For most high schoolers, a Friday night consists of late night chill fests with some catchy music and friends. For the Manhattan High Junior Varsity Wrestling team, it consisted of mats, sweat and pins that resulted in seven first place medals and all but four placing in the top three within the bracket.

“We had a fantastic day,” Robert Gonzales, head coach, said. “Gosh, the kids just wrestled lights out. They were good on their feet and in the neutral position of wrestling.”

Their last home meet proved more than successful for J.V., as the four wrestlers who didn’t place were going up against their own teammates. Being in the same bracket, their only real opponents were each other.

“It’s fun to just get into the room because sometimes we just play around,” Ardian Kaus, junior, said. “At the end we all are just talking, tired and it’s just fun because we are a really good team, too.”

Kaus, who placed third, contributed to the team’s success through two pins in his first match and going overtime in his second. Both he and his teammates are proud of what they’ve accomplished, hoping to carry this week’s success into their final two weeks of the season.

“I think we did really well,” Kaus said. “I saw how other teammates placed and I thought we did really well.”

After the meet, both the Varsity and the J.V. wrestlers gathered together for a small ceremony to offer recognition for the team’s success. They were given medals and T-shirts as well as praise from both teammates and coaches for their majority victories.

“I want our kids to win and be successful,” Gonzales said. “I’m just really, really proud and happy for them.”

The J.V. wrestlers will have their next meet at 6 p.m. this Thursday in Marysville.