January 13, the Tigers went to battle with the crosstown rival Plainfield East Bengals for the Bengals senior night. In a night that was highlighted by multiple state qualifiers and one current state champion it seemed fitting to have the annual dual dubbed “Brawlitorium”.

        It was one thing to hear about, but a whole other thing to experience as the Tigers triumphed over the Bengals to win the dual meet and continue their undefeated record in conference.

        “[The Brawlitorium] is extremely fun and exciting. It is the highlight dual of the year so far,” said Head Coach and science teacher Jeff Kastel.

        The nickname “Brawlitorium” comes from the setting of the match as every Varsity match is wrestled in East’s auditorium where one mat is placed and the only lights that are on are the ones that hover over the stage. Every wrestler is announced and a spotlight placed on them as they walk up the auditorium walkway and onto the mat on stage. The Tigers were met with the tone Star Wars fans would recognize, the Imperial theme song, instantly deeming them the “bad guys” so to speak.

        Each East wrestler was allowed custom theme songs which ranged from Drake to Rocky to the theme song of WWE Wrestlers the Undertake and John Cena.

        The atmosphere surrounding this meet was set up perfectly. The energy could be felt even from the back of the auditorium.         The East fans had filled up most of the seats on the left side of the auditorium to commemorate and watch their seniors one last time at home. After every East win the Bengal fans would stand up and start chanting, “Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!” which is a nod to former WWE Wrestler Daniel Bryan.

        The Varsity started off strong as they took a 6-0 lead after Junior Leo Santos pinned his opponent.

        Following that, Senior and returning State qualifier Marcus Povlick finished his opponent early with a pin to give the Tigers a 12-0 lead.

        “It was a lot of fun. I really like the experience and it should be how every wrestling meet should be,” said Povlick after the meet regarding the Brawlitorium.

        Then the Bengals fought back and scored a pin on the Tigers lessening the lead by six.

        Then came the star of the Bengals in the 120lbs weight division in returning State Champion, Junior Michael McGee. He totaled a score of 23-8 before pinning his opponent in the second round of the match. He came into this match 18-1 on the season and improved to 19-1 by the end of the night.

        Following that performance, Senior Tyler Myers headed onto the mat and watched as his opponent Hunter Owen came towards the stage as the aforementioned John Cena music played in the background. The match lasted all three rounds, but Myers came out with the major in a 10-2 victory.

        Next came arguably the best and closest match of the night as Senior Austin Todner wrestled his match. Midway through, Todner went down and was checked out by trainers, but was able to come back into the match. As both sides traded leads it was Todner who prevailed in the end with an 8-5 victory.

        After that close match, Junior Luke Smiley won the next match by pinfall to help the Tigers build their lead.

        Then the Bengals pinned the next two opponents which included returning state qualifier for the Bengals Jordan Travis pinning Kadin Kovanda.

        Then sophomore Matt Hennessy won by pinfall in the 182lb weight division.

        The last two matches of the night were forfeited by the Bengals as Seniors Marshall Dillon and Justin Reynolds both were credited with wins.

        In the end of the night the Tigers were victorious 46-30 to stay undefeated in Conference and tied for the Conference lead.

        In what was an amazing experience for all who participated or spectated the Brawlitorium never once failed to entertain and is something that all schools should consider for now on.