From the Sidelines

McMurray wrestling is strong on the mat but thin in numbers against some of the much larger schools in their league.

Last night the Mustangs won five of six matches on the mat by pin, but had to forfeit the majority of weights to a Mountain View (Bremerton) squad that brought about 60 grapplers to the Island.

Zhenya Bergman, McM, got the actual wrestling started with a pin of Michael Brown in the 117-pound match.

McMurray's Zhenya Bergman concentrates near the end of his match with Michael Brown of Mountain View.

Ian Mattingly followed with a pin of Jeremy Gonzales in the 137-pound match and Preston Morris did the same for Paul Castille at 164.

Ian Mattingly turns Jeremy Gonzales in the 137-pound match.

Shane Armstrong made quick work of Keith Fife, putting the Mountain View wrestler on his back in 15 seconds.

The heavyweight match looked almost like a comic mismatch. Mustang Joey DeFabio was nearly a foot shorter than his Mountain View opponent, Ralph Lawrence. But DeFabio didn’t seemed fazed.

The wrestlers shook hands, the referee blew the whistle, and Lawrence was looking at the rafters in the McMurray gym. Only 12 seconds had elapsed by the time the referee signalled that DeFabio had won by a pin.

Afterward one of the Mustang coaches said that Defabio had done “exactly what he was told.”

Preston Morris, back, works Paul Castille into position for a pin in the 164-pound match.