Warrior Wrestling with a Huge Win Against the Bulldogs

Wrestling West York was the one of the prime examples of how the wrestling team’s season  came down to a couple of points. The team managed to pull out a 36-30 win against the Bulldogs on a final match win by senior Michael Younkin.

Senior Michael Younkin shares his thoughts and feelings about the team's huge win against West York. Photo By: Mallory Lebo
Senior Michael Younkin shares his thoughts and feelings about the team’s huge win against West York.
Photo By: Mallory Lebo

“I had been looking up my opponents record for the past week, and so I knew that I could beat him. I was still a little bit nervous because I had lost several matches that I should have won; I just couldn’t get my head at the right spot. However, in this match I knew that I didn’t need to pin him; I just needed to win since the match was tied 30-30. Really my only plan was to shoot and not let him breathe as coach says… just keep shooting and hitting him until he gave up,” said Younkin.

One might think that in a situation where your performance determines the team’s faith would make one extremely nervous, but that was not the case for Younkin.

“I knew I was going to be the last match anyway, and I knew it was going to be a close match. The closer I got, the better I was actually predicting the end match score. I knew a good bit before the match that it was going to come down to me. Personally, I tend to not stress about anything, so it didn’t really bother me especially knowing that I could beat him. Plus, I just got so worked up already, there really wasn’t anything that was going to phase me,” said Younkin.

After the match, Younkin tried to explain the euphoria he felt.

“I can’t really put a name to the feeling; we call it Mr. Hyde. It’s a joke because I’m usually so happy and normal and then I get worked up and ready to go. Hyped up and fired up are probably the best ways to put my feelings… I have not felt that good about winning a match since my first match in 7th grade;  I don’t remember feeling that good about a match,” said Younkin.

 

Teammate Xander Holloway acknowledged challenges that loomed ahead for the team.

“After we won, everyone was really excited, and we all surprised ourselves. Since then, we’ve been prepared for the Kennard-Dale match, and it’s been our main focus in practice,” said Holloway.

Coach Brad Keeney beamed when asked  about the West York match.

The West York match was awesome.  I knew it was going to be a tough match.  I knew if the team came together and wrestled like they could, they could have won.  [I] was ecstatic when Mike pinned the West York wrestler.  That was the proudest I have been all year of all the kids.  We are taking this same mentality into Kennard-Dale tonight.  If we wrestle as a team, we will have a great opportunity,” said Keeney.

With the season almost ending, the Warriors have gained the momentum they need to take their talents to post-season. Coming from one of the biggest wins from the season, the team has been getting prepared for the division-clinching match that took place Wednesday, February 4 here at the high school. The Warriors came up short; the Rams won 39-33.