Varsity wrestling rallies for 40-33 victory at Evanston
Late heroics from freshmen give the Trevians a critical conference win
Stringer faces off with Wertheimer just before the first round of their Dec. 6 match
In a thrilling dual meet at Beardsley Gymnasium on Dec. 6, the varsity wrestling team pulled out a 40-33 victory against defending conference champion Evanston, scoring 10 unanswered points to close the match.
After the Wildkits erased a 21-6 deficit with a 27-9 scoring run, the fate of the match was left in the hands of the Trevians’ newest and lightest wrestlers: freshmen Wilson Wright and Eli Polacek.
“I had confidence that [Wright and Polacek] would pull through and be able to wrestle on the big stage,” said Head Coach Marc Tadleman. “For those two freshmen being the last two weights [to wrestle] in their first conference match, it wasn’t the ideal way to start them off in the CSL, but they did a great job of handling the pressure.”
Wright entered his 106-pound class match with fellow freshman Maximo Terrizzi on the heels of 12 unanswered points by the Wildkits; the Trevians surrendered six apiece in losses by fall and forfeit in the 220-pound and heavyweight classes respectively.
New Trier fans in attendance, Wright outlasted Terrizzi in an intense match, staving off a barrage of Terrizzi takedown attempts in the first two rounds before permanently pinning his freshman foe to the mat with just 24 seconds remaining in the third.
“Everyone on the team stepped up and did what they needed to do to help the team win. I felt so supported by my teammates, especially the team captains,” said Wright. “It is early in the wrestling season,butwe’reofftoagreatstart.”
Wright’s lead-snatching victory was followed by a dominant performance by Polacek, whose nine-point second round ended up being the difference in a 12-3 win, marking the Trevians’ most lopsided decision of the night and giving them the four points that they needed to stave off the Wildkits.
“As a whole, the team performed great. It was a nail-biter at the end, but our two lightest weights knew what had to be done and put on a show,” said senior Mike Stringer. “This win showed what kind of team we can be and how competitive we can get when we need it most.”
While the team’s freshmen rose to the challenge in their first conference meet, their efforts did not go to waste thanks to dominant performances by the team’s reliable seniors earlier in the match.
After dropping the first match of the night by fall, the Trevians tallied 21 unanswered points in their next four matches, bookending their run with victories by seniors Mike Stringer and Michael Miralles.
Miralles opened the team’s scoring by picking up three points in a narrow 12-10 victory over senior Jacob Vice in the 126-pound class match, and Stringer capped off the team’s run of three consecutive wins by fall with a victory over senior Nico Wertheimer in the 145-pound class match, rallying from an early 4-1 deficit to take a second round lead before using his signature fireman’s carry to pinWertheimer early in the third round.
The team’s spirit of resilience was also on display in the form of the usually dominant Matt McKenna, who overcame a slow start in his 160-pound class match against senior Max Morton to win 7-3 and remain undefeated on the season.
“Getting the win against Evanston has been the highlight of the season so far. Evanston always brings a well-coached team, so we knew that we were in for a dog fight,” said McKenna. “Three of the last four years, this dual has come down to the last match, and after losing last year, it was great to go out on top in my final season.”
Although McKenna had an off night by his standards, the abundance of top-tier wrestlers on the Trevians’ roster provided enough scoring to keep the team in the game, highlighted by junior Tommy McDermad winning the 195-pound class match in just 38 seconds.
“We’ve got some really tough wrestlers who are working hard, but [the win] was ultimately a team effort. Even the guys who went out there and took a loss were competing hard and trying to win,” said Tadleman.
Sitting at 6-3 on the season, the varsity wrestling team has already won more games than they did all of last season, and with two months of time between this match and the postseason, they still have plenty of time to continue their growth.
“A lot of our team is young or new to varsity and everyone performed well [against Evanston],” said McKenna. “Everyone will continue getting better as the season goes on, so I’m excited to see what we can do in the rest of the season.”