It’s not often that one wrestling program beats another “on criteria”, but that’s exactly what happened January 27 when Rye hosted the Croton-Harmon Tigers…

By Mitch Silver

It’s not often that one wrestling program beats another “on criteria”, but that’s exactly what happened January 27 when Rye hosted the Croton-Harmon Tigers in a meet postponed by snow the previous week.

Because neither school had wrestlers ready to contest every weight class, each had to forfeit matches to the other during the afternoon. The Garnets were the first to concede a walkover, dropping the lightest weight class without taking the mat. That made it 6-0 Croton-Harmon, the forfeit valued like a pin in an actual bout. Rye’s Franklin Goldszer took his 113-pound contest 8 points to 5 after leading for most of the contest, giving Rye three team points for the decision.

Shaun D’Souza pulled the home team into a 6-6 tie when he decisioned his man by a 6-2 score at 120 pounds. D’Souza had a scare when he hurt his shoulder late in the bout, but managed to hold on for the win.

Brian Gardner suffered a quick pin at 126, and then it was walkover time as Croton-Harmon had to forfeit four of the next five weights, leaving the score 30-18 for the Garnets over the Tigers after just three contested matchups.

Co-Captain Alex Raynor took the mat at 170 pounds, and led 5-0 after the first of three periods. He ended it early in the 2nd with a pin, giving Rye their final six points for a total of 36.

Alex Reisner in turn was pinned at 182 before Rye forfeited two of the heavy weights to give C-H their 36-point tally. But because Rye won three out of the five contested matches, Rye was given the overall decision on ‘judges’ criteria.

We asked Coach Matt Beatty why there were so many defaults. “I don’t really know. Last year we had a full lineup most of the time. But this season, between injuries and a lower turnout, we have holes in our card. I’ll tell you this, though,” he continued, “the kids I have are working as hard as any team I’ve ever coached here, and this is my ninth year.”

This was only the Garnets’ second win of the season — they beat Westlake before Christmas — but the Coach was upbeat. “I come from Williamsport, Pennsylvania, a wrestling hotbed, where the stands are full like they are here for basketball. When it’s only a handful of parents in the stands, you can’t be in it for the glory. I tell the boys, ‘Some people dream about success. Others wake up early and work for it.’” He smiled. “That’s what these guys are doing.”

The team will be wrestling in the Divisionals at Harrison High February 8.