Despite taking an early point deficit, the Palo Alto High School varsity wrestling team defeated Lynbrook High School, 54-27,  in Paly’s first home meet of the season on Tuesday. 

Lynbrook won the first two matches of the meet with pins, earning six points for each. Sophomore Ella Jauregui faced off against Mohong Li in the third match, losing narrowly by regular decision and adding three points to Lynbrook’s score. 

After taking on this 15 point deficit, junior Sacha Williams won the first match for Paly by pinning Lynbrook’s Pranav Chittaranjan to earn six points. Following this victory, Lynbrook rallied back with two more pins leaving Paly trailing, 27-6.

The Paly Vikings gained momentum during the seventh match. Senior Dara Heydarpour dominated, pinning his opponent Isaac Yoon. Juniors Adar Schwarzbach, Tommy Hall and sophomore Tiep Nguyen also triumphed in their matches by pinning their opponents. 

Junior Halo Lynch exhibited strong offense and defense in his match by controlling and overpowering his opponent, resulting in another pin for Paly.

“I kept defensive, I kept pressure on him the whole time, and I rode him out the whole time,” Lynch said.  “A lot of the times in matches when you’re tired you start making mistakes, and I think I did a pretty good job of keeping on him the entire match.”

Lynbrook forfeited the last three matches, awarding Paly six points per forfeited match, adding 18 points to the score.

According to Head Coach Jon Kessler, the experience, skill, and commitment of the returning varsity wrestlers helped Paly defeat Lynbrook. 

“I thought our varsity returners did a really nice job,” Kessler said. “They’ve put in extra time in the room, and I think that’s really what helped us out tonight.” 

Paly’s next meet is against Wilcox High School at 5:30 p.m. Jan. 30 at home.