With the lights off in the audience and the spotlights aimed on the mat, Curry planned to run down the aisle upon being introduced and jump onto the stage.
Then classmate Jacob Bria spoiled Curry’s plan when he started the evening by doing the same thing.
“That kind of made me mad,” Curry said after closing out Fairfield’s 64-11 win with a pin in 1:58 of his 152-pound match with Alex Meszaros. “Jacob ruined it for me so I had to use the stairs, but it was nice to end it with a stick.”
Fairfield coach Jason Laflin loved Bria’s leaping entrance to begin the night, and for once the senior 182-pounder didn’t mind being the first match up in a dual.
“It was pretty cool, I’m not going to lie,” Bria said. “Normally, I don’t want to be the first one up, but after I jumped up on it, they stopped it, so I guess I set the precedent.”
Bria recorded 12 takedowns and an escape against Drew Katona to open with a 25-10 technical fall and give the Indians a 5-0 lead.
“This has been a really cool senior year,” Bria said. “Our class being the first one to ever be on the stage was awesome. It felt like a show. I was going for a pin or a big throw, but when I couldn’t get those, I went for the next-best thing and that was just putting on a show.”
Ryleigh Bechman followed with a pin and Rob Dance claimed a 4-1 decision to give Fairfield a 14-0 lead before East got on the board with an 18-1 technical fall by 285 Jon Spaulding.
“I thought this was a great idea and great for the sport,” Thunderhawks coach Jim Lehman said. “It was a great atmosphere and we could have filled the lineup and made it look pretty, but that is not in the best interest of the kids we have at some of those weights. We are a young team, and where we aren’t young, we are inexperienced. That is kind of where we are right now.”
East cut the deficit to 14-11 with a pin by Kyle Clark at 106 before Fairfield ran the table.
Returning state qualifier Zach Shupp claimed a 19-6 win at 113 and freshman Jabiri Thomas followed with a 22-11 major decision at 120.
East forfeited six of the last seven matches with just Curry taking the stage for a match.
“Coming down and having people call your name and it’s dark except the bright light on the mat was different,” Curry said. “I think the atmosphere really motivated us.”
Both Lehman and Laflin have talked about keeping the event going each year to help the sport.
Despite the score, Laflin was impressed with what he saw from East.
“Six forfeits is not the norm for Lakota East, but their kids looked good,” Laflin said. “They looked strong, and they were in shape. They worked hard and showed a lot of heart tonight.”
Fairfield, coming off a weekend win at the Ron Masanek Fairfield Invitational, had a day off and three days of practice before hitting the stage, a routine it is not used to.
“There are always things to work on,” Laflin said. “I thought we seemed flat and it could be that our routine was off, but I really like the way our program is developing and the way the kids are going out and doing the things we work on and doing them the way we want them done.”
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