The Rye Garnets weren't able to overcome Horace Greeley's early momentum, losing 48-29 Thursday in an away match.
“It was our best match since I’ve started coaching,” Greeley Head Coach Mike DeBellis said about the first match his wrestlers have had with a full lineup.
“Everybody came to wrestle,” DeBellis said of his team's toughness on the mat. “This is by far our best performance.”
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140 pounder Matt Mercer was the first victor of the day in a 6-2 decision over the Garnets Fritz Zahringer.
Donovan McSorely (145) then pinned Greeley’s Mike Nadler in 5:46 for the Garnets first win of the day.
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It would be their only victory until Jackson Kligerman (119) pinned Greeley’s Bing Bing Xie in 5:54 eight weight classes later despite hard fought performances.
Brace Porter’s win in the 152-pound weight class over Rye’s Ben Breitel (152) sparked the Quakers seven match run. Justin Rodrick (160) then beat out Temur Iman in 3:15 for the second bout.
Scott Wymbs (171) was even quicker over Rye’s Joe Simolacaj in 1:50.
The Garnets held their own but Greeley’s aggressiveness continued to outweigh its youth when Billy Marino (189) won a 4-2 decision over Rye’s Peter Julian in the last seconds of the third two-minute period.
Greeley's 215 pounder Tyler Ferguson then pinned Rye’s Steven Valencia in 3:39 before Greeley's Kirby Atlas (103) easily pinned Rye's George Knudsvig in a quick 22 seconds.
After Walter Florio suffered another Garnet loss in the 112 weight class, the streak was snapped after seven straight losses on 119 pounder Kligman’s pin over Bing Bing Xie.
It would be too late though as Jon Russo (125) pinned Niko Herrera in 3:25 for the Quakers victory heading into Wednesday’s 4:30 p.m. road matchup at Byram Hills.
“It was a disappointing loss,” Rye Head Coach Matt Beatty said.
“We have to go back to the basics and make sure our guys are ready in all situations,” he said.
The Garnets' tremendous efforts on and off the mat to mentally prepare for each meet has Beatty optimistic.
“In that aspect, I am proud of them,” Beatty said.
