By Max Clements
After a 5-1 preseason record, the Hopkinton High School Wrestling team dominated in their first match of the regular season on Thursday, January 9th, versus Bellingham.

Although the Hillers have a history of winning wrestling matches against Bellingham, the team continued to give all of their effort and work their hardest during Thursday’s match.

Headed by Coach Tim “Nelly” Nelson and senior captains Nick Ferris, Callan Berry, and Scott Nixon, the team has high hopes for the season, as they aspire to take home the Tri-Valley League (TVL) title.

“It is important for us to get a win tonight. We have set individual and team goals this year; the most important to us is becoming TVL champions and it can all start with a win tonight,” said Coach Nelson before the match.

“Our plan as a team is to improve every week and eventually win a TVL title which hasn’t been done in about 10 years; but we have to take care of business with tough teams like Norton and Holliston first,” explained senior captain Callan Berry.

To begin the match, Hopkinton’s Junior Varsity team won all but two of their matches, giving the Hillers an initial leading score. Due to a lack of wrestlers, Hopkinton was awarded two forfeited wins worth 6 points each, and Bellingham was awarded one forfeited win; each forfeit is worth 6 points.

The match ended with a 54-12 win in Hopkinton’s favor. No Hopkinton wrestlers were pinned during the course of the meet.

“It’s great to get a win under our belts and give ourselves the opportunity to achieve our goals this year,” commented Ferris after the big win, “Bellingham is a very competitive team but I’m glad we came out on top tonight.”

The team’s next TVL meet is home on Wednesday, January 15th, at 7:00 PM versus Holliston.