The Warsaw Wrestling team kicked off their season at the Wawasee duals on Saturday. The Tigers took third place with a record of 3-2 with one of those being on tie breaking criteria.
The morning started fast for the Tigers with big wins against Fort Wayne Southside and South Bend Washington. While both opponents were short handed, Warsaw also collected pins in bunches.
The win in the opening round against FW South saw the Tigers snag six pins while surrendering just two total losses on the way to a 72-9 total.
Round two was similar, but saw just 4 head-to-head matches with Warsaw racking up a 72-12 win against Washington.
In the third round Warsaw took on NLC rival Wawasee. The contest was filled with lead swings and close matches with Warsaw holding a late lead heading into the final match. The 33-33 deadlock was broken on 9th tiebreaker criteria and Wawasee was awarded the victory.
The Tigers bounced back in round four against Fairfield. Warsaw ran out to a big lead on the strength of pinfalls and forfeits, before holding off a late rally to win 48-34.
Round five paired the Tigers with eventual champions, North Miami. While they fought well, youthful mistakes and a strong performance from the opposition led to a 27-48 loss.
The Tigers had several standouts for the day including two undefeated wrestlers.
Juniors Danny Moon and Kameron Kauffman went 5-0 to lead the way.
Kauffman won all five matches by pin in the 285-pound weight class. Moon's three pins were good enough to top the 150-pound class.
Isaiah Martinez (120), Elias Garza (126), and Donovan Frazier (106) all went 4-1. Martinez had three wins by pin, while Garza and Frazier had two.
The group of Beckham Boylan (215), Aaron Ross (157 & 165), Gabe Veit (132), Bryce McNees (113), and Liam Smith (175) all went 3-2.
Alex Vallejo (138), Enrique Silva (144), and Noah Wilkins (190) each picked up two wins for Warsaw.
The Tigers start the season at 3-2 and 0-1 in the NLC.
Warsaw will jump into a busy week with Duals against Mishawaka on Tuesday and Goshen on Thursday. The Tigers will also host the Hutch Memorial Duals on Saturday.
