Girard routs Liberty to win two wrestling league titles

Liberty had the perfect stage. The lights were out with only a spotlight on the wrestling mat. A “Liberty” bell was on hand to ring in the victories and leading up to Wednesday night, the Leopards boasted a perfect league record.

But it was the Leopards who had their bell rung. Their bid for their first league title since 2012 was upended by a dominant Girard.

The Indians beat the Leopards, 52-18, to win both the EWOL Division III and All-American Conference Blue Tier title in one swoop to close out the regular season.

“It’s big. I like winning and the kids like winning and it’s something that you shoot for, but the main goal in wrestling is what you do in the postseason,” Girard coach Jim Cardiero said. “We want to get out of sectionals, get to districts and hopefully get to the state tournament.

“All this stuff is just practice for that as far as I’m concerned,” Cardiero added.

After the Indians dropped the first bout as Jordan McFadden (106) pinned Nick Dibble, Girard won the next three matches by pin to take control.

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