Things went fairly well for the East Union Lancers in their season opening double-dual match Wednesday. They handled the St. Mary’s 34-24 before dropping their contest against Bear Creek, 48-30.

East Union got a strong showing from two of its veteran leaders, with Peter Barrington scoring a pair of impressive first round pins and senior standout Sarah Phillips (106) earning a first round pin and a forfeit in her two matches.

East Union 220-pounder Anthony Melena notched a first round pin as well against the Bruins.

The Lancers also got a four-point win from Kyle Beam.

“We have work to do, but overall I am seeing improvement,” East Union head coach A.J. Reindel said. “This was the first match of the year and I wasn’t able to put my best team out there tonight, but the kids really stepped up and wrestled their hearts out.”

The Lancers will try to continue to move in the right direction, getting in a tournament this weekend at McNair High. The Lancers varsity team and girls team will be competing at McNair, while the junior varsity will be at the Valley Oak League Novice Tournament at Lathrop High.

“We’ve been trying to focus on winning by pin and making sure that when we lose we don’t lose by pin,” Reindel said. “Against Bear Creek we did a real good job with that and it kept the match close. We did give up some points on forfeits, but that is from injuries and a couple of kids being sick.

“They did wrestle well, but we have a lot to work on.”