Blair pins Kennedy

DEC. 14, NELSON H. KOBREN MEMORIAL GYMNASIUM-

The Blair varsity wrestling team continued their winning streak in their second match of the season, easily defeating Kennedy, 56-21.

The match started out smoothly for the Blazers. After Kennedy forfeited two straight matches and then lost a third 37 seconds into the first period, the Blazers had a comfortable 18-point lead over the Cavaliers.

Kennedy began to make a comeback after sophomore Haben Ghebremeschel (130), in an evenly matched struggle with his opponent, was pinned in the third period with 59 seconds left. The Cavaliers succeeded again, pinning junior Jon Berger (135) with 47 seconds left in the period.

But soon enough, the Blazers got back on their feet as sophomores Phine Ulysse (140) and Bereket Kebede (145) both dominated, bringing the Blazers up again, 36-12. Ulysse broke his opponent's nose and Kebede pinned his opponent 44 seconds into the first period.

The next match had the crowd shouting chants of encouragement to sophomore Tim Visclosky (152), but he lost l5-9 after a tough power struggle.

Next match, Kennedy forfeited and the Blazers never looked back. Junior Mike Street won 6-3 after an intense struggle, and senior James Gillette (189) pinned his opponent in the first period. "We were definitely pinning faster, we had good techniques. Overall we did pretty good," said Gillette.

Coach Jake Scott was also impressed with the team's improvement from the last match. "Guys worked hard, and we were much more aggressive," said Scott.

The wrestling team's next match is at Sherwood High School at 1 pm on Dec. 17.