Century junior Grady Faye felt a little overwhelmed as he stepped to the mat for his 126-pound bout. Faye faced Glenelg’s Phillip Kim in the final bout of Tuesday’s dual with his Knights trailing by four.
With the dual starting at 132, Faye knew he’d have a long wait before he stepped to the mat. The junior likes to prepare early, so he first stood up when the 215-pound match began. He put on his headgear during the 106-pound match and started getting into the right mindset.
Once his match finally got underway, the junior assumed control early and pinned Kim late in the first period to complete Century’s 39-37 come-from-behind win over Glenelg.
The Knights collectively jumped in jubilation as the referee’s arm smacked the mat, hoisting Faye high in the air during their post-match celebration.
“My approach was trying not to focus on what’s going on in the crowd or the scoreboard, just focus on how I can best win this dual meet for Century,” Faye said. “It’s pure excitement, the whole team is going crazy. The whole gym is going crazy, just a rush of adrenaline even more so than being on the mat. It’s a great feeling to win the match for our team.”
Faye’s pin capped off what was a rollercoaster back-and-forth match. Both teams entered Tuesday’s dual having been in several close matches already this season. Glenelg’s Phil Key and Century’s Chris Brooks set the tone for what was to come in their 132-pound opener.
Key prevailed in a low-scoring battle by decision, 4-1. Century’s Wyatt King (138) and Dylan Vroom (144) responded with consecutive pins to give the Knights an early 12-3 advantage. The Knights appeared to be in control with a 24-13 lead entering the 190-pound weight class.
However, Glenelg senior Gavin Harder flipped momentum in the Gladiators favor with a second-period pin. Peter Danko (215) and Mason Knapp (285) followed with pins of their own, flipping an 11-point deficit into a seven-point Glenelg lead with four weight classes remaining.
The sides split the next two matches and Glenelg entered the final two weight classes with a 37-30 advantage, meaning Century would need to win the final bouts to emerge in a tough nonconference battle. The Knights first turned to freshman Jason Kosack (120) against Glenelg’s Zach Frattali. Frattali scored first with a takedown and maintained a narrow one-point lead after the first period.
However, the young Kosack turned things around and took the lead entering the third period. Kosack spent much of the third period on top and closed out a 12-5 decision victory. That put the match in Faye’s hands, with the Knights needing to win by pin or technical fall to seal the victory.
“Wrestling 14 matches, that was a true seven-seven split,” Century coach Zach Blessing said. “We won the bonus battle on that one. We lost a couple previously this year that we did not win the bonus battle. So, just the resiliency on that. Jason coming up clutch. Grady, going in, we had great confidence. We liked that match to be the end. It’s just pretty crazy and it just shows the resilience of our team.”
The energy in the gym was palpable as Faye and Kim shook hands before the evening’s final match. Both coaching staffs delivered consistent instructions as the noise in the gym elevated with each passing second. Faye appeared to have a pin midway through the period, but Kim managed to slide away and keep the match alive. However, Faye wouldn’t be denied.
When the referee smacked the mat, the noise in the gym reached its apex, with Blessing delivering an emphatic fist pump to punctuate the night.
“It’s funny how wrestling finds you,” Blessing said. “He could’ve been the first match of the night and got a pin. You wouldn’t have thought anything of it. To end on the last one, in the spotlight to clinch. Grady’s been working super hard the last couple of years. He’s won some tough ones. He’s lost some tough ones. For him to get this moment tonight, I’m just so proud of him.”
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