Last month at the annual Sprig Gardner tournament, the Mepham wrestlers placed 2nd out of 12 teams. Following this stellar performance was a series of victories at dual meets, where Mepham solidified themselves as a force to be reckoned within the county.

On Friday the 4th, the Pirates had a home dual meet against rival Calhoun Colts. Many people came out to see the two groups take it to the mat. Once all the JV matches were finished, the Mepham varsity wrestlers stormed out onto the mat and began a quick warm up while heavy rock music played in unison. This wasn’t the only music of the night, though. Because of the rivalry between the two schools, the coaches allowed Varsity pirates to select a walk out song for their matches that day, which made the whole meet more intense and fun. Wrestlers from both schools lined up opposite each other and shook hands with their opponents. Mepham was immediately off to a good start because of two forfeits at the 99 and 106 lbs weight classes from Calhoun, giving the Pirates a 12-0 lead. Freshman Chris Guracio and junior Griffin Karp helped to extend this lead by winning both their matches by points. The score was 20-3 as “Powerglide” came on and senior captain Jack Molloy walked out onto the mat, wrestling at the 132 lb weight class. He quickly pinned his opponent in the first period. Next, Junior Franklin Pullano followed in suit and won by pin in the second period. To make it three pins in a row and quiet Calhoun supporters, senior Kyle Althenn then pinned the Colt wrestler in the first period. At this point, it was just getting embarrassing for the Colts. One match after sophomore Nick Robles won 8-1, the team score was 42-14. The meet was finished off by only Mepham victories including first period pins from senior John Koenig and junior Ryan Hegi. In addition, Matt Hegi was very hyped up by his walkout song “Fergalicious” and won by a technical fall in the second period. The final weight class, 285 lbs, was also forfeited to Mepham. It was an easy victory for the Pirates, as the final score of the meet was 58-14.

Two years ago, the wrestling team was considered young, as there were mostly lower classmen making up the team. Now, with a lot more experience, these junior and senior wrestlers have become the leaders of the team and are helping to make it an exciting season. Mepham hopes to keep these good times rolling with matches against Macarthur and Garden City coming up soon. Go Pirates!