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By Jairo Madrigal

On Jan. 18, the Granite Hills Grizzlies wrestling team travelled to Robert F. Kennedy High School for their tri-meet against the R.F.K. Thunderbirds and Tulare Union Redskins.

The Grizzlies were not able to achieve victory against either team because of the many forfeits that were given up by the incomplete Grizzly squad.

Many of the wrestlers were told the match would take place on Wednesday; however, when the announcement came on Tuesday for wrestlers to leave class, some athletes were not prepared to leave for the bus.

The night started with the Grizzlies wrestling against the Redskins. The matches began with the 130 pounders. Granite, which came without many wrestlers from the line-up due to a lack of communication, did not have a wrestler in this weight and gave up a forfeit putting them at a 6-0 team score deficit at the beginning of their duel.

Granite gave up a total of 5 forfeits, 30 team points, against the Redskins due to the lack of wrestlers that did not attend the tri-meet, which contributed to the Grizzlies’ losing score of 24-60.

The highlights for the Grizzlies against the Redskins were the performances done by James Capps, Jairo Madrigal, and Michael Huber, who each won their matches by pinning their opponent.

Capps, Granite’s 145 pounder, took some time wearing out his opponent. The match ended in the third period with Capps in the lead and the score at 16-4. The Redskin wrestler seemed too tired to give another push and ended up on his back, giving Capps the pin late in the last period.

Madrigal, Granite’s 160 pounder, started his match ready to wrestle and finished it quick by taking down his opponent and running a barbwire to get the pin within the first forty-five seconds of the match.

Huber, Granite’s heavyweight, showed his opponent who was in better condition by staying patient in the first period and carefully watching his opponent to find his weaknesses. Once the second period hit, Huber got to work quickly and pinned his opponent within the first nineteen seconds of it.

After their match against the Redskins, the Grizzlies faced off against the Thunderbirds, who also did not have a full line-up. The Grizzlies gave up 5 forfeits to the Thunderbirds, while the Thunderbirds gave up 6 forfeits to the Grizzlies. This automatically made the score 30-36, with the Grizzlies in the lead.

The duel against the Thunderbirds consisted of only two matches. Capps gave up a loss in overtime against his opponent, making the team score 33-36. The final match was between Granite’s and RFK’s 189 pounders. Grizzly Daulet Mustafin wrestled against his Thunderbird opponent and gave up a pin late in the first period. This put RFK in the lead and lead them to their 39-36 win over the Grizzlies.

After the match, the Grizzlies knew they needed to come together as a team and have a talk about the loss. The Grizzlies are now looking forward to train hard for their next meet against the Tulare Western Mustangs and the Delano Tigers.

Photo taken by Ashlee Halopoff