Atholton wrestling jumps out to early lead, defeats short-handed Centennial, 57-21
Atholton’s gym had it all for Thursday night’s dual against Centennial. The Raiders’ supporters and cheerleaders came out in full force as the spotlight hung above the mat.
The Raiders honored the program’s four seniors on senior night and made the evening a positive one. Atholton jumped out to an early 30-point lead with four forfeits and a pin by Chase Garrison (120 pounds) as the short-handed Eagles battled sickness and injury. The Raiders closed out a 57-21 victory.
It was a special night for the seniors, but the highlight of the night came from sophomore Noah Eng (175). Eng found himself in a 9-0 hole to Centennial senior Matt Sedor near the end of the second period. Yet, the sophomore continued to fight. He picked up four points late in the second period before pinning Sedor 1:17 into the third period, electrifying the home crowd and his teammates.
“One thing that I’ve always loved about Noah is he likes to take kids into deep water,” Atholton coach Sidney Billups said. “So, whatever he doesn’t have as far as wrestling knowledge, he’ll drag you to deep water. Then if you make a mistake, here’s there to capitalize on it. He’s been wrestling that way all year long, so it’s magic.”
Although the Raiders had a sizable lead at the time of the pin, Eng’s victory helped Atholton regain momentum after Centennial won the prior two weight classes.
“I like to get in my own head at times,” Eng said. “I feel like there have been a lot of other matches where we’ve been losing by a decent bit. I know our Glenelg match was like that. Even though we lost that match, we started to turn it around at the end. After a few of those matches, I felt like I was going to go out there and do what everyone else did. I wanted to be that for other people.”
With three bouts remaining after Eng’s pin, his win provided a jolt for the remaining Raiders. David Adeyemi (215) and Mark Enamorado (285) won their matches by pin — Adeyemi in the first period and Enamorado in the third. For Enamorado, a senior, wrestling in the final match of the night was both exciting and nerve-wracking.
“I don’t know if you saw me over there, but I was quiet,” Enamorado said. “I got really quiet. I just had to get in my zone. I was sitting down, watching everyone wrestle. Around when Noah was wrestling actually, I started getting really quiet. I was thinking, ‘OK, I see my guy, I have to lock in. I have to see and watch because I know big guys love to throw and I’m really bad at handling throws, so I said I’ve got to move and stay low. I’ve got to do everything in my mind.’ By the time I was ready to go out I was so deadly quiet that I said, ‘I’ve got to win this now. That was all I was thinking about.’
The senior was also trying not to get caught up in the pageantry of senior night.
“It’s like every night, I try my best,” Enamorado said. “I always got to get six points, I always got to count on six points for my coach too. I approached it like I would any other match. I think with everyone here cheering us on — cheerleaders, we’ve never had those — it was a lot pressure, but I think it felt really good, especially when I got that pin.”
Facing a sizable early deficit, Grady Conrad (138) earned the Eagles’ first win of the night, pinning Sebastian Lee late in the first period. Juniors Calvin Kraisser (157) and Will Schmitt (165), two of Centennial’s most experienced wrestlers, won their matches by technical fall and major decision, respectively. William Kim (190) won by fall for the Eagles, but the five forfeits proved too challenging to overcome.
“They’re making progress. Two-thirds of our team never wrestled before this year,” Centennial coach Cliff Kraisser said. “They’re making progress and that’s our goal. A month ago, the young guys wouldn’t have fought off their back, so it’s small little victories, but you’ve got to make progress.”