H-H rides Lynch pin

by Ralph Weber, The Intelligencer

Posted on January 25, 2008

On the face of it, Nick Lynch of Hatboro-Horsham going against Kevin Boegley at the 145-pound bout appeared to be a mismatch.

Lynch was a sophomore with a below .500 record who normally competes at 140, while Boegley sported a 22-4 record as a 145.

To no surprise, the match ended in a first-period pin. What was a surprise was that it was Lynch who got the pin.

Lynch's pin helped Hatboro-Horsham rally from an early deficit, and it went on to post a 41-23 victory over Methacton in a first-round District One Class AAA team tournament match Thursday night at Hatboro-Horsham.

The eighth-seeded Hatters will now face top seed Council Rock South, a 56-9 winner over Bensalem, in the quarterfinals on Friday, Feb. 1.

"We'll take a shot at CR South and see how many points we can get," said Hatboro-Horsham coach Glenn Kaiser. "We've been competing at a higher level lately and we play a tough schedule. I think we're right there for a spot in (the state tournament)."

The night was also notable for the Hatters' Robert Gribshaw, who posted his 100th career win as he prevailed by forfeit at 119. He was given a plaque marking the occasion at the conclusion of the match.

The match started at 135 pounds, which coincided with what is sometimes the weakest part of the Hatters' lineup, so Kaiser decided to do some lineup juggling.

"We were waiting to see what Methacton was going to do," Kaiser said. "We decided to go with the freshman, Mike Lynch, at 135, and he kept his head, and we put Brandon Wu at 140 and he didn't get pinned (losing by technical fall) by Jon Hammond, and that saved us a point.

"There have been times the middle of our lineup has taken a beating but moving everyone up, Nick Lynch to 145, Kenny Pallis to 152 and Don Smith to 160 really worked out for us. Then we had our regular lineup the rest of the way."

There was also a bit of added pressure as Methacton held an 8-0 lead when Lynch took the mat.

"I thought I was going to get Hammond; I didn't really know much about (Boegley)," said Lynch. "I had seen him at the Quakertown Tournament, and I knew he was good and I had to go at him hard."

Boegley held a 2-0 lead when Lynch pinned him with nine seconds left in the first period.

"I just got on my feet, saw the opportunity, and took it," said Lynch.

Pallis would then win by decision at 152 and Don Smith won by major decision at 160, giving the Hatters a 13-8 lead.

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