By Ella Guidugli and Brody Dinan
Tribal Tribune
Inspired with roars from the crowd, cheers from their teams, and yelling from their coaches, the Fairfield boys varsity wrestling team literally became stars of the stage last week.
Instead of their usual home in the Arena, the Tribe took over the high school’s Performing Arts Center on Jan. 26, wrestling on the stage in a venue more accustomed to the singing and dancing of “Mary Poppins” and “The Addams Family” actors rather than the grunting and sweating of Fairfield grapplers.
As the community showed their support, the boys team in turn supplied the power against Little Miami, winning the dual match in a comeback with a final score of 37-34.
“Pack the PAC” is a tradition for the wrestling team. Michael Massie, PAC manager and former Fairfield coach/wrestler, gave insight about the origin of the fun annual event: “(Former Fairfield coach Jason) Laflin saw colleges doing it where they would put a wrestling match onstage and lots of people would come watch it and it was more exciting. Gyms and arenas are really big and we can’t sell 3,000 tickets to fill the Arena, but the PAC is always relatively full.”
After his victory by pin, senior Juseters Fataki expressed his feelings about the PAC experience: “It felt great to win my match and hearing the whole crowd going crazy – I loved every single moment of it!”
The night was filled with energy and entertainment, with each of the varsity boys being introduced with a walk-up song of their choice, with musical selections ranging from “Heaven on Earth” by Lil Tecca to “Circle of Life” by Lebo. The songs would play as the men of the hour ran down the stairs of the auditorium, getting cheered on by the crowd for the impending match. The wrestlers frequently vaulted to stage level and went straight into their matches.
The scene was a night to remember. Senior Braeden Shanklin, who won 17-7, said, “(My favorite moment was) the first takedown, because it was insanely loud there (PAC) and there were a lot of people there.”
Overall, Fairfield students, parents, and faculty should fully consider going to next year’s showcase, and help the Fairfield boys varsity wrestling team “Pack the PAC” once more!
Results:
- 106 Sneh Patel 6-3 (L)
- 113 Koby Rosenbalm 8-0 (L)
- 120 Braden Piatt 4-3 (L)
- 126 Jake King 8-4 (L)
- 133 Jamie Mackey (W/Pin)
- 138 Braeden Shanklin 17-7 (W)
- 144 Jeremy Jordan 9-6 (W)
- 150 Eric Ruther (L/Pin)
- 157 Jachob Yauger (L/Pin)
- 165 Seneca Jackson (W/Pin)
- 175 John Stickler (W/Pin)
- 190 Juseters Fataki (W/Pin)
- 215 Jose Gonzalez (L/Pin)
- 285 Ayden Southard (W/Forfeit)
For additional photos by Brody Dinan and journalism instructor Mark Braam, go to bit.ly/FFBWrestlePackThePAC24.
