The Townsend Harris varsity co-ed wrestling team suffered their first loss of the season when they faced the Bronx High School of Science and were overwhelmed by a score of 60 to 28.
Both THHS and Bronx Science entered the match, on January 12, undefeated, with four and six wins, respectively.
Ultimately, the factor that led to the THHS defeat was the fact that they had to forfeit four weight classes.
This kind of problem occurs regularly with the team due to the stature of most of the team’s athletes.
Junior Bartłomiej Skica said, “The massive gap in score came about because [Townsend Harris] had to forfeit a bunch of weight classes that [Bronx Science] had people for.” Otherwise, both teams won roughly the same amount of matches.
Sophomore Kristov McKinnon agreed, saying, “…the entire team was really good I feel like we could’ve beat them if we had more players.”
Regarding the team’s performance, junior Noorshifa Arssath believed that mental blocks hindered their physical abilities.
She stated, “Our team put up a fight but we were giving up at very close moments. But we worked really hard and I think the thing we need to work on is our mentality going in.”
On the other hand, Kristov felt the team performed strongly. He explained, “For every loss, we had a win, but everything [every other loss] we lost due to weight class forfeit.”
Kristov felt this strength was reflected in his own performance. He continued, “I faced a senior, who was allegedly a state champion, but I still lasted a match.”
Bartłomiej also commented on his team’s chances to make the playoffs.
He said, “Although [Townsend Harris] is not sure if playoffs will be taking place, due to the fact that this is a completely new league, if they happen, we’re already set.”
With THHS taking part in a newly created league, it’s unsure of whether or not a postseason will be taking place, but as Bartłomiej stated, the team will most likely make the playoffs as they find themselves near the top of the standings.
Assuming this is the case, their first playoff match is expected to be held at the end of February.
Nevertheless, this season has been a refresher for the team after last year’s 7-1 record. This year, the team, having won its final home game of the season on January 20 against Seward Park Campus, now happily ends its regular season with a record of six wins and one loss.
