The Highland Huskies were in a position where all they had to do was win the final match and they would have won their final dual meet of the season.

However, Our Lady of Lourdes’ Ivan Heunis outlasted Highland’s Daniel Holifield at 160 pounds as the Warriors squeaked by the Huskies, 33-30 on Jan. 30 at Our Lady of Lourdes High School in Poughkeepsie.

“That was a great match,” Highland coach John McFarland said. “Give it up to that kid. He came through and we didn’t. We wrestled tough. We wanted it to be a close match and we made it a close match.”

Holifield got the early jump on Heunis, scoring a takedown early in the match, but Heunis scored an escape and then took down Holifield to take a 3-2 lead.

Holifield got the lead back, late in the first period, but Heunis answered again, and took a 5-4 lead into the second. He built on that lead in the second and third periods, taking the match 10-6, to finish the dual meet with a Warriors’ victory.

The Huskies actually led most of the night, despite opening the meet with a pinfall loss at 170 pounds. However, Nathaniel Swart tied the match with a pinfall victory at 190 pounds, and R.J. Schneider and Mark Cozzupli won forfeit victories, and Tucker Vett had a pinfall victory at 101 pounds to give the Huskies a 24-6 lead.

Bradley Gatto won the fastest match of the night when he pinned Julian De La Rosa in nine seconds at 116 pounds. Lourdes’ Matthew McCarthy followed with a pinfall victory over Ava Acampora at 124 pounds and after Michael Thomas beat Branden Raulo, 7-3 at 131 pounds, the Huskies lost the next three matches, as Lourdes tied the match.

“We lost some close matches,” McFarland said. “You wish it goes your way, but overall, I think the kids wrestled well. Give it up to Lourdes, they did a good job coming through. They were a little more prepared than we were.”

The Huskies opened the week the previous day with a 60-15 win over Liberty and finished the regular season by hosting a multi-team meet on Friday at Highland High School.

“We’re a young team but we’re figuring it out,” McFarland said. “We got a little grit and we’re doing our best to get ready for the postseason.”

The postseason is right around the corner as the Huskies will take part in the Section 9 Division II tournament on Sunday at Franklin D. Roosevelt High School in Hyde Park.

“We lost some key matches for seeds tonight,” McFarland said. “But at the end of the day, you’ve got to win on that day. It’s not about today, so that could be a good thing.”

Our Lady of Lourdes 36, Highland 33
170: Jake Kannenberg (OLL) pinned Ariston Hayes, :48
190: Nathaniel Swart (H) pinned Nelson Zeng, 50
215: R.J. Schneider (H) won by forfeit.
285: Mark Cozzupli (H) won by forfeit.
101: Tucker Vett (H) pinned Kaden Morra, 2:25.
108: Bryce Reilly (OLL) pinned Ely Meneses, 1:27
116: Bradley Gatto (H) pinned Julian De La Rosa, :10.
124: Matthew McCarthy (OLL) pinned Ava Acompora, 3:07.
131: Michael Thomas (H) def. Brandon Raulo, 7-3.
138: Gavin Dumas (OLL) def. Jacob Declair, 7-3
145: Tristan McCormack (OLL) pinned Gavin Pagentine, 3:58
152: Connor Wilson (OLL) pinned Quinnian Jones, 3:59.
160: Ivan Heunis (OLL) def. Daniel Holifield, 10-7

Highland 60, Liberty 15
170: Zach Bickham (L) pinned Ariston Hayes, 1:05.
190: Shawn Bicckham (L) pinned Nathaniel Swart, 3:36
215: Richard Schneider (H) pinned Elmer Son Vicente, 1:01
285: Mark Cozzupli (H) won by forfeit.
101: Tucker Vett (H) pinned Everett Schwartz, 1:17
108: Ely Meneses (H) def. Gabriel Rodriguez, DQ
116: Bradley Gatto (H) won by forfeit.
124: Ava Acompora (H) won by forfeit.
131: Andres DeSantiago (H) won by forfeit
138: Jacob DeClair (H) pinned Logan Harasmovech, 1:52.
145: Gavin Pagentine (H) def. Miguel Guzman, 1:19.
152: Quinian Jones (H) pinned Zoe Kip, :48.
160: Adam Houser (L) def. Daniel Holifield, 9-7.