The Palo Alto wrestling team defeated rival Cupertino High School this past Thursday in a league duel meet.

The team went into Thursday’s meet with confidence, but the results were closer than expected.  Despite the close score, the Vikings still came out with a victory.

“We expected to win but I don’t think it should have been as close as it was, Nick Ortiz (’12) said. Certain matches went well, and others were close but didn’t go our way.”

With a lot of young, developing wrestlers in the lower weight classes, the varsity team looks to it’s senior experience for leadership.

“We are really young in our lower weight classes and that’s just something we have to deal with as the dual meet season goes on,” Ortiz said. But our varsity’s more experienced guys have been able to pick up falls in the duals which are big points for Paly.”

Senior captains Kalen Gans (’12) and Ortiz each had a pin, followed by another pin by Trenton Marshall (‘13).  Their performances all contributed to the 15 point defeat over Cupertino High School.

Fresh off a victory, the team continues into the Mid Cal Tournament at Gilroy High School this weekend where they are hoping to stay on their current winning streak.

“[The team] is at Mid Cals this weekend, it is a pretty big tournament, so hopefully it goes well,” Ortiz said.