On Thursday Jan. 18, the wrestling team took on DuBois for senior night. The final score was 44-21 Altoona. Altoona had a ceremony recognizing the seniors before the meet began. Seniors Evan Boose, Wyatt Young, Hayden Speece, Hayden McMillion, Matthew Riccio and William Himmelwright were all recognized.
The highlight match of the night was sophomore Phillip Sarbo who won 8-4 against last year’s District Champion and Regional fourth-place finisher in the 127 lb category. Sarbo’s high school record is 21-22 with a second place at Districts last year.
“It made me really happy knowing how good he is and outworking him in the match,” Sarbo said. “I knew that I still had stuff to work on even though I beat him, so I just want to practice and get better.”
Boose achieved a pin in 12 seconds when he performed a double-leg takedown on his opponent, and had enough strength to hold him down until he heard the referee call the pin.
“I was incredibly happy because I didn’t get tired, usually these wrestling matches get you so tired by the end of it and it sucks. I’m glad I could pin him that fast which made me even more happy I could do that on senior night,” Boose said.
Boose believes the environment at home is better than opposing matches. Boose has been wrestling for three years and has an overall record of 17-24.
“Winning in front of your home crowd is definitely a lot better than winning in front of their crowd because you get to be the hero, and it’s just nice showing what you got to your friends and family and they’re there to support you,” Boose said.
Sophomore Taber Baker speaks out on the leadership role of the seniors.
“I think that the leadership of the seniors impacted the team positively this year. They were very supportive and they helped lift the spirit throughout the team,” Baker said.
Baker believes that without the leadership role the seniors have, the team wouldn’t have done as well as they have.
“Without their leadership rule, I think that we wouldn’t have done the best that we did this season because they were always there for us. They were always cheering us on even if we were losing and always pushed us to do our best,” Baker said.
The final home match was held on Jan. 31. The wrestlers debuted their new singlets against cross-town rival Hollidaysburg.
