Nicholas Belitsis

Weinstein pd. 6
Only Anthony
Less than twenty seconds left in the match, Anthony up 8-2 against a D2 county
champion, an opponent he had previously lost to in an unlucky roll around. The two of
them hand fought viciously, clubbing each others heads with heavy hands and getting
far more aggressive than what is considered legal in terms of the sport of wrestling.
Coach Pingatore and I watched from the edge of the mat. The two combatants
approached the edge of the circle when the referee blew the whistle but Anthonys
opponent threw one last hard shove. Anthony fell backwards off the mat and his head
collided with the hardwood floor. The impact sent a thunderous CRACK through the air
that shook everyone in the gym down to marrow. Anthony stood up, staring his
opponent in the face and gave the smile of a mad man.
Now everyones attention was invested in the heated match. Each wrestler was
feeding off the aggression of the other. They returned to the center and again the
referee blew the whistle and again the two returned to their brutal battle. Trading fierce
blows as time passed. Less than five seconds, Anthony still up by six, his opponent
grabbed Anthony by the collar and greeted Anthonys face with a savage headbutt. The
referee stopped the clock with mere fractions of a second left and gave Anthony a point
for his opponent's illegal action. But despite how hard Anthony tried to hide it, his nose
was pouring blood. Shit. His nose is broken, I turned to Pingatore and referred to
Anthony. The referee noticed the waterfall of blood and insisted Anthony see the trainer,
though Anthony insisted he was fine.

Anthony came over to Pingatore and me as a large portion of the blood in his
body flowed out his nose into a trash can. The trainer worked fast, putting a nose plug in
Anthonys nose, but it wasnt enough. The trainer added a second nose plug that also
proved ineffective. Blood time was ticking, and if it reached five minutes Anthony would
lose the match he deserved to win. The trainer finally found a way to cease the bleeding
and Anthony returned to the center. Less than a second remaining, the referee blew the
whistle. There was one last powerful blow and the match was over.
Anthonys hand was raised and he returned to us, stern expression on his face.
Good job Anthony, Pingatore congratulated him.
Yea way to tough out the win, I added.
Anthony reached up and touched his nose. You think its broken?
Yea probably, welcome to the club, I said laughing.
Anthony continued feeling his nose and the nose plug damming the blood,
except it wasnt a normal nose plug. Anthony felt the stub of a cut string at the base of
the plug. His expression change from stern to a combination of shock and confusion
after a sudden realization: What the f***?! we all began laughing, This is a tampon
isnt it!?