The crowd’s roar dies into anxious whispers as the gymnasium lights dim. The referees circle the edge of the mat, and the announcer reveals the names and weight class of the first match.
Huntley’s first few matches were a little rocky, as Jacobs gets a seven-point lead by the fourth match. Huntley’s fans stay on the edge of their seats during the rough start of the dual.
“We came out a little flat,” Coach Benjamin Bertelsman said.
By the fifth match, Huntley picks up their momentum and wins the next few matches, catching up to Jacobs’ lead. The wrestlers’ impressive stamina and grit now begin to show on the mat.
“I felt I kind of struggled in neutral in the first period, and then I felt I took more of a dominance role second period,” senior Markos Mihalopoulos said.
The seventh match shifted the dynamic of the dual in Huntley’s favor. Winning by a pin, Huntley’s crowd booms as they are now up, 18-13.
The buzz of the fans gets louder as the matches get more intense. The gymnasium’s energy increases, and the mix of the support from teammates and the encouragement from the coaches fuels the wrestlers with perseverance. With their lead of 30-22, Huntley continues to win the rest of their matches.
During the last match of the dual, sophomore Matt Keaty got his first win of the season by a pin in the third period.
“I wasn’t expecting a pin,” Keaty said. “The best I was expecting was a minor.”
Huntley wins their dual of fourteen matches against Jacobs, 45-22. Despite their victory, the team’s determination only strengthens while finding things to improve on. They will continue to work hard and progress to maintain their dual meet record of 4-0.
“We’ve got to be a little bit better and know what’s going on all the time,” Bertelsman said.
