In Thursday’s battle between Carbon County’s two junior high school wrestling teams, Mont Harmon took the victory in their match against Helper in the final bout.
Mont Harmon took the early lead, winning the first match by pin, and the next two by forfeit. The two teams then began a back and forth battle that culminated in the Heavyweight match. With the score tied at 42, the two young wrestlers were charged with decidingВ the outcome, and the crowd clearly sensed the excitement, cheering loudly.
The two wrestlers fought for the full three rounds. With neither able to win near-fall points against his opponent, the bout was determined by escape and reversal points. Mont Harmon’s wrestler took the win 6-2,winning the match for his team.
Mont Harmon Coach Tom Lasslo was delighted by his team’s effort. “We are very excited,” he said. “It was a great match today.”
Helper’s Coach, Phil Howa, took the loss in stride. “We wrestled well,” he said. “I’m a little disappointed for the kids because they worked hard, but sometimes taking a step back is what we need to motivate us to step it up more in our next match. Mont Harmon put up a great fight, and IвЂm happy for their win.”
Despite the loss, Helper took the season title home as their victory.
Next week both teams will be competing at San Rafael Junior High to determine the tournament winner.
Lasslo hopes this win, and a number of returning wrestlers will put them in position to do well there. “Some of our kids have been gone on vacation, from bad grades, and from being sick, but when we get our kids back it will sure help us a lot more and get us ready for next week,” he said. “We are excited to see how everything turns out next week. We put up a good fight.”