Battle on the Bay
By Elaine Qiao and Leo Zhang
On Dec. 17, Big Red sent eight wrestlers to the Battle on the Bay Wrestling Tournament held at Tabor Academy. Despite only being the second meet of their season, Exeter had four wrestlers earn medals out of 21 teams.
Coach Tom Darrin described how his wrestlers felt about the tournament. “The atmosphere at the Battle of the Bay was pretty laid back. It was an early season tournament, and the goal at these tournaments was to get an idea of what wrestlers are doing well and what they needed to improve upon. Obviously, you still want to win, but the pressure is much less at the end of the season tournaments, like the Class As, New Englands, or Prep Nationals. Wrestlers were nervous and pumped up, but not to the level that will come later.”
Lower Jack Doherty talked about his overall experience. “I was excited but also nervous just going to the Battle of the Bay. I was looking at my competition, which had very big kids, and it was only my first year of wrestling. But as I wrestled, that nervousness started to disappear. It was during the second match that I dislocated my shoulder, however. That brought down my spirits. In the end, I was disappointed with my results, but I knew that I could have done better.”
In terms of results, senior Nate Puchalski came out with the best individual performance, taking first in the 144 lb. weight division. Senior Ryan Kim outlined Puchalski’s matches: “Watching Nate Puchalski win his weight class was one of the highlights. I think Nate’s first few matches were pretty easy. He’s very talented compared to some of the guys that were at the tournament. His last few matches were more difficult, but Nate’s definitely a dog, and you can’t keep a good dog down.”
Doherty highlighted Puchalski’s dominance. “He actually finished his first two matches in under like 40 seconds. He finished them so fast that [the tournament organizers] had him wrestle earlier, so they could finish up his weight class. He came in first place and went undefeated in his matches.”
Looking at the remaining half of the season, the team is optimistic about improving.
Doherty pointed out some areas that need work. “I think that we can improve on avoiding getting pinned and just running the clock because that causes us to lose lots of points.”
Kim believes everyone on the team has the same goal of putting in as much effort as they can. “Someone like Nate might look to Nationals, while a JV wrestler might just look to make the varsity lineup, but everyone wants to get better and make the most of every meet and every chance we get to wrestle this season.”
Darrin agreed with Kim. “My goal for the team is for each wrestler to work hard and become the best wrestler they can be. Hopefully, that leads to wins and championships.”
Darrin continued and spoke about what the wrestling program meant to him. “I am excited to be back and involved with the wrestling program 52 years after graduating from Phillips Exeter. The school has changed dramatically, but the wrestling program continues to challenge students and offer the opportunity for wrestlers to grow into fine young adults.”
