Varsity Wrestling defeated Los Altos High School 48-35 on Thursday, Jan. 29. Assistant Coach El-Hajj Malik was initially worried that the team’s low numbers due to sickness and injuries would cause problems. However, the team was able to get back in shape with intense conditioning.
The game started with two forfeits and two pins to MVHS, bringing the score up to 30-0. LAHS in the next three matches won with two pins and one technical fall, bringing the score up to 30-17. Shortly after, MVHS won its fifth match and brought the score to 36-17. However, despite LAHS winning four more matches, bringing the score to 36-35, MVHS won by a large margin with two final pins, bringing the final score to 48-35.
Due to the increased members on the team, senior Christopher Lamfalusi believes the winning streak the wrestling team had kept throughout the season was a key motivator for its success in this match.
“We’re undefeated in the league now, so we’re trying to keep that record and bring it home for our coach, who’s been here for a while,” Lamfalusi said. “He really wants it, and for all the players that have been on the team for a couple of years. Some of them also knew players on the other team, so there was a little bit of personal rivalry there.”
Malik talks specifically about junior Booker Vollrath, whose match was very close at the end of the duel meet. Malik notes how the team was particularly excited about Vollrath’s victory in his match due to his opponent being significantly stronger than him.
“He added a lot of different things to his tool belt, and you could see it manifesting on the mat,” Malik said. “He wrestled a kid who was bigger, stronger, and yet he pinned him; that was awesome. It was already towards the end of the duel meet, but it was still huge because that sealed the duel meet for us. Him getting that pin pretty much made us know that we were winning this duel meet.”
Along with Vollrath, Malik says senior Graham Ischo’s victory in his match was close but pivotal for the morale of the team. Due to Ischo being new to wrestling, Malik says his athleticism helped make up the lost time and led to his victory against more skilled opponents during the duel meet.
“I coach football also, and he’s a phenomenal athlete, and so we were really excited that he was going to come wrestle,” Malik said. “He’s new to the sport, but his athleticism makes up for a lot of it, and we were able to gear his training and what he does during training to the skills he already has.”
Lamfalusi believes one of the reasons the team did so well this year was due to the influx of new members, leading to a lack of forfeits in every match. In wrestling, a forfeit occurs when either team in a duel meet is missing a member in a certain weight class, awarding six team points to the team with that member. Along with the new members, Lamfalusi says the team shifted to technique-centered practices rather than just conditioning, leading to a more well-rounded foundation for all members.
“I’m really happy with the way everyone played,” Lamfalusi said. “I think especially in practices this year, we’ve been focusing a lot more on kind of keeping it simple and getting our technique down, which has helped a lot of new people. I think that helped us come into the match really strong. It also helped a lot of older members focus on their technique, to really hone in on the basics.”
Malik emphasizes that the team’s success wasn’t just due to the upperclassmen but to people throughout the season who stepped up to the mat and pushed the team to victory. Malik mentions that LAHS’s large roster proved to be a challenge for the team, but the Matadors’ motivation pulled through throughout the match.
“This is a really good team, and they thought they were going to beat us tonight, but we were resilient,” Malik said. “Everyone has chipped in, and it’s been really fun to watch. It’s been a really long time since we’ve had this level of success. Right now, we have the league dual championship, but we have to go to leagues to finish it off.”
