TOWAMENCIN- If one were to have have asked North Penn wrestling coach Rob Shettsline if he thought he had a conference title winning team in the beginning of the season, he would have probably said no; however, now North Penn is two matches away from winning it. On North Penn’s home Senior Night, two undefeated Suburban One Continental Conference leaders went head to head in a match that heavily swung in North Penn’s favor. The Knights (11-6, 4-0) defeated the Souderton Indians (8-6, 3-1) by winning the matchups they were expected to, while also edging out the swing matches, putting up a total score of 50-15.

“I’m absolutely proud [of the seniors]. They did wonderful. I had said, ‘Let’s go out and have a nice memory for the night’, and these kids really worked hard,” said Shettsline.

North Penn’s huge win was not expected tonight, and it wasn’t anticipated by the Knights themselves either.

“Everyone stepped it up tonight. We came into the match as two undefeated teams, and for us to score 50 points is much more than what we expected,” explained senior Jake Yoder.

The Knight’s early lead was definitely a major factor in their team’s attitude and momentum throughout the match. Junior Owen Verespy took the mat for the first match, and left the mat shortly thereafter, gaining 6 points for North Penn due to a forfeit.The first pin of the night was earned by North Penn’s junior Ryan Cody, who pinned senior Ethan Wardrobe in the 285lb weight match, putting the Knight’s ahead 12-0.

After another forfeit by Souderton, North Penn freshman Jabez Chae worked his way to a 12-8 win over Connor Crawford, extending the Knight’s lead 21-0 in the 113lb weight class.

“We won a lot of the swing matches; we thought they would be close,” said Shettsline.

Souderton put up their first points in the 120lb weight class with junior Harrison Andrade pinning freshman Alec Schrum. Souderton won again in the 126lb weight class with senior Brandon Bach earning a minor decision over senior Caleb Chae, cutting the Knight’s lead 21-9 (10-4).

North Penn took back control with senior Jake Yoder earning a major decision 6 points over sophomore Brydon Bateman in the 132lb section. For the next five matchups, North Penn sustained a winning streak that was motivated by previous big wins.

Sophomore Erik Laughlin edged out a close win over sophomore Connor Trowbridge, putting the Knights ahead 28-9 (9-8). Then, his older brother, senior Will Laughlin, earned a technical fall against sophomore Cole Ragusa, dominating the matchup 15-0 in the 145lb weight class.

Continuing the winning streak, senior Colin Shannon took the mat in the 152lb class, pinning sophomore Troy Makluk and increasing the Knight’s lead 39-9. Following Shannon, North Penn sophomore Patrick O’Neill dominated the mat to earn a major decision over senior Craig Finkenbeiner in an impressive 16-3 victory.

“Every match that we predicted to go either way we won; we did phenomenally tonight,” said  Shannon. “Putting up a lot of early points helps our momentum and takes the stress off of the later matches.”

Junior Reid Dentner endured a close matchup with sophomore Bruno Stolfi in the 170lb weight class, winning 3-1 and putting the Knights ahead 46-9.

After six lost matches, Souderton senior Jake Phaup pinned junior Garret Qualett in the 182 weight class, but the win only cut North Penn’s lead 46-15.

In the final match, senior Brandon Ullman finished off North Penn’s victory with a major decision over senior Jack Morgan (12-2).

“Our swing matches tonight were super important. They are swing matches, so you don’t know who is going to win or lose, but mostly everyone who was in that situation won tonight; that really sealed the deal for us.” said Ullman.

The North Penn boys were all smiles after the meet as they not only celebrated their big conference win, but also their Senior Night as well.

“It was our last home meet, and we went out with a bang; I’m going to remember this for the rest of my life,” said Ullman.

While the Knight’s have been having successful seasons for the past few years, they do not want to stop where they are now. The Knight’s have goals for the future that they hope the underclassmen of the team can reach in the coming years.

“I want us to set the bar high, but I want the underclassmen to pass it. I want them to be better than us so that they can make the younger generations even better,” said Ullman.

For more of Anissa Gardizy’s coverage on the Knights’ 50-15 victory over the Souderton Indians, check out the video here on NPTV: