Solanco's wrestling team is putting it together at the right time. The Mules have won eight straight dual meets after dropping the first two of the season. Solanco improved to 3-2 in section competition with a 42-27 triumph over visiting Manheim Township Wednesday, January 15. "This is when you want to be wrestling well," Solanco coach Tony Mendez said. "You're getting closer the the postseason, to the L-L tournament. This is where you want to see the guys starting to get better and peaking. You want to see them wrestle great all the time, but you know it's a process. The guys are following the process really well. They're starting to listen more. They're starting to work harder in the room. That's what you want. There has to be a progression."
The match was tied at 24-24 entering the 182-pound bout. The Mules Robert Castagna took a 7-6 lead into the third period and went on to prevail 11-8. "In the position where we were, that was a big match," said Mendez. "Robert had a really good weekend [at the Trojan Duals]. He's coming out of his shell and starting to wrestle better. So that was another good steppingstone for him. He knows there's work to do, but he's listening on the mat and he's starting to come into his own." Nick Yannutz (195) followed with a fall in 18 seconds to give Solanco a 33-24 edge. Manheim Township won a decision at 220 pounds before Mules' heavyweight Nate Neihauser clinched the win with a pin in 22 seconds. In the final bout of the night, Solanco's Dom Flatt (106) defeated Josh Hillard 11-8. "That was a huge match for Dom," Mendez said. "And he stepped up to the challenge and wrestled really well and stuck to his gameplan. He didn't get to excited about the whole team thing and being the last match. He did what he needed to do so that was big." Solanco got off to a good start. Weston Bare (113) turned in a solid showing despite dropping a 4-2 decision to Aliazar Alicea. "Even Weston Bare with a loss there, he's right there with that guy and I hope he knows he can be competitive with that guy and beat him," Mendez said. At 120 pounds, the Mules' Jared Fulton posted a first period pin over Micah Sams. "Jared wrestled a tough kid and he came out and wrestled him hard and put him on his back," said Mendez. "That kid was in the league finals last year with Dom so that's no slouch and [Fulton] took him down on his back and pinned him so that was a huge match for us." Solanco won by forfeit at 126 and gave up a forfeit at 132. Ronnie Fulton (138) and Steven Williams each scored a first period fall in less than a minute to extend the lead to 24-9. Manheim Township captured the next three bouts before Castagna's go-ahead win propelled the Mules to victory. Comments are closed.
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