Tougher Bulldawgs Clip Eagles

Some sat in their chairs with their knees bobbling up and down. Others paced around the floor, making turn after turn.

What took approximately five minutes felt like so much longer for the members of the Haddonfield Memorial High School wrestling team waiting to find out the final verdict of their match against Colonial Conference Liberty Division rival West Deptford.

The scoreboard read 36-36 after all 14 matches were complete, but a winner still needed to be determined. One by one, the official and the two coaches went down the list of credential tiebreakers hoping to find one that would end the deadlock. Total wins didn’t do it. Pins didn’t either.

Finally, on the eighth tiebreaker—total first points—a winner was announced and the Bulldawgs could exhale.

By the slimmest of margins, Haddonfield had a much-needed victory.

“It was a huge win to give the team a morale boost,” sophomore Jake Klaus said. “Now we are going to Virginia (this weekend) and the whole team feels good. The past few matches have been rough, but we all came out to wrestle (Thursday). We haven’t wrestled our best, but we won and that’s all that matters.”

Haddonfield got a pin from Alex Klein (220 pounds) and a decision by Charlie O’Neil to take a 36-27 lead with two matches left, but West Deptford closed with a pin and a decision of its own to tie the match. The Bulldawgs were awarded the win thanks to scoring first in eight of the 14 bouts.

The victory helps validate an excruciatingly difficult non-conference schedule that pitted the Bulldawgs against wrestling powerhouses St. Peters Prep, St. Joseph and St. Augustine, among others. Haddonfield coach Bill Heverly hoped the tough schedule would toughen his kids up and prepare them for any challenge they saw during conference action.

“I put them in a meet grinder the first couple of matches wrestling the toughest teams in the state,” Heverly said. “Even though we got blown out in some matches I feel like, them being a young team, they showed a lot of toughness. They are still not wrestling their best, but they are gutting it out. (Wednesday night) just goes to show that they kept fighting. We were down in some matches and came back and got pins.”

Count Klaus in as a believer in the tough schedule. Against some of the best grapplers the state has to offer, he has produced an 11-3 record, including a third-period pin Thursday that put the Bulldawgs on the board after the team fell behind 12-0.

“It definitely makes us a lot more prepared and a lot tougher,” said Klaus. “We travel all the way up near New York City and Jersey City and wrestle some of the best teams in the state and we get tougher. The competition we face is great here but it doesn’t really compare to when we go up to face some of those teams.”

Klaus leads the team in victories and has positioned himself to be one of the favorites in the 132-pound weight class when the individual season rolls around. The way Klaus looks at it, if he is wrestling well, the team is reaping the benefits.

“I wrote my goals down and keep striving for them,” said Klaus, who is hoping to become a district champion and win at least 25 matches. “Hopefully, if I can reach my goals then that will help the team. That’s the main goal right there.”

The Bulldawgs (4-6) are now 4-1 in the conference with matches against Sterling and Lindenwold slated for next week. Before those conference battles the Bulldawgs will be making one more trip, this time down south for the Virginia Duals this weekend.

The Bulldawgs leave for the trip knowing that regardless of the result, they will be better for it in the end.

“In wrestling, it takes time to develop,” Heverly said. “It doesn’t happen overnight. Over the next two to three weeks, I think we are going to see a lot of guys turning the corner.”