The Pine Bush wrestling team nearly had it.

They were leading most of Wednesday night’s dual meet against the Goshen Gladiators, but the Gladiators won the last five matches to pull out a 36-33 win at Goshen High School.

“They worked hard,” Pine Bush coach John Petrofsky said. “It’s definitely a learning experience for some and there were exciting matches for some others.”

Pine Bush entered the final match – a 152-pound bout between Edward Morley and Goshen’s Henry Villodas – leading the meet by three points. The Gladiators needed a decision to tie or at least a major decision, a win between 8-14 points to win the dual meet.

Villodas pinned Morley in 3:03 to secure the victory for the Gladiators.

“That’s OK,” Petrofsky said. “The guys wrestled hard out there. It’s the first time in a while that we’ve had a big match like this.”

The match started at 160 pounds where the Gladiators got on the board when Paul Lamparillo scored a pinfall victory over Joseph Longobardo.

The Bushmen then followed by winning six of the next seven matches, including a forfeit victory at 102 pounds. Their only loss during that stretch was a 20-second pin of Pine Bush’s Sullivan Toback, a freshman wrestling up at 285 pounds by Goshen’s Dominick Siracusa.

After Logan Pennell pinned Goshen’s Michael Lombardi in 3:46, the Bushmen had a 33-12 lead.

“I really liked Pennell’s match,” Petrofsky said. “That was exciting. The last match of the night was also a nail biter. But I’m really pleased. Nobody gave up. They wrestled their hearts out.”

The Gladiators’ comeback started at 126 pounds when James Duffy staved off a pin, lost, 10-4, as the Bushmen avoided a 6-point hit. Logan Moran at 138 points also rode out the clock, despite losing the match.

Still, it was the first match of the year for both teams, and in a long season, there is plenty of time to improve, especially for a building program.

“I hope they see why we practice the way we practice,” Petrofsky said. “And it’s just going to make them work harder in the room.”

Goshen 36, Pine Bush 33

160 - Paul Lamparillo (G) pin Joseph Longobardo, 2:57
172 - Devon Greer (PB) pinned Aaron Gay, :46
189 - Braydon Pennell (PB) def. Max Winkler, 6-0
215 - Saul Abrego (PB) pinned Declan Bernhardt, 4:15
285 - Dominick Siracusa (G) pinned Sullivan Toback, :20
102 - Kayla Ronk (PB) won by forfeit
110 - Gabe McNally (PB) pinned Ahmed Arif, 1:41
118 - Logan Pennell (PB) pinned Michael Lombardi, 3:46.
126 - Jacob Perales (G) def. James Duffy, 10-4
132 - Jake Lederman (G) pinned Dan Trojahn, 1:33
138 - Jackson Brady (G) def. Logan Moran, 6-1
145 - Mario Liam (G) pinned Ethan Conrow, 3:46
152 - Henry Villodas (G) pinned Edward Morley, 3:03.