16-5 count at 285).
BNL will compete in the sectional at Bloomington South on Jan. 27.
BNL 29, NORTH KNOX 18
106 – Double forfeit
113 – Wyatt Philpott, BNL won by forfeit
120 – Double forfeit
126 – Jorj Filler, BNL p. Caden Lee 0:35
132 – Double forfeit
138 – Double forfeit
144 – Double forfeit
150 – Braxton Thompson, NK won by forfeit
165 – Ethan Stancombe, BNL p. Jake Phipps 0:55
175 – Garrett Fuller, NK p. Asher Arce 1:40
190 – Tate Tanksley, BNL won by forfeit
215 – Grayson Conrad, NK p. Connor Roberts 6:33 (extra time)
285 – Junior Arellano, BNL d. Ely Kirk 16-5
