On Thursday, Jan. 30, varsity wrestling (4-3) narrowly lost to San Mateo High School in a hard-fought contest, losing on criteria after a 42-42 tie. The Panthers were able to rally back after trailing by 30 points midway through the meet, but the Bearcats’ higher number of pins broke the tie and awarded them the victory.
The day after the match, head coach Ernesto Nunez appealed the Panthers’ loss to the league, citing a misinterpretation of criteria on the part of the referee that led to the Bearcats’ win. However, appeals for losses must be made within 30 minutes after the match ends, so the Panthers were ultimately given a loss.
The night started with the 106 and 113 weight classes, which Burlingame lost by forfeit. The team got their first points of the contest in the 120 weight class from sophomore Levi Keyak, who won by forfeit. Juniors Simon Limb and Miles Reeth, along with sophomore Terrence Li, followed with losses against their opponents. With senior and co-captain Quinn Jones out due to illness, sophomore Robby Perry moved up a weight class to wrestle in his place at 138, and fell short against his experienced opponent from San Mateo.
After four straight defeats, sophomore Ian Keyak put Burlingame back on the board, pinning his opponent in the final seconds of the third period after a lengthy neck-and-neck battle. His brother, sophomore Kolin Keyak, followed up with an unfortunate loss to his opponent, putting the team in a 42-12 deficit against the Bearcats.
Burlingame began their comeback through freshman Ben Flanzer in another hard-fought victory at 165. Sophomore Julian Lee at 175 followed suit in a rather quick battle pinning his opponent in under 30 seconds. Lee, like Perry, also wrestled up a weight class. After seniors Mark Betanzo and Andrew Jarrett won by forfeit, junior Quincy Yu got another quick pin against his opponent, tying the score. While both teams had multiple forfeits, San Mateo’s higher number of pins gave them the advantage, awarding them the extra point.
Although it was a disappointing loss, the close score showcased the Panthers’ ability to bounce back.
“Considering it was 42 to 12 at one point, we came back,” assistant coach Denise Burch said. “I think they knew we needed to get some pins, because they are the highest scoring thing, and we got a couple.”
According to Lee, ongoing injuries as well as other circumstances like Jones’ absence could have also affected the Panthers’ performance.
“We were missing [Jones], who’s a really good wrestler and who usually gets a win for us,” Lee said. “We had a lot of, normally [junior varsity] wrestlers wrestling on varsity, most of the lighter weights lost.”
However, the team isn’t making any excuses. The players are taking accountability and looking to learn from mistakes and improve from experience.
“I got pinned pretty fast. Another one of our better wrestlers could have won his match, but we’re not going to hold anything against him,” Perry said. “Everybody could have wrestled better, it’s just how it is. But there were definitely little mistakes.”
Looking ahead, the Panthers finished their regular season with a victory in their senior night match against Half Moon Bay High School on Feb. 4 before finishing sixth at the Peninsula Athletic League Championships on Feb. 8.
