Frank Speziale Photo

NORWICH ­– The Norwich Purple Tornado wrestling team hosted the Windsor Black Knights for their last scheduled home meet of the season – senior night for three graduating Norwich seniors.
Prior to any matches, Norwich recognized its three graduating seniors:
• Nick Murphy, who is planning on attending college to study either communications or law enforcement, came into the night holding a 54-30 record.
• Dalen Geislinger, who plans on pursuing a career in agriculture, came into the night with an impressive 103-26 record.
• Dusten Marvin, who plans to attend BCC for a civil engineering degree, currently holds a 14-14 record.
“Senior night to me is a reminder that it is getting toward the end, and because of this win tonight, it’s a really sweet end,” said senior Dusten Marvin after the meet.
Despite the ultimate win over the Black Knights at a commanding 45 to 23, the night began slow and gritty at the 113-pound weight. Norwich’s Nick Glanville battled back from an 8-0 lead for his opponent to lose 14 to 4.
“Little slow at first, but you can tell that we work hard and that we’re in shape, and we’re all peaking,” said Norwich Head Coach Bob Hagenbuch. “We have a lot of season left to go and a lot of work left ahead of us, but we're doing the right things right now. We just have a pretty solid team.”
It was the very next match at the 120-weight class that senior Dalen Geislinger first put points on the board for the Tornado. Geislinger wouldn’t just win his last match in front of his hometown crowd. He would go on to dominate his opponent, winning the match by tech fall at 17-0 in the third period.
“It means a lot. Last time, the match didn’t end up the way I wanted it to. So it feels good to win tonight at home for the last time,” said Geislinger following his tech fall win that put Norwich up 5 to 4 over Windsor.
Senior Nick Murphy would check in at the 145-pound weight to deliver another crushing win for the Tornado. Despite taking the early lead in his match, leading 4 to 1, Murphy would manage to maneuver his opponent into a position that subsequently caused the Black Knight to tap out, ending the match and awarding the Tornado a 6-point swing.
“It’s nice to win my last match at home; but really, it’s just another match to get ready for Sectionals,” said Murphy.
Following Murphy’s match, the team extended to a semi-comfortable 19 to 8 lead.
The last senior to step on the mat for Norwich was Dusten Marvin at 160 pounds. Dusten followed suit with his other two senior teammates and managed the win for the Tornado despite a slow start. The slow start and mid-match tie at 3 a piece wouldn’t last long, however. The third period saw Marvin claim a late take-down and eventual late period pin over his opponent with just 52 seconds remaining.
Norwich would go on to cruise to another win of the season at 45 to 23 over the Windsor Black Knights. Their team record now stands at an impressive 12-3 on the season.
“All three seniors won on senior night. That’s huge," said Hagenbuch. "They’re good, and they have worked hard. They deserve all the accolades they get this year."
The Tornado boys will see their next action on the road at the Eastern States Tournament this weekend.
“We did good, but we have more work to do this year,” said Hagenbuch.


Match Results:
(Windsor names not readable)
113: Nick Glanville (N) loses 14-4 to Windsor; 120: Dalen Geislinger (N) wins by TF at 17-0 against Windsor; 126: Gabe Glanville (N) loses 13-1 to Windsor; 132: Ty Rifanburg (N) wins 4-0 against Windsor; 138: Zach Mills wins by TF at 15-0 against Windsor; 145: Nick Murphy (N) was up 4-1, wins by tap out against Windsor; 152: Cole Rifanburg (N) wins 11-0 against Windsor; 160: Dusten Marvin wins by pin at 5:07; 170: Brennon Slater (N) wins 3-1 against Windsor; 182: Jake Franklin (N) wins 9-1 against Windsor; 195: Norwich Fft to Windsor; 220: Dakota Hall (N) loses 6-4 to Windsor; 285: Norwich Fft to Windsor; 99: Eli Rodriguez (N) wins by pin at 3:06 against Windsor; 106: Mike Squires (N) wins 8-1 against Windsor.