By Chris Quartarone

The Bow wrestling team kept its undefeated streak in dual matches alive when the Falcons took down Pelham, 44-30, on Jan. 2.

The Bow wrestling team kept its undefeated streak in dual matches alive when the Falcons took down The recent meet at Bow High School also included the Newfound Regional Bears.

In the first dual match, Pelham crushed Newfound, 53-3.

Pelham’s Jake Corbin overpowered Newfound’s Calvin Leach in the 189-pound weight class, followed by another pin from Pelham’s Rob LaRose.

“I thought we came out with good energy tonight after not being on the mat much over winter break,” said Pelham coach Bob Riddinger.

In the tightly contested 130-pound match, Newfound’s Mike Bruning and Pelham’s T.J. Lee locked up in a back-and-forth scrap. Lee eventually broke a tie to win, 9-7.

Despite no warm up, Bow came out with two quick pins to stop Pelham’s momentum in the second dual match.

In the 171-pound weight class, Bow’s Sean Dipold pinned Ryan Daigle. In a battle of 189-pounders, Jim Paveglio pinned Pelham’s Corbin, a senior.

“I thought we wrestled aggressively and intelligently tonight, and when the kids wrestle within their ability, they succeed,” said Bow coach Paul Cohen.

Both Cohen and Riddinger said any team wrestling back-to-back dual matches is at a disadvantage, which was Pelham’s job.

“For the kids who already wrestled earlier in the evening, it is difficult for them to come out and wrestle another match, but they gave good effort,” said Cohen.

Riddinger said his team needs to refocus on some of the mechanics of the sport.

“We weren’t getting off the bottom (position) tonight,” he said. “We’ll get back to the basics of wrestling because you only need a few moves from each position to be successful.”

Riddinger agreed with Cohen that Pelham’s long hiatus during winter break may have had an adverse effect on the Jan. 2 meeting, but he saw positive aspects from the back-to-back dual meets, specifically the chance just to wrestle again.

Cohen said his group of currently unbeaten Bow grapplers has plenty of room for improvement.

“We still are learning to adapt to different styles of wrestling,” he said. “But we do have a nice mix of veterans and rookies, and they all have a great attitude, which is important. The kids definitely have confidence when they step on the mat and expect the best from each other.

“To be 6-0 with good tournament placings,” added Cohen, “I look for big things from this team.”