PANTHERS GRAPPLE WAY TO WINS ON THE MAT

By Jay Leon Guerrero

The ISA High School Wrestling League continued on Saturday afternoon with meets at Guam High and FD.

The host team Guam High Panthers had a successful day on their home mats with victories for both boys and girls divisions.

Guam High def GW
Female: 42-24
Male: 51-26

Sanchez def Tiyan
Females 36 – 18
Male: 53 – 24

Sanchez def GW
Female: 30 – 24
Male: 36 – 26

Guam High def Tiyan
Female: 48 – 22
Male: 66 – 15

Leyla Araya from Guam High was able to win her match via pinfall in the third round versus GW’s Sophia Limin to help the Panthers secure the victory. 

“My dad says my motor is I keep going and keep pushing, and that’s how I was able to win today. I was able to gas my opponent and eventually got the pin,” said Araya.

Araya said she is focused on the all-island meet and is on a mission to get on the medals podium. “I still have to work on my shot defense. I practice outside and at Fudoshin, they’ve been helping me a lot,” said Araya.

Ariyana Canto, Lana Davis, and Meshel Reyes from Guam High were all victorious via pinfall to help defeat the Geckos.

GW’s Rylee Salas, Raizal Blas, and Laila Sablan were all able to notch victories by pinfall in a losing effort.

Gabriel Shih from Guam High came back to get a win via points against previously undefeated Raithan Quichocho from GW in the 182-lbs division. Shih was down 6-4 going into the final round but was able to get a takedown to win the match 11-7.

“I was able to conserve my energy and saw my opponent using a lot of his energy,” said Shih. Shih said his strategy helped him in the end, and he had the endurance to hold down Quichocho as time expired to get the win.

“I’m relatively new to this sport, so from now until the all-island, I need to work on my technique. The team as a unit has been improving on their endurance. I think we will have room for improvement collectively on our technique,” said Shih.

Despite the loss, the Geckos were able to get three wins via pinfall. Rayn Rios continued to dominate the 195-lbs weight class, getting a pinfall in the second round. Avery Atoigue and Gil Williams also got pins in the second round for GW.

Multi-sport athlete Rayn Rios from GW continued to dominate, getting two wins via pinfall. 

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