A broken hand and so-so season left Archbishop Curley’s Brett Przywara in more than an unfavorable position this past weekend.
Entering the MIAA Conference Championship with a fifth seed, he would not only have to pull an upset to get to the semifinals, but continue the underdog wins to see the finals and a possible 135-pound championship.
“Honestly, I didn’t expect any of this,” Przywara said, pulling-off each necessary upset to claim his title on Saturday. “I knew I was going to come in here and have some touch matches, and earlier in the season I lost to two of the kids I cam back to beat today.”
In the tournament quarterfinals, Przywara was matched with fourth seeded Dan Froehlich of John Carroll, who held to two earlier losses over the Curley star, but a 3-1 decision would be the first of three upsets for the eventual champ in a pure comeback tournament.
While Przywara was able to defeat Froehlich and avenge one of his earlier season losses, his next opponent would be someone he had never went head-to-head with on the mat; Mount St. Joe’s Kevin Johnson.
The overall number one seed in the 135-pound bracket, Johnson was the favorite to not only run through the top bracket, but also pull a win in the tournament finals. But as Przywara had proved in the quarters, upsets were not only possible, but the Curley stud was beginning to make them probable.
In the semifinal, Przywara and Johnson wrestled as close and two competitors can through three periods, and it was Pryzwara who would score the match’s first points with an overtime takedown to upset the number one seed, 2-0.
“I was kind of nervous about it because we have never wrestled before,” Przywara said of Johnson. “I have seen his style and I just couldn’t picture myself wrestling against him. I just had to go out there and go with the flow. Whatever happened I just had to counter it and just wrestle.”
Now in the tournament finals, Przywara faced another earlier blemish to his senior season record, preparing to take on second seeded Brady Gaynor of Archbishop Spalding.
But rather than seeing the 1-0 defeat he experienced during the regular season, Przywara earned a 1-0 lead with an escape in the second period, and added a third period takedown and three back points for his 135-pound championship.
“I trained and trained and trained,” Przywara said in preparation of a Gaynor rematch. “I knew he wanted to tie up and stall the match out, so I just tried to stop it.”
The fantastic tournament run made Przywara the only champion for the Friars, but a broken hand coming into the season nearly put all hopes of success out of mind for the Curley Wrestler.
“It was kid of upsetting but was also a momentum builder,” Przywara explained. “It made want to come back and be able to defeate the kids I had lost to earlier in the season because it was upsetting to me.
“I just knew that I had to keep working toward what was coming up later in the season, which was MIAAs, states and National Preps.”
Przywara now prepares for his fourth MIS appearance, hopes to secure his fourth placement in the weekend tournament and head to National Preps for his possible fourth time placing at the highest level.
“I just need to train and keep on doing what I am doing,” Przywara said about the rest of the post-season. “I will see the same guys I saw today in next week’s states, but I have to go out there and do the same thing and hopefully have a good tournament.”
