The Saint Patrick Shamrocks won three of five dual meets over the weekend of December 14-15, defeating St. Viator, Mather and Argo, while losing to St. Rita and Lowell High School from Michigan.  The Shamrocks are now 17-6 in dual meets this year.

The Shamrocks began the weekend by facing St. Viator.  Knowing that they were getting 36 points on forfeits, Shamrock coach Pat Duggan used this match as an opportunity to rest some of his starters and get some of his younger wrestlers a taste of varsity action.  Charlie Doyle, Joe Rau and Jon Zoubek all won decisions as the Shamrocks cruised to a 45-30 victory.

In their second match on Friday night, Saint Patrick thrashed the Rangers of Mather.  Joe Romano pinned his opponent to start the match, then Jimmy DiNino scored a 16-0 technical fall to make the score 11-0 in favor of the Shamrocks.  Tied 5-5 in the third period, Steve Rategan got taken down and turned to his back, dropping a 10-5 decision at 145 pounds.  The Shamrocks responded with six consecutive pins by Alex Ortiz, Rau, Matt Ortega, Nels Adams, Carlos Martinez, and George Vitzileos to put the match away.  A pair of Shamrock forfeits and a pin by xx Tripoli made the final score 56-15.

The next morning the Shamrocks traveled south to take part in a quadrangular meet with St. Rita, Argo, and Lowell.  The Shamrock faced St. Rita in their first match.  Robert Peters’ win by decision accounted for the only Saint Patrick points in the first seven bouts as St. Rita took a 29-3 lead.  Steve Rategan won a 13-4 major decision to make the score 29-7, but the Shamrocks dropped the next two matches.  The Shamrocks rallied to win three of the final four bouts as Ortega pulled out a 2-1 decision in overtime, Martinez pinned his opponent, and Vitzileos won a 12-2 major decision.

The middle match of the day saw Saint Patrick take on Argo.  Again Peters kept the Shamrocks from getting shut out early, with a 13-8 decision at 119 pounds, as Argo got out to an 18-3 advantage after three bouts.  The Shamrocks roared back, winning the next six bouts as Romano, DiNino, and Ortiz recorded pins, Rau scored a 15-5 major decision, and Ortega and Steve Rategan won decisions to put the Shamrocks up 31-18.  Argo won the next three bouts to take a 33-31 lead, but a forfeit at 103 pounds gave the Shamrocks a 37-33 victory.

In their final match of the weekend the Shamrocks faced Lowell High School from Michigan.  Peters got the Shamrocks off to a good start, winning his third match of the day, with a 20-10 major decision.  Lowell won the next five bouts to take a 27-3 lead.  Ortiz scored a 6-4 decision, and Rau won a 13-4 major decision to make the score 27-10.  Lowell won decisions at 171 and 189 pounds to clinch the match.  Martinez and Vitzileos both recorded pins, to make the final score 39-22 in favor of Lowell.

This Friday the Shamrocks take on Grant and Brother Rice in a triangular match at 5:30 pm.