Wresting: Montgomery notch key individual wins in tough loss to Manville

Nicholas Mistretta

MHS ’79 Cougar Sports Correspondent

Manville’s ability to rack up bonus points on the mat proved to be the difference in a non-conference wrestling dual, as the Mustangs defeated Montgomery, 54–20, despite several strong performances by the Cougars up and down the lineup.

Manville jumped out quickly at 113 pounds, where Cris Villalobos pinned Benson Chen in just 45 seconds to open the night with six team points. Montgomery answered at 120, where Rishi Bagchi battled through a tight bout and came away with a 6–5 decision over Jacob Ahorrio to get the Cougars on the board. At 126, Gavin Fong followed with a commanding 7–0 decision over Andrew Meza, briefly drawing Montgomery even in the team score at 6–6.

Manville then seized control in the middle weights with a series of pins. At 132, Aidan Johnson stopped Derek Bravo-Pelaez by fall in 2:38, followed by back-to-back first-period and second-period pins from Mohamed Abdelmageed (138) and Anthony Monge (144). At 150, Isaiah Bennett added another fall over Anjin Tsuchihashi in 1:52, pushing Manville’s advantage to 30–6.

Montgomery mounted a surge of its own in the upper middle weights. At 157, Elior Mezhericher wrestled a composed match in a 6–2 decision over Justin Murillo. At 165, Aiden Shakirov turned in one of the Cougars’ most dominant performances of the night, rolling to a 17–0 technical fall over Elijah Bennett in 2:40. That momentum continued at 175, where Jahkee Carr needed just 43 seconds to pin Daniel Castellucci, cutting the team deficit to 30–20 and giving Montgomery a late spark.

Manville, however, closed the door in the upper weights. At 190, Matty Gorbatuk pinned Cayden Drumbor in 47 seconds, and at 215, Evan Canica recorded another fall over Joshua Narula in 1:48. A forfeit at heavyweight (285) to Aidan Herrera and a final-period pin by Carter Zukasky over Suchey Karna at 106 pounds sealed the 54–20 team victory for Manville.

While the final score tilted heavily in Manville’s favor, Montgomery left the dual with several bright spots, including Bagchi and Fong’s early decisions, Mezhericher’s solid win at 157, Shakirov’s technical fall, and Carr’s lightning-quick pin. Those efforts, along with the Cougars’ mid-match run in the upper weights, provide plenty to build on as Montgomery moves deeper into its dual-meet schedule and prepares for the heart of the conference slate.

Photo Credit: Nicholas Mistretta/headlinenewsmontgomery.com