Falcons defeat 3 teams to push record past .500

The Nation Ford Falcons wrestling team took three of five dual meets at the R-S Central Duals to improve their record to 8-7 on the season.

Nation Ford beat Landrum, Palmetto and Hibriten, but lost to East Rutherford and host R-S Central in the event held in the North Carolina foothills. The Falcons struggled some with their lineup with holes in 113, 160 and 195-pound weight classes. The Falcons also went into the tournament with only a trio of seniors – Dylan Curtsinger, Jake Gravely and TJ Giarratana.

Nation Ford head coach Dan Snell chose to look at the young lineup as a glass half-full.

“It is more time and more experience for some of our younger guys,” he said. “It is just being part of the team for them.”

In the Falcons’ first dual against Landrum, which they won 45-30, Nation Ford led from the beginning. Dax Stegall got a forfeit win at 106 pounds to open the action and Raymond Gonzalez won by pin at 120 pounds. Dylan Tindall won by forfeit at 126 and Giarratana took a 8-3 decision at132. Harris Esposito won by pin at 145 and Curtsinger got a pin at 152as well. Daniel Lopez (170) and Gravely (182) both picked up victories via pin.

Against Palmetto, Nation Ford won 48-34 after falling behind 10-0. Their first win came at 126 pounds with a forfeit win from Tindall. Giarratana then got a win at 132 to give the Falcons a 12-10 lead and they wouldn’t relinquish that lead for the rest of the match. Jacob Moore won at 138 and Curtsinger at 152. Also getting wins for Nation Ford were Lopez, Gravely, Stegall and Ashten Schaufert, at 220-pounds.

The Falcons’ final win came against Hibriten 45-30 with Nation Ford again leading from the opening match. Getting wins for Nation Ford were Tindall, Giarratana, Moore, Curtsinger, Gravely, Schaufert, Stegall and Gonzalez.

Nation Ford fell to East Rutherford 46-34 as the dual came down to the final four matches after being tied at 28-28. East Rutherford won at 220 pounds and the Falcons won just one of the remaining matches with Stegall’s first period win at 106 pounds. The Falcons’ wins against East Rutherford came from Tindall, Giarratana, Moore, Curtsinger and Gravely.

In their final dual against host R-S Central, the Falcons went up early and had to bump some people around different weight classes. They were competitive, but eventually dropped the match-up 39-31.

Giarratana won at 132 pounds to open the match followed by a quick pin from Moore at 138. R-S Central won two of the next three matches to take a 15-12 lead. Only Curtsinger’s 5-1 decision would give the Falcons any points in those three matches as they had to forfeit at 160. Gravely won 13-4 at 182 pounds to put Nation Ford back on top 19-18, but that would be the last time it held a lead as the Falcons dropped four of the final six matches. The only remaining wins they got came from Schaufert at heavyweight and Tindall at 126 pounds.

Nation Ford now heads into the Holy Angels two-day tournament Dec. 30-31 at the Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte.

This story was originally published December 23, 2016 at 2:53 PM with the headline "Falcons defeat 3 teams to push record past .500."