By Brennan Waldorf
The Yellow Jacket Wrestling squad is already winning tournaments before the season has begun. Head coach Matt Evans entered the team into a tournament in hopes of scoring some new gear. The proactive coach had little expectations but was delighted as his team continuously moved through the rounds eventually claiming the title and reward of new singlets for the entire varsity squad.
The tournament was hosted by Constant Pressure and pitted the Jackets against 49 other squads in a single elimination style tourney where each team had two days of voting before advancing to the next round or being eliminated. Teams advanced based off social media votes via likes on either Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.
With over 50 teams involved from around the U.S., Northampton prevailed thanks to the outstanding community and student effort in the county. The Yellow Jacket squad had to win six rounds to take the crown and was backed by the voting of students from the middle and high school along with the Northampton County teachers and administrators. “This was such a fun competition and we would like to thank everyone who helped place votes for us to win this competition,” said coach Evans.
The teams Facebook posts were shared hundreds of times by community members to encourage others to vote. The Yellow Jackets managed to amass 4,500 votes in the last two rounds, winning in the finals against a team from the wrestling powerhouse state of Michigan.
“That is the true sense of victory in that we came together as a community to defeat such bigger areas,” coach Evans said of the tournament outcome.
The community will have a chance to see the new singlets in action this year as Northampton will be hosting two separate home tournaments. The first will be the Annual Jacket Invitational on Dec. 7, which will be the Jackets’ first matches of the year with 10 teams competing in a double elimination tournament.
The Jackets will also host the Annual Fred Diem/Scott Miles invite which is a two-day round robin tournament set to begin Jan. 10. The tournament welcomes Northampton wrestling alumni to attend for free entry and access to the Jacket hospitality room. Any alumni who attends will be honored in between rounds on Jan. 11 starting at 9 a.m.
