by Ryan Mosher
Senior night for the Hoosick Falls wrestling team was even more exciting than normal this year as the dual meet between the Panthers and the Salem Generals came down to the very last match of the night to be decided.
The evening kicked off with Coach Landon Nelson thanking his seniors for their contributions to the wrestling program. This year’s seniors were Spencer Thomas, Mike McGuire, Jeremy Barss and scorekeeper Alyssa Surdam. Following that, the meet started off at 99 lbs. with Luis Weierbach recording a major decision, 9-1, to give the Panther team a 4-0 lead. Salem took the lead back, 6-4, in the next match with a second period pin. Tom Peabody stepped in at 113 lbs. and took a 6-0 lead seconds into the second period. Thirty seconds into the period, Peabody recorded a pin, putting the Panthers back on top 10-6.
After Tyler Randall picked up a forfeit victory, and Colby Davendonis lost a very close match 12-9, the Panthers were still up 16-9. Mike Matatt had a great match, picking up a pin halfway through the second period while leading 6-1. Bryan Sherman wrestled next and controlled his match the entire time. Leading 4-0 in the final period, Sherman cut his opponent loose and then took him back down twice before finally pinning him at the 4:44 mark. Hoosick Falls led 28-9 at this point.
Garrett Wright was pinned in the next match, which saw the score go to 28-15. Mike McGuire wrestled next, pinning his opponent in the second period. After a forfeit for Salem, Brad Burns followed with a 7-1 win, putting the team score at 37-21. Unfortunately for the Panthers, this is where the meet got difficult. Shane Barss and Jeremy Barss both fell in their matches, and then Salem collected a forfeit at 220 lbs., knotting the score at 37-37.
The meet came down to the final match featuring Teddy Westervelt. Unfortunately, Westervelt had bumped up in weight class for the match, and that would be his downfall. The Salem wrestler used his weight advantage and was able to end the match by getting a pin in the first period, giving Salem the 43-37 win.