Damari Green (JQUS) and Jimmy Sullivan (BLS) compete under the lights at Josiah Quincy Upper School in Chinatown.
Boston MA – On Tuesday the Josiah Quincy Upper School Rising Phoenix played host to the Boston Latin School Wolfpack for the 7th Annual Hoong Wei Speicher Memorial Match. The dual meet pits the only two varsity wrestling programs in the Boston Public Schools in an annual contest that honors the legacy of Hoong Wei Speicher, an administrator at JQUS and the mother of a BLS wrestler. Speicher was instrumental in expanding wrestling opportunities to Boston Public School students. After some back and forth matches in the first five weight classes, Boston Latin was leading 17-9. But the Wolfpack, currently ranked #25 in the state in the MassWrestling.com rankings, ran away with the match with four consecutive pins (and a forfeit) to overtake the Rising Phoenix with a 53-27 final score.
At the conclusion of the match, JQUS head coach Malcolm Mitchell spoke eloquently about the legacy of the late Hoong Wei Speicher, and the impact that she left on the sport of wrestling here in Boston. As part of the tradition of the match, one wrestler was honored with the Speicher “True Grit” Award in recognition of their ability for determination and perseverance. Adrian Hernandez of Josiah Quincy, whose mother recently passed away in January, was honored with the 2017 trophy.
On the match, BYW founder José Valenzuela said, “It’s nights like tonight that remind me about what makes the sport of wrestling so special. In the only dual meet of the year between two city public schools, we saw kids battling for every point, never quitting on themselves or their team, and when it was all done showing each other love and respect. This is what BYW is all about. These are memories that these student-athletes will cherish for a lifetime, and a bond between kids from neighborhoods all over the city that will surely never be broken.”
The match was also broadcast live for the first time on Facebook Live. Watch the archived video on www.facebook.com/bostonwrestling.
FINAL RESULTS
