The Wresting team dropped to a 7-3 record after losing both matches in a tri-meet against the Northwest Jaguars and Damascus Hornets.

Both opponents have had exceptional seasons, with Northwest currently ranked third in the county and Damascus remaining undefeated as they attempt to claim their third straight state title.

Whitman began against Northwest and jumped out to an early lead, with Captain Matthew McClanahan scoring a major victory over his opponent. However, the Jaguars bounced back quickly with two narrow wins over the Vikes to make the score 4-7.

Heavyweight John Vipulis fought hard against his opponent who was undefeated going into the match. Despite solid effort in neutral, Vipulis would eventually lose in a tight 1-0 decision.

As the match went on, Northwest continued to expand their lead, neutralizing ace 126lb Andrew Shiman with state finalist Dell Ngonga. Pins from 132lb James Bamberger and 145lb Hamoon Shokoohinia were not enough to save the Vikes from a 47-19 loss.

Against Damascus, who had easily handled Northwest in their matchup, used their senior heavy lineup to shutout Whitman 68-0. The Hornets are a heavy favorite for the state championship.

“It was tough match, we definitely could have wrestled better,” 106lb Chris Habibian said. “But we still have four duals coming up which we need to focus on and keep going on with our season.”

The Vikes return to action Monday away against the Blake Bengals.