Six pins in nine matches.
That’s what the wrestling team walked away with on Tuesday, Jan. 20, after defeating both Mills and Terra Nova High School in two dual meets with final scores of 42-21 and 42-30, respectively.
Despite the results, the Panthers forfeited matches in both meets due to a lack of wrestlers in certain weight classes, giving the opposing team an automatic match-win.
“If we were going to win this dual meet, we had to win it on the mat,” head coach Ernesto Nuñez said. “There were a lot of forfeits surrendered by both teams in both dual meets that we had to win every single individual match on the mat.”
In preparation for the meets, senior Miles Reeth, who recently attended MidCals from Jan. 23-24, said the team used information they knew about the other teams to set expectations on how to win.
“We’ve known Mills for a while, [had a] history with Mills,” Reeth said. “Without our gym, we’ve been practicing with them, so we know the kids there. And then, we knew Terra Nova was big on throws, so we kind of briefly explained how not to get thrown and stuff like that, how to stay out of the ties.”
Given how hard-fought the meets were, Nuñez said these wins will motivate the team as they move toward senior night on Jan. 30, which will be the Panthers’ first dual meet in the new gym.
“The only reason these dual meets are so close is because we’re surrendering the most forfeits we have in my four seasons as a head coach,” Nuñez said. “But again, we are winning our matches on the mat, which says a lot about them. I think that’s going to fuel them, to hold their teammates accountable, to start showing up every day so we can fill our lineup and win these matches the way we should be.”
Reeth, who had two pins across the two meets, agrees that these wins are beneficial for the season’s outcome and team mentality.
“We’re kind of on a win streak right now, so we should just keep that up. It’s good for placement and just feeling good about senior night, because we’re all wrestling,” Reeth said.
However, senior Ravi Krishnan, who also had a pin in each meet, said the team still has room to improve on certain aspects of their performance.
“I feel like confidence could definitely help. I feel like sometimes we get caught up in our opponent, and we’re not really taking smart shots because we’re so worried, and also just fighting off our backs,” Krishnan said.
Krishnan noted the importance of the team continuing to work hard as they move toward senior night and ultimately the Peninsula Athletic League (PAL) championships.
“Definitely, just can’t stop, keep training, keep lifting, keep running, just trying to keep my athleticism up and as a team overall. Athleticism in general, it’s very helpful,” Krishnan said.
