Wrestling: Boye, Conestoga finally get the best of Garnet Valley

CONCORD – Matt Boye was six-years-old the last time Conestoga beat Garnet Valley in a dual meet.

He hadn’t started wrestling yet. That wouldn’t happen for another four years. But Boye and his teammates were well aware of the drought and were determined to end it Wednesday night.

“We had a really close match with them our freshmen year and that was probably the best shot we had at beating them,” Boye said. “Two years ago, when I was a sophomore, we got beat pretty bad and that ******, but we knew that this year was our up year and we took advantage of it. We really went after it.”

Boye’s major decision over Matt Mesaros at 160 pounds turned the momentum in Conestoga’s favor and helped the Pioneers end that 10-match losing streak with a 43-25 victory over the Jaguars Wednesday night.

“We knew they were going to slot around a lot, but we just went with our lineup and that paid off for us.”

It was Conestoga’s first victory over the Jaguars since a 45-20 win on Feb. 11. 2012 and it didn’t come easy. The Pioneers had a slim, 21-19, lead when Boye and Mesaros stepped on the mat. Junior Ethan Bliss (146) and freshman Paxton Hunt had just won by fall to get the Jaguars within two points. Boye had a 2-1 lead heading into the third period. That’s when he took control.

Boye got a takedown, a reversal and back points to open up a 10-1 lead.

“I saw the score and I knew I had to win,” Boye said.

“It was a tough battle in the first two periods,” Mesaros said. “I was getting shots, I just couldn’t finish them. The third period, I just got caught. He got the better of me and finished on top.”

The Pioneers never looked back. Seniors Hayden McLellan (172) and Bruce Beltrante (215) sandwiched pins around a forfeit victory by Jake Allred, the No. 3 wrestler at 189 pounds according to pawrestling.com to break the match open. McClellan pinned Griffin Hays in 1:52 and Deltrante took care of Douglas in 39 seconds to give the Pioneers a 43-19 advantage.

“It was a little tighter than I wanted it to be,” said Conestoga coach Gary Baker, whose team improved to 10-1 overall and 4-0 in the Central League. “There were a couple of matches that I felt we had a chance to win and we just gave up. But we know we’re tough from 160 to 215, so we always know that if we’re within 24 points at that point, we’re fine.”

It was a disappointing loss in what has been an up-and-down season for the five-time defending Central League champion Jaguars (6-10, 3-2), who are fielding a young team under first-year coach Chris Tate. Mesaros and Patrick Douglas (215) were the only seniors to wrestle against the Pioneers. The rest of the lineup consisted of three juniors, four sophomores and two freshmen.

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Garnet Valley's Ethan Bliss with the pin over Conestoga's Ted Mackenzie at 145 pounds Wednesday evening. (Pete Bannan - MediaNews Group)