By Sara Page, Midlothian Exchange
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Updated Jan. 22, 2010

Senior night proved fruitful for the James River varsity wrestlers as they earned wins over Midlothian (60-10) and Manchester (71-6) in front of their home crowd.

In the marquee matchup with Midlothian, it was, fittingly, senior twin brothers Josh and Jesse Wells that tied the match and gave the Rapids the go-ahead.

In the 145-pound match, Josh Wells got a fight from Chris Arrington. Ahead 2-1 in the second round, Josh Wells scored a take down. Arrington escaped but was taken down again and flipped with 13 seconds left in the round. Josh Wells couldn’t get the squeeze as time ran out but scored three points for a near fall.

Josh Wells scored a take down early in the third round near the edge of the mat. Arrington escaped but momentum carried the contenders out of bounds. Josh Wells took a 17-4 edge. On the verge of a technical fall, Josh Wells got a quick flip, take down and pin with 35.1 seconds remaining in the match. His win tied the match at 10 all.

Twin brother Jesse Wells continued the Rapids’ momentum in the 152-pound match.

Facing off against Sam Townsend, Jesse Wells was a flurry of activity from the get-go. He scored a take down early but couldn’t get his opponent flipped. The two eventually carried out of bounds.

Jesse Wells came back with another take down with 15 seconds left but ran out of time trying to score the pin. He took a 7-0 lead into the second round.

Jesse Wells started from the down position in the second round but reversed the advantage and scored a take-down early. A half-nelson gave him the flip with a minute remaining and he scored the pin with 47.7 seconds on the clock to give James River a 16-0 win.

“The guys started to do some of the things we’ve talked about,” James River head coach Mark Helberg said. “They wrestled with a little intensity, a little aggressiveness. One of the big things that came out of this match was when the team starts to wrestle that way, it’s contagious. The other guys on the team start to come out and wrestle that way.”

For a Midlothian team scarred by injuries and illness, the match gave some younger guys their first taste of tough varsity competition.

The Trojans were without Mark Howard in the 215-pound weight class. Paul Gerard stepped into the position off the junior varsity squad and picked up his first varsity win against Manchester earlier in the evening.

His second match against James River’s Conlan Cassidy proved tough. Cassidy scored a take down with 40 seconds remaining in the first round but Gerard did a good job twisting around on his way to the mat to avoid the pin.

However, Cassidy would eventually score the pin with 1:31 left in the second round.

Once Howard is back in the lineup, Gerard is expected to move into Midlothian’s heavyweight slot.

The Trojans also moved Brandon Hogge in the 103-pound weight class and David Lessard in the 140-pound weight class into varsity positions for the evening.

“Tonight we had a fairly young squad. Most of those guys will be back next year,” Midlothian head coach Jimmy Cox said. “They’re in great matches against great competition and that’s what they need at this point in their young careers. The more they get of that now, the better off they’ll be in the future.”

Midlothian wins came from Blake Dunn in the 130-pound weight class with a pin over Will Porzio at 1:05 and John Peterson in the 135-pound weight class with a major decision (16-7) over Brian Hwangpo.

The Trojans were 53-21 winners over Manchester in the early match.