The Mat Cats were back in action Friday night at home against Cuyahoga Heights, just a day after their match against Fairview and Valley Forge.
Cuyahoga Heights brought the most complete squad the Cats had seen all season, giving the Cats 10 matches out of the overall 14 weight classes.
Wrestling began at 6 p.m. in Murphy Gym, with the Cats sporting their new black throwback singlets highlighting the 1988 wrestling team’s team state championship.
The only forfeit the Cats would see would come at the beginning of the match, as the Cats secured two forfeits at 106 and 113, giving them a healthy lead going into the matches. These forfeits were secured by Landen Knight and Mac Wright respectively.
The real wrestling began at 120 for the Cats, as senior Grayson McLellan bumped up from 113 in order to get a match. McLellan started off the first period hot, earning two takedowns in the first and releasing his opponent once. In a more quiet second, McLellan secured a reversal at the beginning of the period before riding his opponent for the rest of the period. In the third however, McLellan dazzled and showed off the work he has been putting into conditioning, earning two takedowns while releasing his opponent once and finishing the match with 2 near fall points followed by 3. McLellan came out in the end with the 15-2 major decision for the Cats.
Ryan “Animal” Putka kept the momentum going for the Cats at 126. He began the match with a takedown before riding out his opponent for the rest of the period. “Animal” went down in the second period before escaping and soon after took his opponent down before pinning his opponent in 2:45.
Senior Captain Anthony Santagata, who made the cut to 132 after previously wrestling 138, picked up another quick pin for the Cats at 132. Santagata toyed with his Cuyahoga Heights opponent, taking him down early before releasing him, soon after taking his opponent down again and pinning him in 1:10.
As Santagata dropped to 132, sophomore Leo Pfahl was tasked with bumping up to 138 to wrestle a bigger Cuyahoga Heights opponent. Pfahl gave it his all, taking down his opponent first, before he was reversed and pinned, granting Cuyahoga Heights their first win of the night.
At 145 for the Cats was Calum Campolieti, known for his deadly gator roll, and sure enough, Campolieti, after taking his opponent down early, swiftly pinned his opponent with the gator roll and securing the win for the MatCats.
Sam Infante continued the pinning for the Wildcats at 152, coming back from an early takedown from his opponent with a reversal and pinning his opponent with a tight cradle in 48 seconds.
First-year wrestler Mazen Sarkis took the mat for the Cats again amid Jarell Young’s absence at 160. Sarkis fought his hardest, escaping an early takedown, but was taken down again and soon pinned, as his inexperience worked against him.
Due to injury and Covid-19, the Cats forfeited 170 to Cuyahoga Heights.
Unfortunately Cuyahoga Heights did not have a 182 or 195, so Andrew Chime and Mason Smart secured the forfeit wins for the Cats.
In the penultimate match of the night, junior Patrick Clink took the mat for the Cats at 220. Clink was relentless in the match, earning a takedown in the first before riding his opponent out for the rest of the period, earning an escape, two takedowns, and 3 near fall points in the second, giving up only one escape, and securing the match at 10-3 after surrendering only one takedown in the third.
Senior Captain Carter Zimmerman finished the night off for the Cats at 285, pinning his evenly matched opponent at the end of the third after each traded takedowns and escapes.
The Cats once again stole the show, earning a win with a team score of 61-18 against Cuyahoga Heights.
Also picking up wins for the Cats on the JV side were Connor Gisztl and Eugene Gibbons.
Captain Carter Zimmerman said, “This week especially we knew we had a short week coming in and we really focused and had a great week of practice and it showed out on the mat. This week we need to keep that energy for our match against St. Eds.”
As Zimmerman said, the Cats take on the rival St. Edward Eagles at home on Thursday, December 17, at 7:30 p.m. Go Cats!