The wrestling team began its season strong with a 52-21 win over the Poolesville Falcons Dec. 7.

The Vikings got off to a rough start after two of their first three wrestlers got pinned, but quickly picked it up as Max Sessions, Jacob Shiman, Josh Daryoush, Stephen Sharbaugh and Will Baker all pinned their opponents consecutively, raising the score to 40-12. After a few back and forth matches, they ultimately defeated the Falcons.

Baker had the fastest pin of the day, bringing his opponent down in 31 seconds.

Daryoush thought that this match was a good way to begin the season but knows that the team still has room to improve. He said that the team excelled at being aggressive and finding ways to score points but lacked familiarity.

“With a little more experience, the younger guys will get better throughout the year by just knowing how to cope and deal with different situations while on the mat,” he said.

After nearly six minutes of hard wrestling, 126 lb Kevin Cullinane got his first varsity pin.

“It was exciting,” he said. “Coach Manon always keeps us very well-conditioned so that guy was gassed by the end of the second round, so it wasn’t very hard to pin him once he gave up.”

The team hopes to continue winning when they travel to Magruder to compete in the Mad Mats tournament Dec. 9 and 10.
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