Blazers fall to Titans and Knights

JAN. 24, NELSON H. KOBREN MEMORIAL GYMNASIUM-

Inexperience plagued Blair's varsity wrestling squad, which lost to both Einstein and Wheaton today with scores of 39-42 and 33-45, respectively. Blair's record dropped to 2-10.

Today's matches were originally scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 22, but were postponed because of weather conditions. Being without heat for days, the gym was uncomfortably cold for many of the wrestlers. Because of the prolonged waits associated with three long matches, the wrestlers were left with tight muscles and the risk of injury. Some onlookers believed the temperature played a role in the accident today involving an Einstein wrestler breaking his arm during his match against Wheaton. Senior Andrew Wallis (189) explained that the coldness aggravated a chronic shoulder pain he developed after an injury last year.

The Wheaton Knights' skill with leg riding was apparent early in the match. Their ability to use their legs for leverage enabled them to break down a number of Blazers for the pin. The Blazers eventually adapted to this tactic by wrestling more defensively in an effort to wear their opponents down for a second or third period pin.

Blair's unfamiliarity with cradle and pin combinations was its most crucial flaw when facing the Einstein Titans. Most of the Titans' pins consisted of them forcing their opponent's head to the right, bodies to their legs and hands together - the definition of a standard cradle. The remaining pins were due to lack of adequate training with Peterson holds and half Nelsons, according to freshman Santos Guevara (215).

The Blazers could not fill the vacancy left by freshman Darwin Landis (HWT), who was absent because of a shoulder injury. This automatically gave both Einstein and Wheaton six points each against Blair.

The match against Einstein ended up depending on Guevara's match. Blair was up 39-30 going into the match, and Guevara went into it focusing mainly on defense and strength to defeat his opponent. This approach worked for most of the match, but with 11 seconds left in the last period, he was thrown on the mat. Within 10 seconds he was pinned. "It should never have been up to him. We just had too many mistakes,” said Wallis. "[Every Blazer] knows their team is behind them. We don't have too many guys who are in it for themselves. Guevara was in control for most of the match.” Guevara went on to win his next match by a minor decision.

The Blazers next match is at Wootton on Wednesday, Jan. 26 at 6 p.m.