Undermanned Bulldogs Fall in Season's 1st Match

The wrestling team fell 55-16 against Lakeland in its first match of the season on Monday. The undermanned team was unable to fill seven weight classes, which resulted in automatic losses.

The Bulldogs had already suffered two forfeits before their first eligible wrestler, 119-pounder Tyler Descafano, was able to compete. Descafano defeated Tom Zinhobl, 10-0.

Butler was unable to carry the momentum of the victory into the next match, as Lakeland's Zafar Nuralis successfully pinned Nick Colivito at the 1:17 mark of the first round. Butler's 130-pounder Tyler Loranger was able to deliver a pin of his own against Brendon Westhaver halfway through the second period.

Senior Matt Polhemus defeated Eddie Stepien in the most exciting matchup of the evening in the 135-pound weight class. The pair struggled to gain the upper hand throughout the first two periods. At the end of the second period, Stepien appeared to injure his ribs, as the medical trainer examined him and he appeared to be grimacing in pain.

Stepien fought through the pain, though, and the the back-and-forth matchup continued through to an overtime period. Polhemus finally had his hand raised, after scoring two points.

In the final three matchups of the evening, only KC Apkaraian was able to secure a victory for the Bulldogs. Sean Mullin lost an extremely close 152-pound bout against John Berry. Mullin was down by five points going into the third period, and almost fought back for a victory, but came up short, losing 8-5. 

The final matchup saw Butler's Adam Zandonella facing a much bigger opponent in Christian Rohn. Zandonella gave it his all, but in the end, Rohn was just too much to handle.

Head coach John O'Shea immediately came to console Zandonella after the matchup saying, "Hey, you did your best against a guy in the next weight class, you have nothing to be ashamed of."

The Bulldogs will look for their first victory of the young season when they travel to  Pequannock on Wednesday .