WJ wrestling lost its first match vs. Whitman in a three-team match on Feb. 5 with a score of 21-57. Junior Mario Murillo prevailed in one minute and 31 seconds, sophomore Tommy Branthover pinned down his opponent in one minute and 59 seconds, and junior Tim Forline  pinned his opponent in three minutes and 59 seconds.

“Whitman was a tough match, they are and have always been an excellent team,” said Covaliu. “But its in matches like those where we get to see where we stack up to a really good team, and I think we wrestled well.”

WJ then beat B-CC in their second match a score of 34-34. With a tied score, WJ won by criteria due to four pins and three forfeits. Forline prevailed in three minutes and 13 seconds, sophomore Innocent Okocha pinned down his opponent in only 47 seconds, and Covaliu won by forfeit.

“Very exciting, back and forth all day,” said coach Tom Wheeler. “Glad it came down to Elad.”

You can catch WJ wrestling at the MCPS Championship on Feb. 18 and 19 at Blair.