It had been a magical season for the boys’ varsity wrestling team. Heading into their match with rival North Penn, it looked as if there was a chance for the Skins to take first place in the SOL conference.

As hopes were running high, the team received a huge letdown. They were informed that they had to forfeit two prior matches due to a wrestler competing out of his weight class.

This knocked Neshaminy, formally at 7-1 and in a second place, back to a 5-3 record and out of contention.

“We were in contention for first place and it blew us out, it was a big letdown,” John Denny said.

While the team was no longer in contention, they continued to work hard. They went into the match with North Penn and put up a great performance, just losing at the end 27-25.

The team was upset about the forfeits, but they did not let it stop them. They regrouped and won their last two matches convincingly over C.B. West and Pennridge.

“We took it in stride, it hurt, but we couldn’t let up.” said sophomore Pat Warusz.

The team, led by new coach Mike Ortman, exceeded most expectations. “I knew I was taking over a young team.” Ortman said.

Ortman helped prepare the young team by changing things for the less experienced team. “I made practice a little more ‘live’ than in past years because of the inexperience, it helped them be a little more prepared for the real thing.”

After the season it was individual wrestlers’ turn to shine. In the post-season tournament, a few underclassmen really came up big. Biggest of all was freshman Brian Rowen. Rowen raised some eyebrows when he won the Sectional Tournament. He then went on to shock everyone when he won again at the District One Tournament.

Other top Neshaminy finishers were Denny, who placed second at 119 pounds, Pat Warusz who placed fourth at 145 pounds and Geoff Donahue who placed second in the 275-pound weight class.

The Neshaminy wrestling team put on a brilliant performance this year. Had it not been for a few bad breaks who knows how far they could have gone. But with several underclassmen returning, the ‘Skins look to have success for years to come.