By John FitzSimons ’18

In the team’s last home dual-meet of the season, Chaminade’s wrestlers faced Kellenberg’s in an exciting matchup between two familiar foes.  The Flyers attempted to conclude a season full of hard work and practice with a satisfying victory against the Firebirds.

Kellenberg began the showdown strongly and won the first three matches, but the Flyers soon woke up after a slow start.  In the next match, Sean Watson ’16, wrestling in the 126-pound weight class, gained the upper hand on his opponent after a seesaw start and pinned him to gain the win.  Although the momentum began to shift towards Chaminade’s side, the Firebirds won the next two matches despite an outstanding effort from the Flyers.

Initiating a Flyers’ comeback, Ted Flaherty ’17, motivated by Coach Scott Cole ’95, displayed the dominance that he had shown all season and defeated a Firebird.  During Chaminade’s resurgence, one varsity match that stood out among the many was the 182-pound weight class match.  Despite his opponent’s refusal to go down for the count, Tomi Toles ‘17 controlled the match with much ease.  Toles proved that he is one of the most proficient grapplers on the team with this terrific performance.  Impressively, the Flyers were able to win the varsity division, 41-23,

James Sorrentino ‘17, who witnessed part of the meet, said “The team performed extremely well, and it was a lot of fun to watch. It was great to see a win in at their last home meet of the season.”

Building off their varsity counterparts’ comeback, the junior varsity Flyers prevailed in their matches.  With only two of the 15 matches won by the Firebirds, the junior varsity Flyers defeated Kellenberg with an impressive score of 75-7 to win the junior varsity division.

“We have worked very hard all season, but it definitely payed off tonight.” said Michael Thilman ’18.

Despite how the Flyers’ astounding win over Kellenberg may appear, it was not an easy task.  Perhaps the greatest example of Kellenberg’s resistance was the 220-pound weight class match.  During this match, Alex Capellino ’16 had to compete for two extra rounds to secure a victory, as his opponent would not be defeated without a close fight.

After the meet, Coach Cole noted that he was proud of the team’s performance and that it took a great team effort to defeat the Firebirds.

Congratulations to the Flyers on a well-rounded performance!