With high tensions in the CESJDS gym, fans watched closely from the stands, teammates yelling at sophomore Eitan Braun from the sideline as he wrestled. He ignored them all, focusing only on a way to escape his opponent’s maneuver. Under his opponent’s control, Braun attempted to bridge his way out of a pin but was ultimately unsuccessful.
On Dec. 9, the JDS Lions varsity wrestling team faced Washington Latin Public Charter School Lions, eventually falling short.
JDS started the matchup with two wins by forfeit, as there was no one to wrestle in their weight class, and one loss by a pin. To get pinned, one must hold their opponents shoulder blades to the ground for two seconds. Regardless of the score, pinning is an immediate and automatic win.
Heading into the fourth match, sophomore captain Jacob Sheib stepped up to the mat. After three rounds, Sheib conceded to his opponent with a final score of 22-7. Nonetheless, Sheib said hopes were still high.
“This meet was really more of a meet to learn more about ourselves and learn what we need to improve on,” Sheib said. “Most of the guys and girls on our team are new first or second year, so it’s really just an opportunity to get to wrestle and get to understand the feel of an actual match.”
Following Sheib’s loss, Braun began his match. Braun said that with the help of Sheib shouting advice from the sideline, he was able to start off dominantly, taking a 3-1 lead over his opponent.
“I did not think of losing or winning,” Braun said. “I was thinking of how to escape. That was the entire mentality of the entire match.”
While Braun led the match 7-6 into the last round, he got pinned midway through the third round, turning the tide of the match and granting him his first loss of the season.
Wrestling Head Coach Chuck Woolery said that despite the defeat, he is optimistic about the rest of the season. He acknowledges that he has a young team, which leads him to stress the importance of learning from losses as opposed to allowing yourself to become discouraged.
“You either win or you learn,” Woolery said. “… If somebody beats you for a reason, you [now] know the technique [and] you’ll learn to counter the technique.”
A rematch between the two schools will take place on Jan. 7 at Washington Latin. Sheib plans to visit them as a better team and said he is already planning the upcoming face-off.
“We’re going to come out back there with a vengeance,” Sheib said. “We’re going to try to beat them, not just in terms of an individual match. We’re going to try to beat them as a team.”
