12/19/24 Highlight: Varsity Wrestling
Courtesy of @exeterathletics
By JUNE KOH and MARVIN SHIM
On Dec. 11, the boys’ wrestling team opened its varsity season at home against Hyde, Brooks, and Roxbury Latin, with Big Red beating Hyde 54-27, capturing a close win against Brooks 40-39, before falling to a strong Roxbury Latin team to end the day.
Against Hyde, Eshaan Tripathi scored a pin to turn the tables for Exeter. Ting-Ting Hsieh’s pin against Brooks kept PEA in the game, before Ikaika Toves clutched a victory with a pin of his own. Logan Beckerle and Jack Breaks were able to pin their opponents against Roxbury Latin, despite their eventual loss.
“I would say our meet went extremely well, personally and as a team. Beating Hyde and Brooks is just the start and Roxbury Latin is a team with a lot of experience so we knew it would be a tough battle,” lower Logan Beckerle noted.
“There were three periods in my game, and there were a lot of tense moments when I was on the bottom. My takedowns were quickly reversed and it was difficult to try to base up and escape from his attacks,” lower Eshaan Tripathi said. “Those experiences really taught me that I need to be much more confident with my body language, balance my body weight, and really just focus on not getting turned over.”
Upper Dushant Lohano added, “A lot of the matches really mattered in the sense that it was important not to get pinned, just because we gave away too many points if we did.”
“There were definitely many memorable moments, including a clutch pin from Ikaika Toves to win us the duel against Brooks. He really came up when we needed him in a big way,” Beckerle commented. “The team was very excited and, for a lot of kids there, this was their first dual meet, so to be able to come and wrestle meant a lot.”
“The environment of the team is very supportive. Whenever someone got a point or they got a takedown, there was a lot of clapping and a lot of screaming. Whenever someone ever got a pin, you could feel how much support there was from the players on the team,” prep William Chen echoed.
“Even in the matches that didn’t count to the overall score, the exhibition matches, we were all cheering them on so hard and we were all very invested in our teammates. Even with those who weren’t wrestling varsity. That really encapsulates our team dynamic, we always try our hardest and cheer on our teammates,” Tripathi reflected.
“I can see from the sidelines that the whole team really likes to cheer. It was a home game too so we heard a little bit more cheering from Exeter. And even during the tense moments when quiet is needed, the team really respects that. It’s a good balance,” Lohano said. “I look forward to seeing this team improve. There’s a lot of new people this year and I’m looking forward to seeing how they grow as well as how we grow as a team, in our friendships, and in our relationships.”
“I am really excited to see how our team grows and matures as we go on especially with a lot of them being new and I hope we can send more kids deeper into the postseason this year,” Beckerle remarked.
