It was Olmsted Falls’ senior night Feb. 3 against Berea-Midpark, and senior Nate Corrigan wanted to send off not only himself but the rest of his fellow seniors off on a high note before the Southwestern Conference tournament in two weeks.
Down, 2-1, entering the third period of his match against the Titans’ Noah Finley, Corrigan needed a win by decision or pin to lock up their SWC dual, knowing Olmsted Falls would get a forfeit at the heavyweight spot for six points.
Corrigan managed to find his way out and scored a takedown and three backpoints for an eventual 6-2 decision, helping lift the Bulldogs to a 39-33 win on senior night.
“That third period, knowing the situation and that if I pull the match off, we win the dual,” Corrigan said, “I was looking for any way to score and it happened kind of funky at the end. But it happened and I pulled it through.”
“Yeah, Nate just did a great job,” Olmsted Falls coach Bryce Burkhard said. “We tell guys to keep moving, keep their eyes up and things are going to happen. He just stayed positive and found his way to score at the end there.”
With the match hanging on a razor’s edge, the sudden reversal ended their hopes of one more dual win, as Finley nearly had the match in his grasp before Corrigan grabbed it away.
“That’s a match we need to have, obviously,” Berea-Midpark coach Steve Bosko said. “That’s one of those tossup matches in a dual you need to have to come out on top. It’s a scramble, and we kind of got in a bad position. We went for a turn, kind of forced some things and credit to them. They put us on our back and got back points and (Corrigan) did what he had to do to win.
“We have to do a better job in those scrambles and any tossup match that we’re in, we’ve got to be able to pin and get off the mat.”
In the early going, the momentum was mainly in Olmsted Falls’ corner. Andrew Connelly wound up getting a pin in three minutes flat where he dominated the whole way without looking gassed, followed by Aidan Hurt earning a decision before the Titans made a run. But those victories were decisive in the end, especially Connelly’s pin to give the seniors a good sendoff.
144: Hunter Sherfler vs Andrew Connelly (VIDEO to be posted later as a reply)
Connelly by pinfall 3:00
Olmsted Falls 27-Berea MP 12@MJournalSports@OFWrestling1
— Sean Fitzgerald (@fitzonsportsbsr) February 4, 2023
“We’ve been through some tough seas, especially with COVID,” Corrigan said. “This last year, pulling through at the very end with the seniors for our senior night and our last dual, possibly of our wrestling careers. It was awesome.”
Though there’s technically still one more match at home, with the SWC tournament on the Bulldogs’ home turf in just a few weeks. Their win against Berea-Midpark creates a boost as the postseason stretch draws ever nearer.
“Berea always brings it. We always have great matches with them,” Burkhard said. “So to end our regular season with that is great confidence for us going into the tournaments.”
