Three vacancies in the middleweight classes set the Warrenton wrestling team back too far to recover on Tuesday. The Warriors fell 44-30 in dual action against GAC North contender Washington. “It’s kind of hard to get into a rhythm when you give up three matches in a row like that,” said coach Kevin Fowler. “We’ve got some guys we can filter into those spots, but we’ll have to figure that out in practice.” The match opened at 112 pounds, at which Warrenton junior Chris Schall picked up an immediate win with an open. Washington then countered in the first physical match, with Cole Hamai beating Dan Queatham by fall in 2:44. The 125-pound class also went to the Blue Jays, with Warrenton being open. At 130 pounds, Warrenton’s Austin Clancy defeated Luke Knight in 5:20. “Austin stepped up to wrestle varsity for the first time,” said Fowler. “He was hanging in there the entire time and came back to get the pin.” One of the Blue Jays’ most experienced wrestlers, Scott Hanify, took down Zach Reece 14-3 in the 135-pound match. “Zach had a quality opponent,” said Fowler. “He’s got the right attitude to be a great wrestler and is just mean enough. I certainly wasn’t disappointed in his effort.” Washington claimed three straight victories, with Warrenton being open at 140, 145 and 152 pounds. Trailing 40-12 at that point, the Warriors were never able to recover. Sophomore J.J. Filipek battled down to the wire against Washington’s Zach Forstmann but eventually lost by fall in 4:50. “J.J. wrestled solid throughout his match,” said Fowler. Warrenton finally got back on the winning track in the 171-pound bout, as junior Travis Doyle escaped with a 4-3 victory. “Doyle stepped in there to win a close match,” said Fowler. “He was able to hang tough through all three periods.” Sophomore Devin Roberts represented the Warriors in the 189-pound class, losing a 12-1 decision to Robert Luck. Senior Will Filipek helped Warrenton end the night on an exclamatory note, dominating his opponent with a pin in 30 seconds. Filipek's win over Tim Willming in the 215-pound match was not enough to close the gap, though. Senior Reece Berry also claimed a win, as Washington remained open in the heavyweight division. The final match of the night went to Warrenton sophomore Ryan Sherry, who defeated Jackson Hanify 6-0 in the 103-pound match. Fowler says he expected Sherry's match would be one of the more suspenseful meetings of the night. “I figured Sherry was going to have the best match,” said Fowler. “If there was a feature match, that was going to be it. Hanify comes from a good lineage of quality wrestlers.” The Warriors await the GAC North Conference tournament at Zumwalt East this Saturday. Fowler says his team will need to pick up its intensity if it hopes to compete for a conference crown. “Our focus is on being more aggressive and controlling the tempo more,” said Fowler. “We need to get a little meaner too.”