Boys varsity wrestling battled and ultimately fell short to the Needham Rockets 42-37 on Thursday, Dec. 17, in the Schluntz Gymnasium.
The dual meet remained competitive throughout the night, with both teams trading wins across the different weight classes. Despite strong individual performances from the Warriors, the Rockets were able to come out on top in several close matches, earning the win.
Head coach Brandon Brutemesso said the back-and-forth nature of the meet is an unavoidable part of the early season.
“I think we battled pretty hard,” Brutemesso said. “They were just a little bit better than us tonight, and we’ve got a lot to work on.”
Brutemesso said the meet highlighted areas for improvement but also the team’s potential moving forward.
“I think this exposed a lot of our weaknesses, but I saw a lot of good stuff, too. It seemed like most of the mistakes were easily fixable. And so, despite the loss, I’m pretty excited for the rest of the season,” Brutemesso said.
Junior Armani Osorio delivered one of the Warriors’ standout performances of the night, wrestling aggressively in a close match. Osorio said his mindset was to stay on the attack.
“I just wanted to press forward and keep going, that’s how I like to wrestle a lot of my matches,” Osorio said. “At the end, I got tired, but I was able to push through and get the win. I’m proud of that.”
Osorio said improving conditioning and mindset will be a focus going forward for him.
“I definitely have to work on the mentality more,” Osorio said. “Sometimes, my gas tank gets low and brings me to where I’m letting them score on me. Other than that, I just got to get back on the mat, keep working.”
Junior and captain Liam Christ also picked up an important win for the Warriors with some highlight-worthy moves, while adjusting his approach to the match due to an injury.
“My knee is hurt, so I was trying some different stuff than I usually do, but I was just trying to have fun out there,” Christ said. “I’m glad I could get a win. I beat him last year. I was expecting to win. I’m glad I could pull it off.”
Christ said the meet served as a wake-up call for the team.
“It’s pretty heartbreaking. But we’re gonna keep working, using it as fuel, motivation for the season,” Christ said.
With some other victories from senior and captain Manny Tolkoff and sophomore Alexander Muravyov, the team found itself with a 37-36 lead going into the final match. However, they ultimately fell short.
Christ said the Warriors look to keep improving and have many goals.
“We’re working towards a conference championship, a sectional championship, hopefully in the coming years, maybe next year, a state championship,” Christ said. ”We have a lot of guys who have been wrestling since their freshman year, and if they put in the work, we could really pull it off.”
