Boys’ wrestling team is defeated by Torrance on home turf

Madelyn ShaughnessyStaff WriterStarting off a little rocky this season, Samo wrestling was defeated 50-26  in a dual meet against Torrance High School on Thursday, Jan. 5.“We had a lot of tough losses and people who didn’t wrestle as well as they should have, including myself,” senior Tanner Miller said.Miller's knee injury earlier in the season has affected his recent performance."My knee isn’t horrible but it’s not good either," Miller said. "It’s not the pain that affects me in the matches, it’s the limitations it brings."The boys' wrestling team was going to forfeit the 195-pound match because the person who intended to wrestle was injured. Since the team already forfeited for the 220-pound,  junior Spencer Gordon was bumped up from the 182-pound to the 195-pound match.  This rearranging of weight matches happens very frequently according to coach Mark Black.“The strategy was to cover the weight with the best people we could," Black said. "It was unsuccessful, but still the right strategy."While some of the wrestlers had negative views of their overall performances, others were more optimistic.“I am very proud of the underclassmen wrestlers who ended up pinning their opponents,” senior captain Enrico Cascio said.Sophomore Mike McGee stepped up to the challenge after being bumped from JV to varsity, and senior Buzi Turner lead the team with 21 points.“We wrestled hard and had strong strategies,” junior Jordan Black said.Although the team didn’t win this meet, there are still many opportunities for redemption.mshaughnessy@thesamohi.com