The wrestling team fell to the Wootton Patriots, 40-30, Dec. 22, dropping its record to 4-2.

Once again, the upper weight classes put up a strong fight, with 170 lb. Bradey Taylor, 182 lb. Rafi Sayada, 195 lb. Max Sessions and 285 lb. Josh Daryoush all winning their respective bouts, increasing the score to 18-6.

However, the team was only able to secure three of their next eight bouts, allowing the Patriots to assume the 34-30 lead. 120 lb. Jacob Cutler, 132 lb. Aidan Leighton and 152 lb. Jack Calder all won.

With one bout remaining, it was up to 160 lb. Andrew Cullinane to pin his opponent and give his team the five points needed in order to win. He put up a strong fight, but unfortunately got pinned after 5 minutes and 19 seconds of intense grappling.

Sayada, a senior, said he has seen this tense sort of match happen time and again, including last year and last week against Sherwood.

“It all came down to fighting off our backs in my match and every other match,” he said. “We had to go for three [points] instead of six. It all came down to four points; we needed a pin or we needed a tech fall.”

In order to pull out a win next time, Sayada stressed that the wrestlers need to improve as a team and improve their spirit.

“Everyone on the chairs isn’t really yelling,” he said. “We need a lot more cheering, but we need everybody’s pep, that’s the love of wrestling. You can hear everyone screaming at you and it gives you motivation and just makes you work that much harder.”

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