Elizabethtown led nearly the entire match after opening up a 15-0 lead with wins at 125, 133, 141 and 149, but the homestanding Spartans (0-1) put a successful result for the Jays in jeopardy with 19 unanswered points before a major decision from Rocco Hladney at 197 and Eckstein's heroics at 285 saved the guests.
Eckstein, coming off a career-best 22 wins as a junior, put a move on Stefanos Karpontinis, who just broke into the d3wrestle.com national rankings at No. 10 Wednesday, with eight seconds left in the third period of a low-scoring battle and his two-point takedown was the difference-maker in a 3-1 decision that put the Blue Jays (1-0) on top in the final moments.
The late-match drama almost didn't happen after York scored bonus points in three of four matches while winning four straight weights between 157 and 184. A fall from Eric Hutchinson at 157 and a forfeit victory for Frankie Krauss at 184 were big blows, with the six points for the forfeit putting the Spartans ahead for the first time, 19-15.
Hladney, a d3wrestle.com Contender, put the Blue Jays back on even ground. The senior from Middletown, Del., cranked out a 14-4 major decision over Hasan Alic at 197, to knot the score at 19 heading into the final match.
It was all Jays early as Philip Torresani pinned Brendan McDonough 3:39 into their match at 125 pounds; Josh McLaughlin blanked Zach Dwyer, 3-0, at 133; Josh Paisley worked past Verlensky Joachim, 10-3, at 141; and senior d3wrestle.com Honorable Mention Joe Ghione avenged an overtime loss in the finals of last Saturday's Ursinus Fall Brawl to nationally-ranked No. 4/9 Gregory Warner with a 7-4 victory, Wednesday.
Elizabethtown snapped York's four-match winning streak in the series between the two local rivals, and gained its first victory since February, 2013.
The Blue Jays are back in action Sunday at the Star City Open in Salem, Va., ahead of their dual home opener against Shippensburg on Thanksgiving Eve at 5 p.m.
Results:
125 Philip Torresani (EC) pinned Brendan McDonough (YCP), 3:39 6 0
133 Josh McLaughlin (EC) dec. Zach Dwyer (YCP), 3-0 9 0
141 Josh Paisley (EC) dec. Verlensky Joachim (YCP), 10-3 12 0
149 #NR/HM Joe Ghione (EC) dec. #4/9 Gregory Warner (YCP), 7-4 15 0
157 #NR/HM Eric Hutchinson (YCP) pinned Dan Smith (EC), 2:19 15 6
165 #NR/CT Jackson Drum (YCP) dec. Chris Kummerer (EC), 5-2 15 9
174 David Keith (YCP) maj. dec. Tyler Mentzer (EC), 13-3 15 13
184 #NR/CT Frankie Krauss (YCP) won by forfeit 15 19
197 #NR/CT Rocco Hladney (EC) maj. dec. Hasan Alic (YCP), 14-4 19 19
285 Eric Eckstein (EC) dec. #NR/10 Stefanos Karpontinis (YCP), 3-1 22 19
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