Tuesday was tough for the Bainbridge High wrestling team as their first home meet of the season gave way to some fine showings — but just not enough points against the visitors from Ingraham and Kingston.
The Spartans were bested by both opponents: first, 41-36 by Ingraham, and then 60-36 by Kingston.
With the team heavy with sport newcomers (just one senior, captain Hague Bush, five juniors, seven sophomores and four freshmen), BHS Head Coach Dan Pippinger said the losses and mistakes were the result of budding confidence and inexperience. Both fixable deficits, perhaps, but neither of them simple problems to grapple with.
“We got a lot of work to do,” Pippinger said. “I think we’re matching up OK with some people, but just so many guys are learning so much and we’re still ending up in positions where we’re not familiar.
“I really wish that I saw more of what we’re trying to create out on the mat,” Pippinger added. “But you get out here and it’s real and it’s live and their brains start going too fast and they start forgetting about what we’re working on.”
Despite Tuesday’s disappointing final tally, the Spartans remain well-ranked in the Metro standings so far this year. They’re tied for third place with Cleveland High, 3-2 in conference, behind O’Dea (first) and Nathan Hale (second).
Against the Rams, the Spartans claimed three forfeit wins. Ingraham nabbed four, and there was one double forfeit (285-pound class).
Bainbridge’s Cameron Williams pinned Julian Collins in 1:12 in the 106-pound bracket, notching a win for the Spartans in the lightest weight class.
The 132-pound Spartan Clayton Marsh found himself pinned in 1:53 by Grace Rabbitt-Burke.
A scrappy 138-pounder, Bainbridge’s Oleg Maguire pinned Simeon Lauder in 2:25, securing the second Spartan win of the bout.
A 19-4 technical fall brought Nate Michaels’ 152-pound match against Ingraham’s Justin Kyle to a disappointing end.
Clay Wren turned things around for Bainbridge, though, in the very next match (160-pounds) when he pinned Damien Spataro in 2:16.
The Spartan heavyweight (220-pounds) Beto Allen was pinned in 1:26 by Sergio Martinez in the final match.
In the second match of the night, the Buccaneers gave Bainbridge a bit of a trouncing.
The visitors claimed four forfeit wins off the bat. The Spartans also nabbed four, and there were two double forfeits (120- and 285-pounds).
Williams did not fare as well this time around in the 106-pound bracket, getting pinned by Dalton Tellinghuisen in just 54 seconds.
Maguire also found himself pinned in the night’s second match, in the 132-pound bracket, in 5:17 by Jacob Diehl.
Marsh was pinned in 2:19 by Kingston’s Josh Bayne in the 138-pound match.
The sole Spartan senior was also the team’s only victor against the Bucs, as Bush emerged victorious from his only match of the night having pinned Hunter Collins in 39 seconds in the 182-pound slot.
The island squad next wrestles at home on Saturday, Jan. 7, when the Spartans host the annual Island Invitational tournament. Wrestlers from Kingston, Marysville-Getchell and Mountlake Terrace are expected to attend.
The BHS wrestling season, Pippinger said, is quite clearly divided between before and after the Island Invite. It is a pivotal moment in the year’s progression, and a milestone by which the squad’s progress is measured.
“It’s kind of that midway measuring stick for us,” Pippinger said. “I want to see us really creating our takedowns and creating our breakdowns and our turns and that kind of thing and not reacting to the other team.”
