M-A rallies to PAL Bay wrestling title

And in a hurry they did, executing five straight pins — four coming in the first round, and the other via forfeit — to rally for a 39-33 victory on their home mat in Atherton to clinch at least a share of the Bay Division crown. M-A can wrap up the title outright Jan. 31 in the regular-season finale at Terra Nova.

“I was really worried,” said Songi Eke, M-A’s junior 220-pounder who wrestled the second-to-last match of the night. “It was a lot of points. But I have a lot of faith in my teammates.”

By the time Eke stepped onto the mat, the Bears had taken their first lead of the night. It came previous to his swift victory, with senior Adrian Heatley earning a first-round pin over Bobby Ennis at 197s, giving M-A a 33-30 advantage.

Eke didn’t waste any time earning the clinching with, shooting through the legs of Trevor Macko, throttling to the floor with a double-leg takedown and earning a pin just 25 seconds into the match.

“He’s a tough guy,” M-A head coach Charles Washington said of Eke. “He’s an explosive 200 pounder. … He’s both powerful and fast. So, he’s tough to keep up with.”

Burlingame (3-1) proved tough to keep up with in the early going. The Panthers were looking to rise to the top of Bay Division this season after consecutive second-place finishes in 2017 and ’18. Their last league title came in 2016, albeit that was in the lower PAL Ocean Division, earning them a promotion to the Bay.

Evan Pozzo at 108s, Cian Hennebry at 113s and Kent Liao at 120s set a high bar, staking Burlingame to a 15-0 lead. Then, M-A scored its first win at 128s. But Burlingame’s Josh Wong eluded a pin, with Joshua Meyers settling for a three-point win by decision to make it 15-3. Then the best pound-for-pound wrestler in the PAL, Burlingame junior Kyle Botelho, pinned Liam Dunn in the first round, seemingly giving the Panthers an unstoppable momentum.

“We were on a good roll,” Botelho said. “We had a game plan and were confident in what we were trying to do. But tables turn all the time and, when that happens, you have to adapt. And this time we didn’t.”

Botelho is lightning fast with spindly arms and legs made for wrapping up opponents like wiry-strong spider webs. His dynamic win was something of a contrast to the next match, as Burlingame’s Louis Bruening at 138s battled through a nosebleed and several injury stoppages to grind out a decision against Ben Chang.

Then the tide started to turn. M-A turned in a gritty victory of its own, with Caleb Prouty earning a third-round pin over Jordan Malashus at 145s. Burlingame answered right back, though, with Jordan’s brother Devon Malushus bulling his way to a pin of Cyrus Durham at 152s, giving the Panthers a 30-9 advantage.

“I had a feeling, or at least faith, that my older guys would come in and get their pins,” Washington said.

Anthony Waller set off the five-match winning streak with a pin of Alex Wilson 35 seconds into the 160s match. Then at 172, Nicky Wong took it to the mat and cradled over the top to pin George Messaros 44 seconds into the match, closing the scoring deficit to 30-21.

At 182, M-A’s Julian Kim earned six points for a forfeit to bring the Bears within striking range at 30-27.

Then Heatley stepped onto the mat in a dual meet for just the second time in his varsity career. And at 197s, just 50 seconds in, he delivered, keeping Ennis from escaping at the edge of the circle for the go-ahead pin.

“He came through and gave us the win when we needed it most,” Washington said.

Burlingame salvaged the final match of the night, with Xavier Bruening earning a pin against Jack Murphy at 285s.

By that time, though, the M-A celebration had already begun in the team’s final regular-season home match of 2019.

“It means a lot,” Eke said. “Getting this last league win at home … it was senior night; we couldn’t let the seniors down.”