The wrestling team (2–0) narrowly prevailed against Damascus (0–2) 39–37 in their meet on Wednesday night. 

This is the Vikes first win against Damascus in 12 years and Damascus’ first home loss in nine years.  

The Vikes opened with a 12–0 lead after two pins by sophomore Laird Ostien (138) and senior captain Joseph Aron (145). Conrad Randall (106) had yet another superb performance getting a pin just 23 seconds into the match, the fastest pin of the night.

One of the true highlights of the night was the comeback effort from senior captain Henry Sowells (182) who was down by eight points. He was able to reverse his opponent to win via a pin. Sowells narrowly escaped a major decision loss which is awarded when one side is winning by eight or more points.

Even with losses in their matches, Sam Mindell (170) and Kevin Zarin (126) avoided getting pinned which prevented Damascus from scoring six points. 

“Nothing is set in stone this early in the season, but this is a huge win for our team both in terms of morale, and getting a chance to prove ourselves against a well-coached, consistently strong team,” Aron said. “We had several underclassmen pick up important wins, other wrestlers score hard-fought comeback victories, and even many of those who couldn’t come out on top avoided giving up more points by not getting pinned. In a match as close as this one was, every single person plays a key role in whether we win or lose, from our 106’s to our heavyweights. It feels incredible to break a streak that’s lasted this long.”

The Vikes host Churchill in their highly-anticipated home opener next Wednesday night at 6:15 p.m.