Merced High had a large number of their top wrestlers back on Wednesday night as they squared off against Pitman in a Central California Conference showdown in what resulted in a win by the Pride with a score of 36-24.

“Merced is a good team and they had some guys back so we knew the dual would be a good one,” Pitman head coach Adam Vasconcellos said. “Our boys battled and did well.”

Pitman’s Lorenzo Lewis and Hayden Mattox each won by fall, respectively. Lewis in the 132-pound class and Mattox at the 128-weight category followed by Nick Valadez’s outstanding performance in the 138-pound class.

Kuda Gwafira at the 184-weight class was able to notch a victory followed by Gilbert Valadez who pulled off a close 5-2 win against Lawrence Anderson at the 145-weight class.

“The biggest win for us last night was probably Gilbert and Kuda who won in overtime for us which was also a big win,” Vasconcellos said.

The Pride will host a CCC dual meet against cross-town rivals, Turlock High at 6 p.m. Thursday.

“Our boys are battled tested, they wrestled a lot of matches and the hardest group of kids, their hungry and want to win,” Vasconcellos said about the big dual meet against Turlock. “I am confident that our boys will come out and perform and do well.”