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W hen the referee hit the mat last Thursday night to end Eric Hastings’ match against Alex D’Urso of Tamarac at 285 pounds, the smack marked more than one milestone.
As Granville put the icing on the Wasaren League title cake, Eric Hastings worked to add an exclamation point to his Granville High School wrestling career as he joined the exclusive 100 wins club for the Golden Horde.
“It feels like a landmark,” Hastings said when asked for his reaction to the much sought after achievement.
“I hoping to get to about 115 or so, get about half way up,” he said. What Hastings wants to move “up” is the plaque adorned with the names of the most successful wrestlers ever to button up head gear for the Horde among names like Sabo and his teammate Karl Palmer, now the school’s all-time wins leader.
Coming up one point short of undefeated “I lost by one point at Colonie,” Hastings said. “I wish I was undefeated, but you take what you get,” Hastings said.
Head coach Steve Palmer said putting Hastings on the mat at 285 was a risk he had not planned to take.
“We were going to put him at 215 for the definite win, but then things worked out that we clinched (the league title) and Eric’s been trying to determine which way he’s going to go for the end of the season. This kid’s been around for a long time and he’s a very good wrestler so we wanted to test Eric and once again he’s come out very, very strong,” Palmer said. “Whatever decision he makes is going to be the right one because he’s dominating either one.”
Hastings said he’s leaning toward finishing the year in the 285-pound weight class.
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