Wrestling Takes Two Out of Three at Belmont Hill

BELMONT, MA – After a short one-hour trip to Belmont, MA, Exeter’s wrestling team was fresh and ready to take on Pomfret, St. Sebastian’s and host school Belmont Hill. Big Red dominated against Pomfret and St. Sebastian’s, winning 69-12 and 66-3 respectively, but fell in a close, hard-fought battle to Belmont Hill. Exeter went blow for blow with the school but fell just short, losing 42-31.Although Big Red could not take down Belmont Hill, Exeter established its dominance with their two lopsided victories. “We just consistently put better wrestlers out on the mat. We went in with confidence and were not surprised about the outcome at all, actually we could have definitely done better,” senior and captain Curran Sullivan said.Much of this year’s success is coming from new additions; preps AJ Pedro and Isaiah Bailey continue to impress. “They’ve been so dominant in every match. It’s crazy how good they are,” Sullivan said.Bailey pinned both captains from St. Sebastian’s and Belmont. Stone Hart and Josh Hemintakoon also stood out amongst the other wrestlers. “Belmont Hill was so afraid of Stone that they forfeited the heavyweight,” lower Billy Baker said.The size of the crowd grew throughout the day, continuing to get louder and rowdier. “During the last match, which was against Belmont Hill, the crowd was a lot bigger and it really added to the excitement,” Baker said about the energy, “It was the best during AJ [Pedro]’s match. It was very close and AJ won. The whole crowd and both teams were so into it.”The loss to Belmont was a tough one to swallow for the team. Sullivan and lower Jeff MacArthur were not satisfied with the outcome.“We just didn’t have the intensity we needed,” Sullivan said, “Two out of three isn’t bad but it’s not enough.”MacArthur said that there needed to be more effort and focus in practice. “Coach told us that we didn’t have that fight in us which we need,” he said. “Guys in close matches didn’t give that extra effort that was needed, which cost us some matches. Guys didn’t have the confidence in moves we practice everyday.”However, Big Red is not going to hang their heads following the loss. Instead, the team will use the loss as a match to look back on and improve. “The tone was certainly set after the Belmont Hill match on Saturday: a big crowd with rowdy kids that got the best of some of our guys,” MacArthur said. “Practice will be much more intense and serious while we prepare for this week’s upcoming meet.”