The Bangor Slaters took on the Palisades Pirates Friday at home. This match was the battle for the 2021 Colonial League Championship. The energy was high in the gym to start the match. Both teams were filled with adrenaline as they were warming up. It practically surged through the entire room.
Palisades started with two forfeits from Bangor putting them on the board, 12-0. Then, Jr. Landon Uhler stepped up to the mat wrestling in the 120 class putting the Slaters up four points.
Bangor then gained a forfeit and a pin from Sr. Allen Klaver bringing the score to 16-12 with Bangor in the lead. Another pin from Slaters Zach Poff added another six points to the scoreboard from the 138 class, followed by Caiden Poff giving Bangor an even bigger lead of 25-15 over Palisades.
Sr. Jared Reto pinned in 56 seconds allowing the Slaters to hold their lead of 31-15. With Bangor thinking they have this match and the Colonial League title in the bag, Palisades came to fight back with their heavier weights. A pin and a forfeit in favor of Palisades allowed them to creep back up the scoreboard to 31-27.
In the final match of the competition, just minutes away from the Colonial League Title, Palisades pinned making their score 39 and Bangor 31. Palisades is the 2021 Colonial League Champions. This is their first championship, so the excitement was higher than usual at the end of the match.
Palisades Head Coach Nick Lefevre spoke on how tremendous this victory was for not only the kids, but the school and the community. He said when he took over the wrestling program 3 years back, these seniors now, he knew would grow to be something great, which is exactly what they did tonight. They will then advance to both their team district match as well as their individual district matches.
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