On the evening of December 14th, Hopkinton and Ashland came together for the Hillers’ first home wrestling meet of the year at the annual Coaches vs. Cancer match.
Hopkinton and Ashland use this meet to raise money to benefit cancer research. Cancer has plagued both of these communities. Between the teams, five of the coaches have a family member who has passed from cancer, and two of the wrestlers are survivors. Between the towns there were 141 people who are survivors, actively fighting cancer, or have lost their lives to cancer that were honored during the match.
“We held this event for the first time in 2018, to great success,” said Ashland resident and organizer Jenn Karner. “While we are rivals on the mat, we really value the communities coming together to support this great cause.”
The match didn’t go according to plan for Hopkinton. The Hillers jumped out to a quick 18-6 lead after three quick pins, but “things can change in a matter of seconds” said Senior captain Adam Distasio, “There were times where we were in a good spot, but a couple of our guys ended up pinned. That’s just how wrestling goes sometimes.”
Though the final score was 39-28 in favor of Ashland, it was a great match and the Hopkinton squad is looking forward to next year to renew the rivalry.
Klara Niss contributed reporting and photography for this event.
