A dual meet is a school vs. school event where all 14 players on the team, from the 103- to 285-pound weight classes, wrestle against opponents of equal weight from the other school. At the end, the success or failure of each wrestler earns points for his team; and at the end, the team with the most points wins.
In a single day, from 9 a.m. -5 p.m., BHHS had 42 players in three teams (varsity, junior varsity 1 and JV2) wrestle in 210 matches at the Chaminade Wrestling Tournament at Chaminade High School in West Hills last month.
The varsity team was outstanding, said Coach Mark Mead Although the team was missing players in two weight classes out of 14 because of last-minute withdrawals, the remaining 12 wrestlers “performed bravely,” Mead said.
Out of the 12 varsity wrestlers, six took gold or silver. Armand Farrokh (145), Matt Flagel (171) and Murtaza Abbas (189) each went 4 –1 on the day, earning silver medals.
The varsity team also had three wrestlers go undefeated, earning individual gold medals in their weight classes: Matt Kohanbash (103 pounds), Payton Bahk (119), and Romeo Soofiani (heavyweight).
As a whole, even with two weight classes missing, the varsity squad still earned a second-place finish against some tough competition including Calabasas, Harvard Westlake and Glendora.
The junior varsity teams also saw success.
The junior varsity 1 squad also earned a second-place finish. Led by returning starters, Ralph Yun and Matt Yashar, the team succeeded in upsetting Glendora’s JV squad when Eric Shingarev managed a last-second pin of his heavyweight opponent.
Standout JV wrestlers were Yun (4 -1), Yashar (4-1), Dylan Lojac (4 – 1), Nick Hebert (3-2), and most impressively, rookie Camilo Morales who went 5-0 earning a gold medal, one of four medals earned by the JV squad.
Adding to the day’s successes, as many as 20 new wrestlers, with only two weeks of experience, earned the first victories of their school careers. Many cheers were shared on the bus ride home after this first meet of the year.
