The Whitney High School wrestling squad started the season strong with wins over Rocklin and Lincoln.

In a double match against Lindhurst and Placer Dec. 12, the Wildcats dominated before hitting the wall late against the Hillmen.

The ‘Cats opened the first match of the night against the Blazers and cruised to a 50-19 victory.

During the match, the Wildcats had six pins in 13 matches.  Joey Penn, Nickolas Terpstra and Gurseu Basra began the night with consecutive pins in the 113, 120 and 126 pound weight classes, respectively.

The maroon and gold then tacked on another three individual victories, with Edwin Tran and Christian Luna winning on points and Matthew Magee earning a fall.

Heading into the second match against Placer, the Wildcats continued their success. They opened up the match with four consecutive pins and another victory off of points.

After losing on points in the 152-pound event, Whitney entered the 160-pound match leading 28-6. The match began to turn when the Hillmen recorded a pin in the 160-pound bout. Whitney’s lead was cut to 28-21.

It appeared the ‘Cats Wyatt Updegraff was in big trouble, after falling behind 11-0 halfway through the second set of the 170-pound match. However, Updegraff then got the upper hand and pinned the Placer’s Kyle Penney at 1:24 into the second set to give the Wildcats a 34-21 lead.

That would be the only bright spot for Whitney, as they continued to struggle; the ‘Cats dropped the 182 and 195-pound matches, both to pins.

Whitney had to forfeit the 220-pound match and heavyweight Curtis Mass lost on a fall, putting the ‘Cats down by five. By request, the final bout was 103-pound match, featuring Terri Tran against Placer’s Anthony Wong. It would be winner take all.

Although the 103-pound Tran was hoping to avenge his earlier loss, Wong proved too much and won by a fall.

That allowed the Hillmen to steal away with a 22-point comeback victory, 45-34.

 “We did pretty well, we competed well,” said Whitney head coach Daniel Parker, “We gave them some points, gave away some matches we should’ve won. But it came down to the final match.”

Whitney High School Wrestling

Wildcats def.  Lindhurst 50-19

WT     WHS Wrestler           Decision

112      Perry               pin

120      Terpstra          pin

126      Basra               pin

138      Gomez             pin

145      Achanzan        pin

160      E. Tran           14-3

182      Luna                7-6

195      Magee             pin

Placer def. Whitney 45-34

113      Whitney          forfeit

120      Terpstra           pin

126      Basra               pin

138      Gomez             pin

145      Achanzan        13-4

170      Updegraff       pin

Source:  http://www.placerherald.com/article/whitney-wrestling-works-hard-preparing-league