The wrestling team defeated the Magruder Colonels 44-33, but fell short to the Wootton Patriots 37-36 on Dec. 18, bringing its record to 3-1.

The Vikes first went up against the Patriots in their first tri-match of the season. 215 pounder Josh Daryoush, as well as his brother heavyweight Ned came out strong, winning their matches by fall, giving the Vikes an early 12-0 lead.

The Patriots quickly caught up after several falls and a forfeit, resulting in the Vikes trailing 15-33. Wrestlers Mike Harder and Andrew Follmann both defeated their opponents with score of 8-1 and 12-2, respectively, bringing the Vikes within six. Alex Hysong soon tied the score with a 2-0 win.

Despite their efforts, the Vikes were unable to catch up to the Patriots, losing their last match 12-1.

In spite of its close loss to the Patriots, the Vikes came back and were able to defeat the Colonels.

The Vikes trailed early on, but came back and led 16-15. Kevin Whitmeyer defeated the Magruder wrestler 4-1 giving the Vikes a six point lead. The 145 pounder was unable to defeat the defending state champion, allowing the Colonels to trail the Vikes by one point.

Follmann, along with Alex Hysong, Brad Taylor and Josh Daryoush defeated their opponents, sealing the victory for the Vikes.

Co-captain Mike lends the teams win to the amount of concentration they had after their loss.

“We pulled together as a team and fought hard for the win,” Mike said. “It was tough to come back, but we supported each other and put in all of our effort that we could.”

The team is looking to advance their record as they host the Paint Branch Panthers Dec 21. Mike added that the team must capitalize every chance they have to score against the Panthers.

“We need to wrestle for all six minutes and never give up any points to dominate Paint Branch.”