Wrestlepalooza succeeded in exciting the crowd once again. This year’s event was complete with the infamous crazy gorilla and a surprising addition: an Elvis impersonator.

The JC versus Gilman varsity wrestling match began with a bang when the gorilla shot free  T-shirts into the crowd for fans. Meanwhile, an Elvis impersonator chatted with students and later opened the match by singing “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

Then, the much-anticipated wrestlers entered the gym, ready to take the mat for their first match of the season. The varsity team dominated Gilman, 65-7, leaving them to start the season with a clean 1-0 record.

Senior Lance Waters, who wrestles at 125 pounds, described the first match of the season as “pleasing,” even though he didn’t perform the way he had initially wanted to.  Although it’s just the first match, Waters expects “a couple state champions, multiple state placers, and a few all-Americans,” out of this year’s varsity team.

Sophomore George Weber, who also wrestles at 125 pounds, agreed and said, “As a team, I want us to win MIAA, place [in the] top three at states, and have an undefeated dual-meet record. I think our team can do it, if we put our hearts to it.”

The varsity team has a lot of hope for achieving excellence this year and they’re well on their way, beginning the season with a win. Like all teams, “the team needs to work if we are going to be the best,” Weber said, but he has hope that “each day everyone will leave the room as a better wrestler.”

Julia Earnshaw can be reached for comment at [email protected].