Panther wrestlers rolled out the mats Oct. 27 and battled it out in their Intersquad Black vs. Gold Dual, with former wrestlers-turned-coaches Christian Hite and Braden Homsey calling the shots for each squad.

Both Hite and Homsey wrestled for the Panthers during their collegiate careers, and Head Coach Logan Meister was looking forward to seeing what they were capable of teaching others on the mat.

“These guys just graduated from Ferrum, and I’m excited to have them on staff. This is kind of a little practice run for them; they get to coach their team like they’re the head coach for a dual, and I think it’s good practice for them,” Meister said.

Opening up at 125 pounds was Trent Proctor, junior,  going up against Richard Albert, freshman. Albert scored a takedown in the first period and continued that lead going into the third period with seven points to Proctor’s one. Despite this gap, Proctor continued fighting and was able to take a 10-9 victory–with the final takedown coming in as the clock struck zero.

“I saw the score going into the third, and knew if I didn’t go out and battle, I would lose. I put myself into a flow state; I didn’t think about anything at all. I just let my body do what it is trained to do,” Proctor said.

The next match was Zach Beckner, junior, facing off against Walker Bell, freshman, at 133 pounds. Beckner wasted no time in this match and scored 14 points in one period. Bell was finished off by his opponent in the second when one last takedown allowed Beckner to take a technical fall of 17-1.

“It felt great to be back on the mat–even better knowing that it’s just the beginning of a long road, and I’m excited to put in the work and get the job done,” said Beckner.

Next up on the bout sheet was Rubyn Semedo, sophomore, versus Jonathan Ward, senior, for the 141 pound weight class. The match opened with a scramble that left Ward up 4-3 and opened up the opportunity for his pin with 1:34 seconds left in the first period.

Rolling in at the 149 pound weight class was Tyler Ramirez, senior, against Joseph Olalde, sophomore. This match started with Ramirez scoring a three-point takedown and Olalde snagging an escape to round out the first period. Olalde tied up the match during the second period and then ran away with the lead during the third, winning the match by major decision 13-5.

The match for 157 pounds placed Bradley Sigmon, junior, squaring up against Cody Agnell, freshman. Sigmon got on the scoreboard first with a takedown and held that lead through the first period and went into the second up 9-2. During the second period, Sigmon locked his opponent into a nearside cradle sealing his victory with a pin.

At 165 pounds Jordan Nutter, freshman, battled it out with Alexis Fidalgo, junior. The first period was scoreless despite several attempts form both sides to take the opponent to the mat. The second period placed Nutter onto the board with a locked hands call and an escape, making the match 2-0 entering the third period. Fidalgo claimed the lead for himself in the final period as he escaped from the bottom position and took Nutter down to the mat, securing a 4-3 victory for the junior.

“This match made me realize I need to work on my mentality coming into every match. I need to be in the right headspace. I need to be thinking that I’m going to dominate on the mat–be an absolute savage against my opponent,” Nutter said.

Throwing down for the 174 pound weight class was Mateo Villalobos, sophomore, versus Zahne Ruiz, freshman. The first period had Ruiz claiming the first points of the match with a takedown scored from blocking an attack from Villalobos. The sophomore almost immediately responded with an escape and takedown of his own. In the second period Villalobos took the match with less than thirty seconds remaining on the clock, putting Ruiz on his back to claim the victory through a pin.

Following up in the 184 pound weight class were Ethan Fragoso, senior, duking it out with Joseph Toner, freshman. Points scored back and forth during the first period of this match led to Fragoso having a 6-5 lead at the start of the second.

In the second, Toner held a strong top position that only lead to one point, and that was from a stall, which tied up 6-6 going into the final period. Toner opened up the third pouncing out of the bottom position and taking his opponent down to the mat for three. The match remained on the ground for the rest of time, giving Toner a major decision victory 14-6.

“I was very excited and nervous for my first college match, but I was also very confident in my ability. I knew how much time I put in to be prepared for this match,” Toner said.

For the second to last match Colt Oliver, junior, faced down Johnny Black, sophomore, for the 197 pound weight class. This match opened with the two wrestlers crashing off the mat onto the gym floor less than a minute into the match.

From there the match shifted to Black being the dominant wrestler as he claimed a takedown and  back points by securing his leg ride. With the leg ride cinched, Black took Oliver for a ride that ended with the sophomore claiming a pin with seven seconds remaining in the first period.

The night’s final match was the battle of giants. Trent Ray, junior, went up against Rayshawn Dixon, senior, for the 285-pound heavyweight class.

Dixon opened strong, claiming the first takedown in less than 15 seconds and ended the first period with a 6-2 lead. Dixon continued the momentum in the second period, scoring four more points to kick it off and then pinning his opponent to the mat 1:15 left to go in the second.

“Going into this season, I’m excited to compete and show what I’ve been working on and everything I’ve improved on. My goal for the season is to win a national championship,” said Dixon.

After all the dust cleared, the Gold team, led by Homsey, claimed a 21-18 victory over coach Hite’s Black team.

“The team that I had–I think I had a really receptive team, a very coachable team, and I just think there was a lot of fight from the guys ,” Homsey said.

Hite said he was thrilled to get the chance to coach and was proud to see the fight these wrestlers had. He feels it bodes well for the season.

“I was very excited to start getting in the corner and working with these guys. I’m proud of both teams and am excited to get on the mat and wrestle someone not on our own team,” said Hite.

The coaches said event sets a good tone for what’s to come and acts as an exciting precedent for this years wrestling season.

“If the guys are gonna be as receptive as they were and consistently coachable as they are and fight as hard as they did tonight, I think we’re gonna have a really good season, and were only going to get better as the season progresses. This is our infancy of the season, and I’m excited,” Homsey said.