Acalanes came back from an early deficit to beat the Cougars as 2 of the Diablo Athletic League’s previously undefeated wrestling teams faced off on February 1.

Campolindo established their early lead when Freshman Jason Simi pinned his opponent in the 3rd round.

Chano Real added to the Cougar’s team point total by pinning his adversary in the 1st round.

The Dons responded however, winning the next 3 matches.

Sophomore Remy Benner struggled with asthma during her match. After a timeout during which she was allowed to use an inhaler, she return to the mat, but was beaten.

Varsity coach Sam Sotelo said, “[The match] gave me goosebumps. Remy was so tough; she just kept on fighting and wouldn’t quit. Nothing could stop her. That was one of the toughest matches I’ve ever seen.”

After 11 matches, the Cougars held the team advantage.

Freshman Steven Williams struggled in the 1st 2 rounds of the next match. However, down 11-2, Williams found new energy in the waning seconds of the final round and pinned his opponent.

“That was pretty crazy,” said Williams about his victory. “I knew there at the end that I was going to lose if I didn’t pin him, and everyone thought I was going to lose. But I didn’t give up and luckily I got him. The crowd went wild so I guess I’m pretty happy about that.”

“He had a lot of heart. That was the best comeback of the season and I’m really proud of him for that!” said Sotelo.

Campolindo lost the next 5 matches before senior Savva Vyatkin won the heavyweight division.

While the Cougars managed to keep the team score close, the Dons came away with the win.

“If only we had won a few key matches, then we could have won,” said sophomore Keichi Serrano. “We were close, and we wouldn’t have lost if we just pushed a bit harder. Our winning streak was broken, but we can recover from this, and we’ll just make sure that we wont make the same mistakes.”

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